10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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282 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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291 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
293 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
296 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
297 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
298 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
299 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
300 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
301 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
302 License'' in the Emacs manual.
304 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
305 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
306 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
308 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
309 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
310 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
311 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
319 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
321 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
322 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
324 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
325 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
326 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
327 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
328 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
329 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
330 License'' in the Emacs manual.
332 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
333 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
334 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
336 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
337 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
338 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
339 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
347 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
350 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
351 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
353 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
355 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
356 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
357 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
358 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
359 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
360 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
361 License'' in the Emacs manual.
363 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
364 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
365 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
367 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
368 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
369 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
370 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
379 @top The Gnus Newsreader
383 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
384 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
385 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
388 This manual corresponds to Oort Gnus v0.14.
399 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
400 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
402 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
403 being accused of plagiarism:
405 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
406 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
407 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
408 can even read news with it!
410 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
411 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
412 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
413 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
414 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
420 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
421 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
422 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
423 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
424 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
425 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
426 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
427 * Various:: General purpose settings.
428 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
429 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
430 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
431 * Key Index:: Key Index.
433 Other related manuals
435 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
436 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; MIME-specific parts.
437 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
438 * PGG:(pgg). PGP/MIME with Gnus.
441 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
445 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
446 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
447 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
448 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
449 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
450 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
451 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
452 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
453 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
454 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
455 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
459 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
460 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
461 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
465 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
466 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
467 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
468 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
469 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
470 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
471 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
472 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
473 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
474 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
475 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
476 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
477 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
478 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
479 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
480 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
481 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
485 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
486 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
487 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
491 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
492 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
493 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
494 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
495 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
499 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
500 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
501 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
502 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
503 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
507 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
508 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
509 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
510 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
511 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
512 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
513 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
514 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
515 * Threading:: How threads are made.
516 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
517 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
518 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
519 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
520 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
521 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
522 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
523 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
524 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
525 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
526 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
527 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
528 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
529 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
530 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
531 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
532 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
533 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
534 or reselecting the current group.
535 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
536 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
537 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
538 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
540 Summary Buffer Format
542 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
543 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
544 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
545 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
549 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
550 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
552 Reply, Followup and Post
554 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
555 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
556 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
557 * Canceling and Superseding::
561 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
562 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
563 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
565 * Generic Marking Commands::
566 * Setting Process Marks::
570 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
571 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
572 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
576 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
577 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
579 Customizing Threading
581 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
582 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
583 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
584 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
588 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
589 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
590 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
591 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
592 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
593 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
597 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
598 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
599 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
603 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
604 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
605 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
606 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
607 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
608 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
609 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
610 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
611 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
612 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
614 Alternative Approaches
616 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
617 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
619 Various Summary Stuff
621 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
622 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
623 * Summary Generation Commands::
624 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
628 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
629 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
630 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
631 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
632 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
636 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
637 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
638 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
639 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
640 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
641 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
642 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
643 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
647 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
648 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
649 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
650 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
651 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
652 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
653 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
654 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
658 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
659 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
660 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
661 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
662 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
663 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
664 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
668 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
669 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
673 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
674 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
675 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
679 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
680 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
681 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
682 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
683 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
684 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
685 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
686 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
687 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
688 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
689 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
690 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
691 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
695 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
696 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
697 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
699 Choosing a Mail Back End
701 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
702 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
703 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
704 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
705 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
706 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
711 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
712 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
713 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
714 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
715 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
716 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
720 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
721 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
722 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
723 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
724 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
728 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
729 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
730 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
731 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
732 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
736 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
740 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
741 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
742 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
746 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
747 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
751 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
752 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
753 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
754 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
755 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
756 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
757 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
758 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
759 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
760 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
761 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
762 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
766 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
767 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
768 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
772 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
773 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
774 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
778 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
779 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
780 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
781 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
782 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
783 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
784 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
785 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
786 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
787 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
788 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
789 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
790 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
791 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
792 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
793 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
794 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
798 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
799 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
800 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
801 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
805 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
806 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
807 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
811 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
812 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
813 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
814 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
815 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
816 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
817 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
818 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
819 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
820 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
821 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
822 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
823 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
824 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
825 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
826 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
827 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
828 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
829 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
833 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
834 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
835 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
836 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
837 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
838 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
839 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
840 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
844 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
845 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
846 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
847 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
851 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
852 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
853 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
854 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
855 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
856 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
860 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
861 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
862 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
863 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
864 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
865 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
866 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
867 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
868 * Frequently Asked Questions::
872 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
873 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
874 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
875 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
876 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
877 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
878 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
879 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
880 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
884 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
885 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
886 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
887 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
888 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
892 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
893 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
894 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
895 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
899 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
900 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
901 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
902 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
903 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
904 * Group Info:: The group info format.
905 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
906 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
907 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
911 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
912 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
913 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
914 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
915 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
916 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
920 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
921 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
925 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
926 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
932 @chapter Starting Gnus
937 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
938 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
941 @findex gnus-other-frame
942 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
943 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
944 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
946 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
947 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
948 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
950 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
951 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
954 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
955 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
956 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
957 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
958 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
959 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
960 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
961 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
962 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
963 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
964 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
968 @node Finding the News
969 @section Finding the News
972 @vindex gnus-select-method
974 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
975 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
976 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
977 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
980 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
981 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
984 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
987 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
990 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
993 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
994 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
995 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
997 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
999 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
1000 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
1001 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1002 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1003 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
1004 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
1006 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1007 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1008 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1009 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1011 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1012 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1013 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1014 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1015 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
1016 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1017 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1018 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1019 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1022 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1024 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
1025 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1026 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1027 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1028 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1029 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1031 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1033 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1034 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1035 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1036 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1037 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1038 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1041 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1042 you would typically set this variable to
1045 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1049 @node The First Time
1050 @section The First Time
1051 @cindex first time usage
1053 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
1054 be subscribed by default.
1056 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1057 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1058 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1059 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1062 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1063 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1064 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1066 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1067 help you with most common problems.
1069 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1070 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1074 @node The Server is Down
1075 @section The Server is Down
1076 @cindex server errors
1078 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1079 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1080 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1082 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1083 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1084 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1085 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1086 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1087 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1088 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1090 @findex gnus-no-server
1091 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1093 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1094 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1095 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1096 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1097 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1098 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1099 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1103 @section Slave Gnusae
1106 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1107 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1108 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1109 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1111 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1112 @code{.newsrc} file.
1114 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1115 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1116 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1117 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1118 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1119 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1120 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1122 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1123 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1124 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1125 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1126 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1127 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1128 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1129 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1131 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1132 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1134 If the @code{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1135 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1136 file. If you answer "yes", the unsaved changes to the master will be
1137 incorporated into the slave. If you answer "no", the slave may see some
1138 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1140 @node Fetching a Group
1141 @section Fetching a Group
1142 @cindex fetching a group
1144 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1145 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1146 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1147 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1148 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1149 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1155 @cindex subscription
1157 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1158 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1159 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1160 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1161 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1162 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1163 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1164 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1165 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1168 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1169 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1170 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1174 @node Checking New Groups
1175 @subsection Checking New Groups
1177 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1178 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1179 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1180 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1181 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1182 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1183 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1184 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1185 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1186 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1188 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1189 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1190 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1191 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1192 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1193 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1194 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1195 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1196 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1197 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1198 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1200 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1201 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1202 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1203 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1204 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1205 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1208 @node Subscription Methods
1209 @subsection Subscription Methods
1211 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1212 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1213 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1215 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1216 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1218 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1222 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1223 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1224 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1225 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1226 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1228 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1229 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1230 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1231 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1233 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1234 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1235 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1237 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1238 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1239 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1240 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1241 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1242 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1243 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1244 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1245 up. Or something like that.
1247 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1248 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1249 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1250 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1251 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1253 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1254 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1255 Kill all new groups.
1257 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1258 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1259 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1260 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1261 topic parameter that looks like
1267 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1270 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1275 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1276 A closely related variable is
1277 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1278 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1279 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1280 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1283 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1284 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1285 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1286 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1289 @node Filtering New Groups
1290 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1292 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1293 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1294 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1297 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1300 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1301 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1302 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1303 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1304 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1305 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1306 subscribing these groups.
1307 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1308 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1310 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1311 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1312 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1313 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1314 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1315 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1316 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1317 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1319 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1320 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1321 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1322 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1323 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1324 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1325 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1326 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1327 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1328 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1331 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1332 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1335 @node Changing Servers
1336 @section Changing Servers
1337 @cindex changing servers
1339 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1340 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1341 very flaky and you want to use another.
1343 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1344 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1348 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1349 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1350 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1351 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1354 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1355 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1356 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1357 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1359 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1360 @findex gnus-change-server
1361 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1362 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1363 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1364 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1365 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1367 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1368 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1369 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1370 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1371 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1373 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1374 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1375 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1376 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1377 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1378 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1380 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1381 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1382 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1383 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1385 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1386 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1387 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1388 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1389 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1390 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1391 cache for all groups).
1395 @section Startup Files
1396 @cindex startup files
1401 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1402 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1404 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1405 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1406 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1407 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1408 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1409 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1410 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1412 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1413 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1414 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1415 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1416 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1417 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1419 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1420 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1421 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1422 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1423 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1424 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1425 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1426 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1427 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1428 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1430 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1431 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1432 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1433 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1434 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1435 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1436 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1437 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1438 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1439 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1440 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1441 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1443 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1444 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1445 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1446 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1448 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1449 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1450 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1451 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1452 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1453 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1454 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1455 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1456 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1457 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1460 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1461 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1463 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1464 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1467 @vindex gnus-init-file
1468 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1469 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1470 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1471 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1472 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1473 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1474 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1475 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1476 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1477 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1483 @cindex dribble file
1486 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1487 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1488 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1489 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1490 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1493 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1494 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1497 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1498 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1499 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1501 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1502 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1503 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1504 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1505 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1506 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1508 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1509 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1510 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1513 @node The Active File
1514 @section The Active File
1516 @cindex ignored groups
1518 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1519 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1520 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1522 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1523 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1524 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1525 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1526 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1527 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1528 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1531 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1532 @c if you set it to anything else.
1534 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1536 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1537 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1538 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1540 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1541 you actually subscribe to.
1543 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1544 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1545 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1546 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1548 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1549 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1550 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1551 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1552 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1553 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1555 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1556 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1557 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1560 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1561 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1562 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1563 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1564 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1565 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1567 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1568 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1570 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1571 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1573 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1574 secondary select methods.
1577 @node Startup Variables
1578 @section Startup Variables
1582 @item gnus-load-hook
1583 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1584 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1585 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1586 times you start Gnus.
1588 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1589 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1590 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1592 @item gnus-startup-hook
1593 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1594 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1596 @item gnus-started-hook
1597 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1598 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1601 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1602 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1603 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1604 generating the group buffer.
1606 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1607 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1608 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1609 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1610 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1611 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1612 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1613 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1615 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1616 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1617 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1618 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1619 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1620 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1622 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1623 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1624 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1626 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1627 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1628 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1630 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1631 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1632 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1633 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1639 @chapter Group Buffer
1640 @cindex group buffer
1642 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1644 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1645 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1646 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1647 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1648 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1649 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1650 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1651 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1652 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1653 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1654 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1655 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1656 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1657 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1658 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1659 @c human rights at 9...
1662 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1663 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1664 long as Gnus is active.
1668 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1669 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1670 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1671 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1672 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1673 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1674 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1675 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1681 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1682 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1683 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1684 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1685 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1686 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1687 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1688 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1689 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1690 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1691 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1692 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1693 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1694 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1695 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1696 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1697 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1701 @node Group Buffer Format
1702 @section Group Buffer Format
1705 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1706 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1707 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1711 @node Group Line Specification
1712 @subsection Group Line Specification
1713 @cindex group buffer format
1715 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1716 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1718 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1721 25: news.announce.newusers
1722 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1727 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1728 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1729 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1730 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1732 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1733 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1734 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1735 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1736 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1737 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1739 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1741 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1742 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1743 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1744 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1745 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1747 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1748 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1749 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1751 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1756 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1759 Whether the group is subscribed.
1762 Level of subscribedness.
1765 Number of unread articles.
1768 Number of dormant articles.
1771 Number of ticked articles.
1774 Number of read articles.
1777 Number of unseen articles.
1780 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1781 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1783 Gnus uses this estimation because the @sc{nntp} protocol provides
1784 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1785 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1786 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1787 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1788 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1789 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1790 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1793 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1796 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1805 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1806 comment element in the group parameters.
1809 Newsgroup description.
1812 @samp{m} if moderated.
1815 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1821 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1827 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1831 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1834 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1835 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1836 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1837 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1838 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1841 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1843 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1847 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1850 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1854 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1855 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1856 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1857 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1858 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1859 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1864 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1865 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1866 group, or a bogus native group.
1869 @node Group Modeline Specification
1870 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1871 @cindex group modeline
1873 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1874 The mode line can be changed by setting
1875 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1876 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1880 The native news server.
1882 The native select method.
1886 @node Group Highlighting
1887 @subsection Group Highlighting
1888 @cindex highlighting
1889 @cindex group highlighting
1891 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1892 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1893 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1894 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1895 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1897 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1901 (cond (window-system
1902 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1903 (defface my-group-face-1
1904 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1905 (defface my-group-face-2
1906 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1907 (defface my-group-face-3
1908 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1909 (defface my-group-face-4
1910 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1911 (defface my-group-face-5
1912 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1914 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1915 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1916 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1917 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1918 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1919 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1922 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1924 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1931 The number of unread articles in the group.
1935 Whether the group is a mail group.
1937 The level of the group.
1939 The score of the group.
1941 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1943 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1944 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1946 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1947 topic being inserted.
1950 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1951 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1952 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1954 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1955 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1956 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1957 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1958 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1961 @node Group Maneuvering
1962 @section Group Maneuvering
1963 @cindex group movement
1965 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1966 expected, hopefully.
1972 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1973 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1974 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1980 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1981 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1982 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1986 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1987 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1991 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1992 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1996 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1997 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1998 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2002 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2003 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2004 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2007 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2013 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2014 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2015 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2020 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2021 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2022 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2026 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2027 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2028 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2031 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2032 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2033 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2034 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2038 @node Selecting a Group
2039 @section Selecting a Group
2040 @cindex group selection
2045 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2046 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2047 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2048 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2049 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2050 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2051 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
2052 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
2053 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
2054 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
2056 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2057 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2058 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2060 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2061 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2066 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2067 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2068 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2069 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2070 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2074 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2075 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2076 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2077 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2078 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2079 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2080 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2081 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2082 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2083 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2086 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2087 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2088 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2089 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2090 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2093 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2094 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2095 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2096 doing any processing of its contents
2097 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2098 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2099 manner will have no permanent effects.
2103 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2104 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
2105 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2106 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2107 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2108 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2109 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2110 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2113 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2114 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2115 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2116 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2117 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2118 Which article this is is controlled by the
2119 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2125 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2128 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2131 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2133 @item unseen-or-unread
2134 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2135 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2139 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2143 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2144 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2146 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2147 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2148 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2149 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2153 @node Subscription Commands
2154 @section Subscription Commands
2155 @cindex subscription
2163 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2164 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2165 Toggle subscription to the current group
2166 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2172 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2173 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2174 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2175 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2181 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2182 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2183 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2189 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2190 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2193 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2194 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2195 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2196 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2197 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2203 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2204 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2208 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2209 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2212 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2213 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2214 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2215 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2216 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2217 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2218 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2219 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2220 @file{.newsrc} file.
2224 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2234 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2235 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2236 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2237 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2238 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2239 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2244 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2245 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2246 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2250 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2251 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2252 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2254 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2255 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2256 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2257 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2258 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2259 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2266 @section Group Levels
2270 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2271 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2272 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2273 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2274 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2276 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2282 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2283 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2284 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2285 prompted for a level.
2288 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2289 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2290 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2291 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2292 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2293 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2294 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2295 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2296 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2297 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2298 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2299 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2300 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2301 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2302 reasons of efficiency.
2304 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2305 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2307 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2308 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2309 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2310 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2311 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2312 groups are hidden, in a way.
2314 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2315 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2316 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2317 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2318 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2319 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2321 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2322 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2323 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2324 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2325 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2326 list of killed groups.)
2328 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2329 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2330 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2332 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2333 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2334 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2335 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2336 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2337 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2338 relevant valid ranges.
2340 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2341 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2342 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2343 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2344 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2345 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2348 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2349 one with the best level.
2351 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2352 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2353 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2356 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2357 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2358 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2359 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2362 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2363 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2364 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2365 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2367 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2368 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2369 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2370 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2371 to 5. The default is 6.
2375 @section Group Score
2380 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2381 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2382 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2385 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2386 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2387 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2388 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2389 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2390 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2391 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2392 least significant part.))
2394 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2395 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2396 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2397 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2398 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2399 action after each summary exit, you can add
2400 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2401 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2402 slow things down somewhat.
2405 @node Marking Groups
2406 @section Marking Groups
2407 @cindex marking groups
2409 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2410 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2411 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2412 bidding on those groups.
2414 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2415 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2416 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2424 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2425 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2431 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2432 Remove the mark from the current group
2433 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2437 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2438 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2442 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2443 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2447 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2448 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2452 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2453 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2454 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2457 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2459 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2460 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2461 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2462 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2463 the command to be executed.
2466 @node Foreign Groups
2467 @section Foreign Groups
2468 @cindex foreign groups
2470 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2471 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2472 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2473 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2480 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2481 @cindex making groups
2482 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2483 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2484 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2488 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2489 @cindex renaming groups
2490 Rename the current group to something else
2491 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2492 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2498 @findex gnus-group-customize
2499 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2503 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2504 @cindex renaming groups
2505 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2506 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2510 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2511 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2512 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2516 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2517 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2518 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2522 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2524 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2525 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2530 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2531 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2535 @cindex (ding) archive
2536 @cindex archive group
2537 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2538 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2539 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2540 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2541 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2542 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2543 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2547 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2549 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2550 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2551 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2552 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2556 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2558 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2559 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2560 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2564 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2565 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2567 Make a group based on some file or other
2568 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2569 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2570 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2571 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2572 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2573 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2574 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2575 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2576 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2580 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2581 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2582 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2583 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2587 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2591 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2592 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2593 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2594 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2595 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2596 @xref{Web Searches}.
2598 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2599 to a particular group by using a match string like
2600 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2603 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2604 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2605 This function will delete the current group
2606 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2607 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2608 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2609 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2610 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2614 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2615 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2616 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2620 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2621 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2622 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2625 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2628 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2629 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2630 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2631 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2632 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2633 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2637 @node Group Parameters
2638 @section Group Parameters
2639 @cindex group parameters
2641 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2642 Here's an example group parameter list:
2645 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2649 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2650 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2651 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2652 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2654 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2655 is an alist of regexps and values.
2657 The following group parameters can be used:
2662 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2665 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2668 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2669 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2670 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2671 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2672 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2674 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2675 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2676 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2677 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2678 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2679 list address instead.
2681 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2685 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2688 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2691 It is totally ignored
2692 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2693 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2695 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2696 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2697 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2698 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2699 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2701 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2702 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2703 sending the message.
2705 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2706 @cindex Mail List Groups
2707 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2708 entering summary buffer.
2710 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2715 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2716 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2717 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2718 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2719 headers for your posts to these lists. Look here @pxref{(message)Mailing
2720 Lists} for a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2722 See also @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses}, the function that
2723 directly uses this group parameter.
2727 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2728 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2729 of whether it has any unread articles.
2731 @item broken-reply-to
2732 @cindex broken-reply-to
2733 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2734 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2735 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2736 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2737 broken behavior. So there!
2741 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2742 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2746 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2747 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2748 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2753 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2754 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2755 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2756 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2757 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2758 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2759 (@pxref{Archived Messages}). CAVEAT:: It yields an error putting
2760 @code{(gcc-self . t)} in groups of a @code{nntp} server or so, because
2761 a @code{nntp} server doesn't accept articles.
2765 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2766 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2767 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2769 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2772 @cindex total-expire
2773 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2774 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2775 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2776 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2779 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2783 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2784 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2785 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2786 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2787 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2788 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2789 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2792 @cindex score file group parameter
2793 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2794 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2795 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2798 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2799 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2800 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2801 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2804 @cindex admin-address
2805 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2806 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2807 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2808 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2812 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2813 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2817 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2820 Display the last INTEGER articles in the group. This is the same as
2821 entering the group with C-u INTEGER.
2824 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2828 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2830 Here are some examples:
2834 Display only unread articles.
2837 Display everything except expirable articles.
2839 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2840 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2844 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2845 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2846 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2847 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2848 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2852 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2853 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2854 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2858 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2859 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2860 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2864 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2865 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2866 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2868 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2870 @item ignored-charsets
2871 @cindex ignored-charset
2872 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2873 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2874 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2876 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2879 @cindex posting-style
2880 You can store additional posting style information for this group
2881 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2882 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2883 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2884 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2886 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2887 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2888 like this in the group parameters:
2893 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
2894 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2899 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2900 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2904 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2905 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2906 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2907 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2908 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2912 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2913 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2914 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2915 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2917 For example, if the INBOX.list.sieve group has the @code{(sieve
2918 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2919 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2920 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2923 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2924 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2928 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, , Top, sieve,
2931 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2932 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2933 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2934 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2935 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2936 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2937 @code{eval}ed there.
2939 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
2940 A use for this feature, is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
2941 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
2942 @samp{nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps} has the tag
2943 @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this tag can be
2944 removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for the group by
2945 putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")} into the group
2946 parameters for the group.
2949 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2950 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2951 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2952 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2953 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2957 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2958 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2959 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2960 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2961 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2963 @vindex gnus-parameters
2964 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2965 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2969 (setq gnus-parameters
2971 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2972 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2973 (gnus-summary-line-format
2974 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2978 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2982 (gnus-use-scoring t))
2986 (broken-reply-to . t))))
2989 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
2990 the @code{to-group} example shows.
2993 @node Listing Groups
2994 @section Listing Groups
2995 @cindex group listing
2997 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3005 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3006 List all groups that have unread articles
3007 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3008 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3009 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
3010 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3017 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3018 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3019 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3020 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3021 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3022 unsubscribed groups).
3026 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3027 List all unread groups on a specific level
3028 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3029 with no unread articles.
3033 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3034 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3035 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3036 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3041 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3042 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3046 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3047 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3048 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3052 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3053 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3057 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3058 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3059 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3060 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3061 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3062 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3063 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3064 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3068 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3069 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3070 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3074 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3075 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3076 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3080 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3081 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3085 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3086 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3090 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3091 List groups limited within the current selection
3092 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3096 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3097 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3101 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3102 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3106 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3107 @cindex visible group parameter
3108 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3109 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3110 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3111 get the same effect.
3113 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3114 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3115 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3116 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3117 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3120 @node Sorting Groups
3121 @section Sorting Groups
3122 @cindex sorting groups
3124 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3125 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3126 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3127 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3128 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3129 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3134 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3135 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3136 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3138 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3139 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3140 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3142 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3143 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3144 Sort by group level.
3146 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3147 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3148 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3150 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3151 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3152 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3153 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3155 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3156 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3157 Sort by number of unread articles.
3159 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3160 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3161 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3163 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3164 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3165 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3170 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3171 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3175 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3176 some sorting criteria:
3180 @kindex G S a (Group)
3181 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3182 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3183 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3186 @kindex G S u (Group)
3187 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3188 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3189 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3192 @kindex G S l (Group)
3193 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3194 Sort the group buffer by group level
3195 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3198 @kindex G S v (Group)
3199 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3200 Sort the group buffer by group score
3201 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3204 @kindex G S r (Group)
3205 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3206 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3207 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3210 @kindex G S m (Group)
3211 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3212 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3213 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3216 @kindex G S n (Group)
3217 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3218 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3219 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3223 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3224 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3226 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3227 commands will sort in reverse order.
3229 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3233 @kindex G P a (Group)
3234 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3235 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3236 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3239 @kindex G P u (Group)
3240 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3241 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3242 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3245 @kindex G P l (Group)
3246 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3247 Sort the groups by group level
3248 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3251 @kindex G P v (Group)
3252 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3253 Sort the groups by group score
3254 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3257 @kindex G P r (Group)
3258 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3259 Sort the groups by group rank
3260 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3263 @kindex G P m (Group)
3264 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3265 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3266 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3269 @kindex G P n (Group)
3270 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3271 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3272 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3275 @kindex G P s (Group)
3276 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3277 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3281 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3285 @node Group Maintenance
3286 @section Group Maintenance
3287 @cindex bogus groups
3292 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3293 Find bogus groups and delete them
3294 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3298 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3299 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3300 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3301 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3302 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3306 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3307 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3308 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3309 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3310 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3311 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3314 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3315 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3316 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3317 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3322 @node Browse Foreign Server
3323 @section Browse Foreign Server
3324 @cindex foreign servers
3325 @cindex browsing servers
3330 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3331 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3332 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3333 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3336 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3337 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3338 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3339 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3341 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3346 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3347 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3351 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3352 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3355 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3356 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3357 Enter the current group and display the first article
3358 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3361 @kindex RET (Browse)
3362 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3363 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3367 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3368 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3369 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3375 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3376 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3380 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3381 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3385 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3386 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3387 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3392 @section Exiting Gnus
3393 @cindex exiting Gnus
3395 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3400 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3401 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3402 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3403 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3407 @findex gnus-group-exit
3408 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3409 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3413 @findex gnus-group-quit
3414 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3415 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3418 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3419 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3420 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3421 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3422 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3427 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3428 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3429 trying to customize meta-variables.
3434 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3435 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3436 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3442 @section Group Topics
3445 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3446 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3447 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3448 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3449 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3450 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3454 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3455 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3466 2: alt.religion.emacs
3469 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3471 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3472 13: comp.sources.unix
3475 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3477 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3478 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3479 is a toggling command.)
3481 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3482 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and
3483 now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3484 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3487 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3488 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3489 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3492 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3496 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3497 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3498 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3499 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3500 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3504 @node Topic Commands
3505 @subsection Topic Commands
3506 @cindex topic commands
3508 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3509 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3510 definitions slightly.
3512 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3513 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3514 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3515 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3516 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3517 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3519 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3526 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3527 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3528 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3532 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3534 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3535 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3536 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3537 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3540 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3541 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3542 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3543 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3547 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3548 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3549 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3550 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3556 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3557 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3558 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3562 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3563 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3564 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3567 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3568 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3569 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3570 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3571 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3573 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3574 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3578 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3579 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3586 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3588 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3589 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3590 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3591 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3592 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3593 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3597 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3603 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3604 Move the current group to some other topic
3605 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3606 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3610 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3611 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3615 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3616 Copy the current group to some other topic
3617 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3618 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3622 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3623 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3624 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3628 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3629 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3630 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3634 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3635 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3636 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3637 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3638 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3639 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3640 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3643 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3644 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3648 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3649 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3650 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3654 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3655 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3656 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3660 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3661 Toggle hiding empty topics
3662 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3666 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3667 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3668 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3671 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3672 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3673 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3674 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3677 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3678 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3679 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3680 expiry process (if any)
3681 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3685 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3686 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3689 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3690 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3691 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3695 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3696 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3697 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3700 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3701 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3702 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3705 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3706 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3707 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3711 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3712 @cindex group parameters
3713 @cindex topic parameters
3715 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3716 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3721 @node Topic Variables
3722 @subsection Topic Variables
3723 @cindex topic variables
3725 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3726 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3728 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3729 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3730 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3743 Number of groups in the topic.
3745 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3747 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3750 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3751 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3752 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3755 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3756 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3758 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3759 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3760 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3764 @subsection Topic Sorting
3765 @cindex topic sorting
3767 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3773 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3774 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3775 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3776 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3779 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3780 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3781 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3782 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3785 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3786 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3787 Sort the current topic by group level
3788 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3791 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3792 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3793 Sort the current topic by group score
3794 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3797 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3798 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3799 Sort the current topic by group rank
3800 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3803 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3804 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3805 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3806 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3809 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3810 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3811 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3812 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3816 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3817 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3818 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3819 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3823 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3824 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3828 @node Topic Topology
3829 @subsection Topic Topology
3830 @cindex topic topology
3833 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3839 2: alt.religion.emacs
3842 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3844 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3845 13: comp.sources.unix
3848 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3849 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3850 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3855 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3856 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3860 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3861 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3862 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3863 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3864 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3865 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3867 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3868 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3869 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3872 @node Topic Parameters
3873 @subsection Topic Parameters
3874 @cindex topic parameters
3876 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3877 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3878 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3880 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3885 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3886 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3887 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3890 @item subscribe-level
3891 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3892 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
3893 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
3897 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3898 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3899 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3900 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3906 2: alt.religion.emacs
3910 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3912 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3913 13: comp.sources.unix
3917 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3918 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3919 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3920 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3921 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3922 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3924 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3925 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3926 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3927 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3928 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3930 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3931 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3932 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3933 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3934 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3935 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3936 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3937 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3940 @node Misc Group Stuff
3941 @section Misc Group Stuff
3944 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3945 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3946 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3947 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3948 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
3955 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3956 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3957 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3961 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3962 Start composing a message (a news by default)
3963 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
3964 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
3965 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
3966 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
3967 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3971 @findex gnus-group-mail
3972 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
3973 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
3974 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
3975 @xref{Composing Messages}.
3979 @findex gnus-group-news
3980 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
3981 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
3982 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3984 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
3985 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
3986 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
3987 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
3988 for this to work though.
3992 Variables for the group buffer:
3996 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3997 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3998 is called after the group buffer has been
4001 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4002 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4003 is called after the group buffer is
4004 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4007 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4008 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4009 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4010 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4012 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4013 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4014 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4015 whether they are empty or not.
4017 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4018 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4019 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
4020 non-ASCII group names.
4024 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4025 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4028 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4029 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4030 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4031 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4032 is used to show non-ASCII group names. @code{((".*" utf-8))} is the
4033 default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the default is
4038 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4039 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4044 @node Scanning New Messages
4045 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4046 @cindex new messages
4047 @cindex scanning new news
4053 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4054 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4055 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4056 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4057 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4058 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4063 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4064 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4065 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4066 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4067 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4068 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4069 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4071 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4072 @cindex activating groups
4074 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4075 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4080 @findex gnus-group-restart
4081 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4082 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4083 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
4087 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4088 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4090 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4091 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4095 @node Group Information
4096 @subsection Group Information
4097 @cindex group information
4098 @cindex information on groups
4105 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4106 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4109 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
4110 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
4111 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
4112 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
4113 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4114 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
4115 for fetching the file.
4117 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
4118 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4122 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4123 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4125 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4126 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4129 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4130 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4131 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4135 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4136 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4137 @cindex control message
4138 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4139 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4140 group if given a prefix argument.
4142 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-@code{nil},
4143 Gnus will open the control messages in a browser using
4144 @code{browse-url}. Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp}
4145 and displayed in an ephemeral group.
4147 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4148 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode}
4149 (@pxref{(emacs)Compressed Files}).
4153 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4155 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4156 @cindex describing groups
4157 @cindex group description
4158 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4159 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4160 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4164 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4165 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4166 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4173 @findex gnus-version
4174 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4178 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4179 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4182 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4185 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4186 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4190 @node Group Timestamp
4191 @subsection Group Timestamp
4193 @cindex group timestamps
4195 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4196 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4197 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4200 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4203 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4205 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4206 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4209 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4210 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4213 This will result in lines looking like:
4216 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4217 0: custom 19961002T012713
4220 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4221 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4225 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4226 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4229 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4230 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4234 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4235 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4236 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4237 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4239 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4245 @subsection File Commands
4246 @cindex file commands
4252 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4253 @vindex gnus-init-file
4254 @cindex reading init file
4255 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4256 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4260 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4261 @cindex saving .newsrc
4262 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4263 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4264 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4267 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4268 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4269 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4274 @node Sieve Commands
4275 @subsection Sieve Commands
4276 @cindex group sieve commands
4278 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4279 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4280 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4281 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4282 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4284 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4285 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4286 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4287 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4288 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4289 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4290 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4291 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4292 regenerate the Sieve script.
4294 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4295 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4296 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
4297 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
4298 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
4299 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4300 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4301 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
4302 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
4303 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4306 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4307 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4312 @xref{Top, ,Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4318 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4319 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4320 @cindex generating sieve script
4321 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4322 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4326 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4327 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4328 @cindex updating sieve script
4329 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4330 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4331 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4336 @node Summary Buffer
4337 @chapter Summary Buffer
4338 @cindex summary buffer
4340 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4341 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4343 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4344 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4346 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4349 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4350 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4351 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4352 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4353 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4354 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4355 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4356 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4357 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4358 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4359 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4360 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4361 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4362 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4363 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4364 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4365 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4366 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4367 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4368 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4369 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4370 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4371 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4372 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4373 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4374 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4375 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4376 or reselecting the current group.
4377 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4378 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4379 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4380 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4384 @node Summary Buffer Format
4385 @section Summary Buffer Format
4386 @cindex summary buffer format
4390 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4391 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4392 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4398 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4399 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4400 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4401 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4404 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4405 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4406 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4407 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4408 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4409 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4410 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4411 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4412 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4413 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4414 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4417 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4418 'mail-extract-address-components)
4421 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4422 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4423 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4424 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4427 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4428 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4430 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4431 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4432 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4433 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4434 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4436 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4437 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4438 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4439 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4440 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4441 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4443 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4445 The following format specification characters and extended format
4446 specification(s) are understood:
4452 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4453 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4455 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4456 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4457 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4459 Full @code{From} header.
4461 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4463 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4466 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4467 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4468 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4469 may be more thorough.
4471 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4474 Number of lines in the article.
4476 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4477 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4479 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4480 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4482 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4484 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4485 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
4498 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
4499 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
4500 replacing the default ASCII characters with graphic line-drawing
4503 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4504 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4505 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
4506 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4508 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4509 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4510 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
4511 instead. The default is @samp{}.
4513 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4514 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4515 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
4517 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4518 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4519 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
4521 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4522 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4523 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
4525 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4526 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4527 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
4532 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4533 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4535 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4536 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4538 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4539 for adopted articles.
4541 One space for each thread level.
4543 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4545 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4548 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4549 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4550 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4553 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4555 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4556 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4557 default level. If the difference between
4558 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4559 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4567 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4569 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4575 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4576 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4578 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4579 article has any children.
4585 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4586 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4588 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4589 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4590 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4591 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4592 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4593 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4596 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4597 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4598 There can only be one such area.
4600 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4601 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4602 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4603 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4604 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4605 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4607 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4608 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4610 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4613 @node To From Newsgroups
4614 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4618 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4619 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4620 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4621 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4622 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4626 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4627 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4628 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4632 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4633 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4636 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4637 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4640 @findex gnus-extra-header
4641 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4642 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4643 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4646 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4650 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4651 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4652 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4653 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4654 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4655 headers are used instead.
4659 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4660 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4661 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4662 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4663 this variable, by entering the server buffer using `^', and then `g' on
4664 the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause regeneration.
4666 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4667 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4668 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4669 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4671 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4675 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4677 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4678 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4679 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4680 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4684 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4687 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4688 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4691 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4692 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4693 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4699 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4700 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4703 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4704 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4706 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4707 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4708 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4709 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4711 Here are the elements you can play with:
4717 Unprefixed group name.
4719 Current article number.
4721 Current article score.
4725 Number of unread articles in this group.
4727 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4730 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4731 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4732 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4733 and no unselected ones.
4735 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4736 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4738 Subject of the current article.
4740 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4742 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4744 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4746 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4748 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4750 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4754 @node Summary Highlighting
4755 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4759 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4760 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4761 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4762 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4763 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4765 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4766 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4767 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4768 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4770 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4771 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4772 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4773 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4775 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4776 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4777 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4778 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4779 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4780 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4783 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4784 ((> score default) . bold))
4786 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4787 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4791 @node Summary Maneuvering
4792 @section Summary Maneuvering
4793 @cindex summary movement
4795 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4796 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4798 None of these commands select articles.
4803 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4804 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4805 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4806 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4807 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4811 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4812 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4813 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4814 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4815 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4818 @kindex G g (Summary)
4819 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4820 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4821 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4824 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4825 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4826 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4827 to the group buffer.
4829 Variables related to summary movement:
4833 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4834 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4835 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4836 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4837 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4838 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4839 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4840 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
4841 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
4842 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
4843 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
4844 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
4845 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
4846 @pxref{Group Levels}.
4848 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4849 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4850 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4851 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4852 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4853 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4854 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4856 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4858 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4859 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4860 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4861 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4862 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4864 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4865 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4866 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4867 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4868 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4869 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4870 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4871 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4874 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4875 the given number of lines from the top.
4880 @node Choosing Articles
4881 @section Choosing Articles
4882 @cindex selecting articles
4885 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4886 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4890 @node Choosing Commands
4891 @subsection Choosing Commands
4893 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4894 and they all select and display an article.
4896 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4897 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4901 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4902 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4903 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4904 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4909 @kindex G n (Summary)
4910 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4911 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4912 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4917 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4918 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4919 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4924 @kindex G N (Summary)
4925 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4926 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4931 @kindex G P (Summary)
4932 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4933 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4936 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4937 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4938 Go to the next article with the same subject
4939 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4942 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4943 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4944 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4945 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4949 @kindex G f (Summary)
4951 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4952 Go to the first unread article
4953 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4957 @kindex G b (Summary)
4959 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4960 Go to the unread article with the highest score
4961 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
4962 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
4967 @kindex G l (Summary)
4968 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4969 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4972 @kindex G o (Summary)
4973 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4975 @cindex article history
4976 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4977 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4978 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4979 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4980 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4981 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4986 @kindex G j (Summary)
4987 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4988 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4989 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4994 @node Choosing Variables
4995 @subsection Choosing Variables
4997 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
5000 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5001 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5002 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
5003 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
5004 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
5005 the server and display it in the article buffer.
5007 @item gnus-select-article-hook
5008 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
5009 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
5010 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article. If you would
5011 like each article to be saved in the Agent as you read it, putting
5012 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this hook will do so.
5014 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
5015 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
5016 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
5017 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
5018 @findex gnus-unread-mark
5019 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
5020 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
5021 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
5022 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
5023 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
5024 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
5025 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
5026 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
5027 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
5032 @node Paging the Article
5033 @section Scrolling the Article
5034 @cindex article scrolling
5039 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5040 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5041 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5042 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5043 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5046 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5047 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5048 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5051 @kindex RET (Summary)
5052 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5053 Scroll the current article one line forward
5054 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5057 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5058 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5059 Scroll the current article one line backward
5060 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5064 @kindex A g (Summary)
5066 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5067 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5068 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5069 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
5070 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5071 the way it came from the server.
5073 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5074 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5075 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5078 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5083 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5088 @kindex A < (Summary)
5089 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5090 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5091 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5096 @kindex A > (Summary)
5097 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5098 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5102 @kindex A s (Summary)
5104 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5105 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5106 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5110 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5111 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5116 @node Reply Followup and Post
5117 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5120 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5121 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5122 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5123 * Canceling and Superseding::
5127 @node Summary Mail Commands
5128 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5130 @cindex composing mail
5132 Commands for composing a mail message:
5138 @kindex S r (Summary)
5140 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5141 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5142 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5143 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5144 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5149 @kindex S R (Summary)
5150 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5151 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5152 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5153 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5154 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5157 @kindex S w (Summary)
5158 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5159 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5160 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5161 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5162 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
5165 @kindex S W (Summary)
5166 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5167 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5168 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5169 the process/prefix convention.
5172 @kindex S v (Summary)
5173 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5174 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5175 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5176 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5177 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5178 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5181 @kindex S V (Summary)
5182 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5183 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5184 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5185 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5188 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5189 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5190 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5191 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5194 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5195 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5196 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5197 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5198 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5202 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5203 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5204 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5205 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5206 Forward the current article to some other person
5207 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
5208 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
5209 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5210 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5211 as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5212 forward as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5213 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5214 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5215 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @sc{mime}
5221 @kindex S m (Summary)
5222 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5223 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5224 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5225 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5226 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5231 @kindex S i (Summary)
5232 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5233 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5234 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5235 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5237 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5238 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
5239 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5240 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5241 for this to work though.
5244 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5245 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5246 @cindex bouncing mail
5247 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5248 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5249 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5250 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5251 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5252 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5253 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5254 very well fail, though.
5257 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5258 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5259 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5260 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5261 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5262 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5263 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5264 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5265 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5266 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5268 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5269 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5270 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5271 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5272 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5274 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5275 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5278 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5279 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5280 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5281 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5282 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5285 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5286 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5287 @cindex crossposting
5288 @cindex excessive crossposting
5289 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5290 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5292 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5293 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5294 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5295 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5296 command understands the process/prefix convention
5297 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5301 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5302 Manual}, for more information.
5305 @node Summary Post Commands
5306 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5308 @cindex composing news
5310 Commands for posting a news article:
5316 @kindex S p (Summary)
5317 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5318 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5319 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5320 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5321 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5326 @kindex S f (Summary)
5327 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5328 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5329 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5333 @kindex S F (Summary)
5335 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5336 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5337 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5338 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5339 process/prefix convention.
5342 @kindex S n (Summary)
5343 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5344 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5345 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5348 @kindex S N (Summary)
5349 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5350 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5351 message through mail and include the original message
5352 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5353 the process/prefix convention.
5356 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5357 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5358 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5359 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5360 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5361 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5362 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5363 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5364 as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5365 forward as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5366 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5367 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5368 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section.
5371 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5372 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5374 @cindex making digests
5375 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5376 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
5377 process/prefix convention.
5380 @kindex S u (Summary)
5381 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5382 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5383 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5384 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5387 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5388 Manual}, for more information.
5391 @node Summary Message Commands
5392 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5396 @kindex S y (Summary)
5397 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5398 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5399 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5400 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5401 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5406 @node Canceling and Superseding
5407 @subsection Canceling Articles
5408 @cindex canceling articles
5409 @cindex superseding articles
5411 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5412 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5414 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5416 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5418 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5419 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5420 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5421 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5422 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5423 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5425 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5426 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5429 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5430 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5431 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5433 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5434 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5435 your original article.
5437 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5439 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5440 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5441 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5444 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5445 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5446 have posted almost the same article twice.
5448 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5449 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5450 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5451 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5452 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5453 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5454 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5455 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5456 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5457 canceled/superseded.
5459 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5461 @node Delayed Articles
5462 @section Delayed Articles
5463 @cindex delayed sending
5464 @cindex send delayed
5466 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5467 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5468 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5469 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5472 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5475 @findex gnus-delay-article
5476 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5477 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5478 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5479 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5483 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5484 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5485 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5486 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5489 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5490 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5491 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5494 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5495 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5496 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5497 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5498 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5499 that means a time tomorrow.
5502 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5503 couple of variables:
5506 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5507 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5508 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5509 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5511 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5512 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5513 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5514 formats described above.
5516 @item gnus-delay-group
5517 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5518 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5519 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5520 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5522 @item gnus-delay-header
5523 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5524 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5525 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5526 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5529 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5530 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5531 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5532 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5533 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5535 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5536 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5537 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5538 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5539 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5540 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5543 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5544 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5545 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5546 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5547 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5548 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5549 argument is ignored.
5551 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5552 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5553 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5557 @node Marking Articles
5558 @section Marking Articles
5559 @cindex article marking
5560 @cindex article ticking
5563 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5565 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5566 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5567 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5569 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5572 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5573 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5574 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5578 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5582 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5583 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5584 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5588 @node Unread Articles
5589 @subsection Unread Articles
5591 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5596 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5597 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5599 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5600 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5601 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5602 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5603 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5604 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5605 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5608 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5609 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5611 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5612 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5613 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5614 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5618 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5619 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5621 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5626 @subsection Read Articles
5627 @cindex expirable mark
5629 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5634 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5635 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5636 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5639 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5640 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5643 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5644 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5645 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5648 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5649 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5652 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5653 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5656 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5657 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5660 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5661 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5664 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5665 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5668 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5669 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5672 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5673 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5677 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5678 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5679 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5683 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5684 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5686 One more special mark, though:
5690 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5691 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5693 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5694 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5695 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5696 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5702 @subsection Other Marks
5703 @cindex process mark
5706 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5712 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5713 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5714 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5715 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5716 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5719 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5720 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5721 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5722 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5725 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5726 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5727 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5730 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5731 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5732 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5735 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5736 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5737 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5738 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5741 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5742 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5743 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5744 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5745 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5746 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5749 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5750 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5751 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5752 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5755 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
5756 When using the Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics}, articles may be
5757 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
5758 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
5759 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
5763 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
5764 When using the Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics}, some articles might
5765 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
5766 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
5767 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
5768 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
5771 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
5772 The Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics} downloads some articles
5773 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
5774 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
5775 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
5776 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
5780 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5781 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5782 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5783 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5784 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5787 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5788 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5789 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5790 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5791 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5792 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5796 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5797 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5798 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5800 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5801 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5802 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5806 @subsection Setting Marks
5807 @cindex setting marks
5809 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5814 @kindex M c (Summary)
5815 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5816 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5817 @cindex mark as unread
5818 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5819 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5825 @kindex M t (Summary)
5826 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5827 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5828 @xref{Article Caching}.
5833 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5834 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5835 Mark the current article as dormant
5836 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5840 @kindex M d (Summary)
5842 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5843 Mark the current article as read
5844 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5848 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5849 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5850 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5855 @kindex M k (Summary)
5856 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5857 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5858 and then select the next unread article
5859 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5863 @kindex M K (Summary)
5864 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5865 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5866 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5867 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5870 @kindex M C (Summary)
5871 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5872 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5873 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5876 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5877 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5878 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5879 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5882 @kindex M H (Summary)
5883 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5884 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5885 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5888 @kindex M h (Summary)
5889 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5890 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5891 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5894 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5895 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5896 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5897 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5900 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5901 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5902 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5903 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5907 @kindex M e (Summary)
5909 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5910 Mark the current article as expirable
5911 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5914 @kindex M b (Summary)
5915 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5916 Set a bookmark in the current article
5917 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5920 @kindex M B (Summary)
5921 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5922 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5923 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5926 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5927 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5928 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5929 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5932 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5933 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5934 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5935 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5938 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5939 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5940 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5941 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5942 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5945 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5946 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5947 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5948 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5949 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5950 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5951 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5952 The default is @code{t}.
5955 @node Generic Marking Commands
5956 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5958 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5959 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5960 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5961 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5962 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5965 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5966 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5969 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5970 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5971 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5972 to list in this manual.
5974 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5975 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5976 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5977 article, you could say something like:
5980 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5981 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5982 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5988 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5989 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5993 @node Setting Process Marks
5994 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5995 @cindex setting process marks
5997 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
5998 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
5999 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
6000 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
6001 commands into the cache. For more information,
6002 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6009 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6010 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6011 Mark the current article with the process mark
6012 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6013 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6017 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6018 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6019 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6020 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6023 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6024 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6025 Remove the process mark from all articles
6026 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6029 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6030 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6031 Invert the list of process marked articles
6032 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6035 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6036 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6037 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6038 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6041 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6042 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6043 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6044 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6047 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6048 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6049 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6053 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6054 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6057 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6058 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6059 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6060 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6063 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6064 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6065 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6066 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6069 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6070 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6071 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6072 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6075 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6076 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6077 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6080 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6081 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6082 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6083 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6086 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6087 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6088 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6091 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6092 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6093 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6094 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6097 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6098 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6099 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6100 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6103 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6104 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6105 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6106 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6109 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6110 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6111 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6112 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6116 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
6117 set process marks based on article body contents.
6124 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6125 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6126 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6129 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6130 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6131 additional articles.
6137 @kindex / / (Summary)
6138 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6139 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6140 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6144 @kindex / a (Summary)
6145 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6146 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6147 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6151 @kindex / x (Summary)
6152 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6153 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6154 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6155 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6160 @kindex / u (Summary)
6162 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6163 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6164 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6165 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6166 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6169 @kindex / m (Summary)
6170 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6171 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6172 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6175 @kindex / t (Summary)
6176 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6177 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6178 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6179 articles younger than that number of days.
6182 @kindex / n (Summary)
6183 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6184 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6185 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6186 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6189 @kindex / w (Summary)
6190 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6191 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6192 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6196 @kindex / . (Summary)
6197 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6198 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6199 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6202 @kindex / v (Summary)
6203 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6204 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6205 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6208 @kindex / p (Summary)
6209 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6210 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6211 group parameter predicate
6212 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). See @pxref{Group
6213 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
6217 @kindex M S (Summary)
6218 @kindex / E (Summary)
6219 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6220 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6221 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6224 @kindex / D (Summary)
6225 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6226 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6227 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6230 @kindex / * (Summary)
6231 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6232 Include all cached articles in the limit
6233 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6236 @kindex / d (Summary)
6237 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6238 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6239 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6242 @kindex / M (Summary)
6243 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6244 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6247 @kindex / T (Summary)
6248 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6249 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6252 @kindex / c (Summary)
6253 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6254 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
6255 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6258 @kindex / C (Summary)
6259 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6260 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6261 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6262 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6265 @kindex / N (Summary)
6266 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6267 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6268 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6271 @kindex / o (Summary)
6272 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6273 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6274 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6282 @cindex article threading
6284 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6285 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6286 hierarchical fashion.
6288 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6289 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6290 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6291 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6292 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6293 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6294 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
6296 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6300 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6303 A tree-like article structure.
6306 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6309 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6310 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6311 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6312 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6313 called loose threads.
6315 @item thread gathering
6316 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6318 @item sparse threads
6319 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6320 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6326 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6327 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6331 @node Customizing Threading
6332 @subsection Customizing Threading
6333 @cindex customizing threading
6336 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6337 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6338 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6339 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
6344 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6347 @cindex loose threads
6350 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6351 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6352 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6353 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6354 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6355 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6357 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6358 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6359 There are four possible values:
6363 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6364 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6365 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6366 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6367 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6372 @cindex adopting articles
6377 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6378 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6379 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6380 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6383 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6384 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6385 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6386 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6387 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6388 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6389 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6390 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6391 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6392 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6395 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6396 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6397 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6401 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6402 display them after one another.
6405 Don't gather loose threads.
6408 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6409 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6410 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6411 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6412 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6413 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6414 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6415 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6416 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6417 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6418 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6420 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6421 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6422 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6425 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6426 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6427 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6428 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6429 simplification is used.
6431 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6432 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6433 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6434 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6436 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6438 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6444 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6445 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6446 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6447 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6452 (mapconcat 'identity
6453 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6455 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6458 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6461 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6462 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6463 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6464 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6465 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6466 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6468 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6471 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6472 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6473 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6475 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6476 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6479 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6480 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6481 Remove excessive whitespace.
6483 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6484 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6485 Remove all whitespace.
6488 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6491 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6492 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6493 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6494 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6495 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6496 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6497 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6498 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6500 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6501 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6502 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6503 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6504 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6505 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6506 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6507 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6508 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6512 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6513 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6514 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6515 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6517 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6518 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6519 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6522 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6526 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6527 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6533 @node Filling In Threads
6534 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6537 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6538 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6539 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6540 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6541 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6542 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6543 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6544 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6545 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6546 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6547 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6548 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do
6551 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6552 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6553 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6555 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6556 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6557 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6558 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6559 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6560 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6561 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6562 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6563 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6564 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6565 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6566 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6567 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6568 @code{nil} by default.
6570 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6571 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6572 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6573 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6574 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6575 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6576 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6578 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6579 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6580 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6585 @node More Threading
6586 @subsubsection More Threading
6589 @item gnus-show-threads
6590 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6591 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6592 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6593 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6594 slower and more awkward.
6596 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6597 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6598 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6601 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6602 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6603 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}).
6608 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6609 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6610 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6613 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6614 unread, but you get my drift.)
6617 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6618 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6619 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6620 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6621 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6622 threads are expunged.
6624 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6625 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6626 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6629 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6630 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6631 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6632 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6633 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6634 result in a new thread.
6636 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6637 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6638 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6641 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6642 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6643 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6644 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6645 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6646 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6647 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6648 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6649 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6650 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6651 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6656 @node Low-Level Threading
6657 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6661 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6662 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6663 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6665 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6666 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6667 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6668 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6669 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6670 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6671 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6672 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6673 meaningful. Here's one example:
6676 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6678 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6679 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6681 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6683 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6690 @node Thread Commands
6691 @subsection Thread Commands
6692 @cindex thread commands
6698 @kindex T k (Summary)
6699 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6700 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6701 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6702 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6703 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6708 @kindex T l (Summary)
6709 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6710 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6711 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6712 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6715 @kindex T i (Summary)
6716 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6717 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6718 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6721 @kindex T # (Summary)
6722 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6723 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6724 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6727 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6728 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6729 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6730 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6733 @kindex T T (Summary)
6734 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6735 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6738 @kindex T s (Summary)
6739 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6740 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6741 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6744 @kindex T h (Summary)
6745 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6746 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6749 @kindex T S (Summary)
6750 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6751 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6754 @kindex T H (Summary)
6755 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6756 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6759 @kindex T t (Summary)
6760 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6761 Re-thread the current article's thread
6762 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6763 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6766 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6767 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6768 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6769 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6773 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6774 understand the numeric prefix.
6779 @kindex T n (Summary)
6781 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6783 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6784 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6785 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6788 @kindex T p (Summary)
6790 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6792 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6793 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6794 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6797 @kindex T d (Summary)
6798 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6799 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6802 @kindex T u (Summary)
6803 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6804 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6807 @kindex T o (Summary)
6808 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6809 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6812 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6813 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6814 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6815 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6816 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6817 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6818 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6819 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6820 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6821 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6822 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6823 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6827 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6828 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6830 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6831 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6832 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6833 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6834 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6835 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6836 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
6837 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6838 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-thread
6839 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6840 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6841 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6842 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6844 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6845 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6846 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6847 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6848 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
6849 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
6850 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
6851 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6853 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6854 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6855 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6857 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6858 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6859 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6860 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6861 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6862 ascending article order.
6864 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6865 by number, you could do something like:
6868 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6869 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6870 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6871 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6874 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6875 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6876 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6877 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6878 which the articles arrived.
6880 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6884 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6886 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6887 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6890 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6891 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6892 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6893 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6896 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6897 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6898 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6899 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6900 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6901 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
6902 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6903 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
6904 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
6905 variable. It is very similar to the
6906 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
6907 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
6908 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6909 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
6910 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
6911 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
6912 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6914 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6918 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6919 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6920 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6925 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6926 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6927 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6928 @cindex article pre-fetch
6931 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6932 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6933 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6934 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6935 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6937 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6938 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
6940 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6941 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6942 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6943 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6944 connection is blocked.
6946 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6947 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6948 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6949 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
6951 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6952 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6953 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6954 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6957 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6960 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6961 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6962 happen automatically.
6964 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6965 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6966 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6967 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6968 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6969 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6970 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6972 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6973 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6974 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6975 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6976 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6977 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6978 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6979 data structure as the only parameter.
6981 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6984 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6985 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6986 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6987 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6990 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6993 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6994 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
6995 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6997 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6998 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6999 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
7000 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7004 Remove articles when they are read.
7007 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7010 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7012 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7013 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7014 @c from the next group.
7017 @node Article Caching
7018 @section Article Caching
7019 @cindex article caching
7022 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
7023 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7024 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7025 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7026 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7028 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7030 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7031 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7032 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7033 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7034 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7035 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7036 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7037 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7039 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7040 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7041 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7042 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7043 as dormant, and don't worry.
7045 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7047 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7048 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7049 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7050 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7051 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7052 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7053 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7054 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7055 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7056 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7058 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7059 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7060 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7061 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7062 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7063 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
7064 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7065 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7066 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7067 not then be downloaded by this command.
7069 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7070 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7071 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7072 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7073 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7074 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7076 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7077 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7078 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7079 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7080 variables, the group is not cached.
7082 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7083 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7084 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7085 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7086 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7087 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
7088 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7089 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
7090 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7093 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7094 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7095 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7096 where, isn't that cool?
7098 @node Persistent Articles
7099 @section Persistent Articles
7100 @cindex persistent articles
7102 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7103 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7104 useful in my opinion.
7106 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7107 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7108 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7109 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7110 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7111 the expiry going on at the news server.
7113 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7114 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7115 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7121 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7122 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7125 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7126 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7127 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7128 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7132 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7134 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7135 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7136 interested in persistent articles:
7139 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7143 @node Article Backlog
7144 @section Article Backlog
7146 @cindex article backlog
7148 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7149 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7150 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
7151 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7152 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7153 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7154 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
7155 increase memory usage some.
7157 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7158 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
7159 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7160 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
7161 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7162 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7163 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7165 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
7168 @node Saving Articles
7169 @section Saving Articles
7170 @cindex saving articles
7172 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7173 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7174 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7175 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7176 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7178 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7179 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7180 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7182 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7183 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
7184 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7186 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7187 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7188 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7189 deleted before saving.
7195 @kindex O o (Summary)
7197 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7198 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7199 Save the current article using the default article saver
7200 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7203 @kindex O m (Summary)
7204 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7205 Save the current article in mail format
7206 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7209 @kindex O r (Summary)
7210 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7211 Save the current article in rmail format
7212 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7215 @kindex O f (Summary)
7216 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7217 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7218 Save the current article in plain file format
7219 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7222 @kindex O F (Summary)
7223 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7224 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7225 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7228 @kindex O b (Summary)
7229 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7230 Save the current article body in plain file format
7231 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7234 @kindex O h (Summary)
7235 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7236 Save the current article in mh folder format
7237 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7240 @kindex O v (Summary)
7241 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7242 Save the current article in a VM folder
7243 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7247 @kindex O p (Summary)
7249 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7250 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7251 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7252 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7253 complete headers in the piped output.
7256 @kindex O P (Summary)
7257 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7258 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7259 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7260 external program Muttprint (see
7261 @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/}). The program name and
7262 options to use is controlled by the variable
7263 @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}. (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7267 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7268 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7269 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7270 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7271 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7272 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7273 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7274 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7275 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7276 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7277 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7278 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7282 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7283 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7284 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7285 functions below, or you can create your own.
7289 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7290 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7291 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7292 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7293 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
7294 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7295 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7297 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7298 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7299 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7300 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7301 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7302 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7304 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7305 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7306 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7307 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7308 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7309 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7310 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7312 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7313 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7314 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7315 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7316 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7317 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7319 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7320 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7321 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7322 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7323 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7325 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7326 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7327 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7328 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7329 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7332 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7333 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7334 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7335 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7336 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7338 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7339 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7340 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7341 reader to use this setting.
7344 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7345 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7346 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7347 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7350 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7351 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7352 available functions that generate names:
7356 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7357 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7358 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7360 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7361 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7362 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7364 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7365 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7366 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7368 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7369 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7370 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7372 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7373 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7374 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7377 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7378 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7379 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7380 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7381 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7385 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7386 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7387 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7388 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7391 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7392 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7393 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7394 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7395 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7396 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7397 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7398 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7399 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7401 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7402 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7403 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7404 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7406 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7407 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7408 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7411 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7412 lots of mail groups called things like
7413 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7414 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7415 following will do just that:
7418 (defun my-save-name (group)
7419 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7420 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7422 (setq gnus-split-methods
7423 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7428 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7429 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7430 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7431 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7432 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7433 all the files in the top level directory
7434 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7435 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7436 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7437 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7439 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7440 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7441 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7442 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7443 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7446 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7450 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
7451 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7452 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
7455 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7456 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7457 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7458 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7461 @node Decoding Articles
7462 @section Decoding Articles
7463 @cindex decoding articles
7465 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7466 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7469 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7470 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7471 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7472 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7473 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7474 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7478 @cindex article series
7479 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7480 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7481 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7482 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7483 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7485 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7486 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7487 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7489 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
7490 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7491 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7493 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7494 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7495 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7498 @node Uuencoded Articles
7499 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7501 @cindex uuencoded articles
7506 @kindex X u (Summary)
7507 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7508 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7509 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7512 @kindex X U (Summary)
7513 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7514 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7515 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7518 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7519 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7520 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7523 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7524 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7525 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7526 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7530 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7531 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7532 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7533 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7534 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7536 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7537 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7538 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7539 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7542 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7543 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7544 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7545 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7546 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7547 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7551 @node Shell Archives
7552 @subsection Shell Archives
7554 @cindex shell archives
7555 @cindex shared articles
7557 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7558 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7559 some commands to deal with these:
7564 @kindex X s (Summary)
7565 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7566 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7569 @kindex X S (Summary)
7570 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7571 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7574 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7575 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7576 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7579 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7580 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7581 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7582 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7586 @node PostScript Files
7587 @subsection PostScript Files
7593 @kindex X p (Summary)
7594 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7595 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7598 @kindex X P (Summary)
7599 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7600 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7601 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7604 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7605 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7606 View the current PostScript series
7607 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7610 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7611 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7612 View and save the current PostScript series
7613 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7618 @subsection Other Files
7622 @kindex X o (Summary)
7623 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7624 Save the current series
7625 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7628 @kindex X b (Summary)
7629 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7630 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7631 doesn't really work yet.
7635 @node Decoding Variables
7636 @subsection Decoding Variables
7638 Adjective, not verb.
7641 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7642 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7643 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7647 @node Rule Variables
7648 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7649 @cindex rule variables
7651 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7652 variables are of the form
7655 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7662 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7663 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7665 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7666 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
7669 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7670 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7673 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7674 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7675 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7676 user and default view rules.
7678 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7679 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7680 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7685 @node Other Decode Variables
7686 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7689 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7691 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7692 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7693 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7694 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7695 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7699 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7700 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7703 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7704 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7705 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7708 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7709 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7710 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7711 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7712 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7715 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7716 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7717 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7719 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7720 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7721 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7722 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7723 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7726 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7727 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7728 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7730 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7731 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7732 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7733 looking for files to display.
7735 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7736 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7737 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7740 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7741 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7742 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7745 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7746 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7747 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7750 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7751 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7752 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7755 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7756 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7757 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7758 decoded articles as unread.
7760 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7761 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7762 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7763 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7765 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7766 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7767 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7769 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7770 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7772 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7773 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7774 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7775 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7777 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7778 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7779 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7780 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7781 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7782 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7783 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7784 simply dropped them.
7789 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7790 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7794 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7795 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7796 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7797 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7798 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7799 for you when you post the article.
7801 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7802 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7803 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7804 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7806 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7807 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7808 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7809 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7810 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7811 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7812 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
7814 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7815 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7816 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7817 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7818 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7819 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7820 Default is @code{t}.
7826 @subsection Viewing Files
7827 @cindex viewing files
7828 @cindex pseudo-articles
7830 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
7831 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7832 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7833 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
7834 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7835 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7836 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7838 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7839 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7840 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7841 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7843 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7844 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7845 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7847 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7848 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7849 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7850 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7851 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7853 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7854 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7855 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7856 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7857 a list of parameters to that command.
7859 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7860 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7861 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7863 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7864 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7865 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7868 @node Article Treatment
7869 @section Article Treatment
7871 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7872 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7873 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7874 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7875 these articles easier.
7878 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7879 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7880 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7881 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7882 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
7883 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7884 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7885 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
7886 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7887 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7891 @node Article Highlighting
7892 @subsection Article Highlighting
7893 @cindex highlighting
7895 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7896 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7901 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7902 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7903 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7904 Do much highlighting of the current article
7905 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7906 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7909 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7910 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7911 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7912 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7913 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7914 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7915 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7916 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7917 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7918 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7919 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7920 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7923 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7924 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7925 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7927 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7930 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7932 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7933 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7934 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7936 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7937 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7938 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7940 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7941 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7942 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7943 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7944 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7945 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7947 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7948 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7949 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7951 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7952 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7953 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7955 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7956 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7957 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7958 that it's a citation.
7960 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7961 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7962 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7964 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7965 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7966 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7968 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7969 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7970 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7971 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7977 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7978 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7979 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7980 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7981 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7982 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7983 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7984 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7989 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7992 @node Article Fontisizing
7993 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7995 @cindex article emphasis
7997 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7998 @kindex W e (Summary)
7999 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
8000 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
8001 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
8002 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
8004 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
8005 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
8006 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
8007 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
8008 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
8009 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
8010 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
8011 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
8015 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
8016 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
8017 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
8026 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
8027 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
8028 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
8029 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
8030 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
8031 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
8032 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
8033 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
8034 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
8035 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
8036 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
8037 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
8038 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
8040 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
8041 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
8042 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
8046 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
8049 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
8051 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
8052 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8053 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8054 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8056 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8059 @node Article Hiding
8060 @subsection Article Hiding
8061 @cindex article hiding
8063 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8064 too much cruft in most articles.
8069 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8070 @findex gnus-article-hide
8071 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8072 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8073 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
8076 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8077 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8078 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8082 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8083 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8084 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8085 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8088 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8089 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8090 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8094 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8095 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8096 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8097 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8098 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8099 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8100 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8101 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8105 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8106 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8107 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8108 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8113 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8114 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8115 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8116 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8119 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8120 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8121 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8122 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8125 @cindex stripping advertisements
8126 @cindex advertisements
8127 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8128 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8129 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8130 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8131 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8132 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8133 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8134 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8135 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8136 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8139 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8140 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8141 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8145 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8146 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8147 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8148 @code{(ADDRESS . BANNER)}, where ADDRESS is a regexp matching a mail
8149 address in the From header, BANNER is one of a symbol @code{signature},
8150 an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}, a regexp and @code{nil}.
8151 If ADDRESS matches author's mail address, it will remove things like
8152 advertisements. For example, if a sender has the mail address
8153 @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a banner something like
8154 @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he sends, you can use the
8155 following element to remove them:
8158 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" . "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8164 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8165 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8166 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8167 customizing the hiding:
8171 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8172 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8173 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8174 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8175 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8176 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8177 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8182 Starting point of the hidden text.
8184 Ending point of the hidden text.
8186 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8188 Number of lines of hidden text.
8191 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8192 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8193 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8194 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8195 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8200 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8201 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8203 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8204 following two variables:
8207 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8208 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8209 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8210 50), hide the cited text.
8212 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8213 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8214 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8219 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8220 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8221 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8222 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8223 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8224 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8228 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8229 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8230 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8232 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8233 citation customization.
8235 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8239 @node Article Washing
8240 @subsection Article Washing
8242 @cindex article washing
8244 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8245 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8247 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8248 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8251 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8252 articles by default.
8257 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8258 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8262 @kindex W l (Summary)
8263 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8264 Remove page breaks from the current article
8265 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8269 @kindex W r (Summary)
8270 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8271 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8272 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8273 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8274 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8275 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8277 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8278 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8279 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8280 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8283 @kindex W m (Summary)
8284 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8285 @c @icon{gnus-summary-morse-message}
8286 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8290 @kindex W t (Summary)
8292 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8293 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8294 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8297 @kindex W v (Summary)
8298 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8299 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8300 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8303 @kindex W o (Summary)
8304 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8305 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8308 @kindex W d (Summary)
8309 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8310 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8312 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8314 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8315 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8316 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8317 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8320 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8321 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8322 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8323 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8326 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
8327 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8328 @cindex Outlook Express
8329 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
8330 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
8331 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8334 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
8335 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
8336 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
8337 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
8338 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
8339 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the miminum and
8340 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
8341 (@code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8344 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
8345 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
8346 Repair a broken attribution line.
8347 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
8350 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
8351 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
8352 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
8353 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
8356 @kindex W w (Summary)
8357 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8358 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8360 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8364 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8365 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8366 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8369 @kindex W C (Summary)
8370 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8371 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8372 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8375 @kindex W c (Summary)
8376 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8377 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8378 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8379 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8380 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8383 @kindex W q (Summary)
8384 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8385 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8386 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
8387 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
8388 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
8389 readable to me. Note that this is usually done automatically by
8390 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
8391 header that says that this encoding has been done.
8392 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8395 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8396 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8397 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
8398 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
8399 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is usually done
8400 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8401 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
8403 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8406 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8407 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8408 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8409 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8410 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8413 @kindex W u (Summary)
8414 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8415 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8416 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8417 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8418 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8421 @kindex W h (Summary)
8422 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8423 Treat @sc{html} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8424 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8425 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @sc{html}.
8427 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8429 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8430 The default is to use the function specified by
8431 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{(emacs-mime)Display
8432 Customization}) to convert the @sc{html}, but this is controlled by
8433 the @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions
8434 you can use include:
8441 Use emacs-w3m (see @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/} for more
8445 Use Links (see @uref{http://artax.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~mikulas/links/}).
8448 Use Lynx (see @uref{http://lynx.browser.org/}).
8451 Use html2text -- a simple @sc{html} converter included with Gnus.
8456 @kindex W b (Summary)
8457 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8458 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8459 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8462 @kindex W B (Summary)
8463 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8464 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8465 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8468 @kindex W p (Summary)
8469 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8470 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
8471 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
8472 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
8473 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8474 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
8475 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8478 @kindex W s (Summary)
8479 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8480 Verify a signed (PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}) message
8481 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8484 @kindex W a (Summary)
8485 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8486 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8487 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8490 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8491 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8492 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8493 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8496 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8497 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8498 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8499 lines with a single empty line.
8500 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8503 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8504 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8505 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8506 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8509 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8510 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8511 Do all the three commands above
8512 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8515 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8516 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8517 Remove all blank lines
8518 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8521 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8522 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8523 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8524 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8527 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8528 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8529 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8530 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8534 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8537 @node Article Header
8538 @subsection Article Header
8540 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8545 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8546 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8547 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8550 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8551 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8552 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8553 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8556 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8557 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8558 Fold all the message headers
8559 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8563 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8564 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8565 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8570 @node Article Buttons
8571 @subsection Article Buttons
8574 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8575 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8576 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8577 button on these references.
8579 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8580 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8581 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links and man pages.
8582 This is controlled by two variables, one that handles article bodies and
8583 one that handles article heads:
8587 @item gnus-button-alist
8588 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8589 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8592 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8598 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
8599 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
8600 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
8601 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
8602 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}.
8605 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8606 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8607 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8610 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8611 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8612 avoid false matches.
8615 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8618 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8619 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8623 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8626 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8629 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8630 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8631 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8632 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8633 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8636 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8639 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8641 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8642 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8643 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8644 default values of the variables above.
8646 @item gnus-article-button-face
8647 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8648 Face used on buttons.
8650 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8651 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8652 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8656 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8660 @subsection Article Date
8662 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8663 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8664 when the article was sent.
8669 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8670 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8671 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8672 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8675 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8676 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8678 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8679 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8682 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8683 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8684 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8687 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8688 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8689 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8690 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8693 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8694 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8695 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8696 @findex format-time-string
8697 Display the date using a user-defined format
8698 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8699 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8700 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8701 for a list of possible format specs.
8704 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8705 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8706 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8707 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8708 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8709 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8712 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8715 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8716 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8719 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8720 into wonderful absurdities.
8722 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8725 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8728 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8729 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8733 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8734 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8735 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8736 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8737 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8738 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8739 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8743 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8744 preferred format automatically.
8747 @node Article Display
8748 @subsection Article Display
8753 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
8754 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
8756 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
8757 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
8759 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
8760 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
8762 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
8763 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
8765 All these functions are toggles--if the elements already exist,
8770 @kindex W D x (Summary)
8771 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
8772 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
8773 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
8776 @kindex W D d (Summary)
8777 @findex gnus-article-display-face
8778 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
8779 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
8782 @kindex W D s (Summary)
8783 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
8784 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
8787 @kindex W D f (Summary)
8788 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
8789 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
8792 @kindex W D m (Summary)
8793 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
8794 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
8795 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
8798 @kindex W D n (Summary)
8799 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
8800 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
8801 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
8804 @kindex W D D (Summary)
8805 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
8806 Remove all images from the article buffer
8807 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
8813 @node Article Signature
8814 @subsection Article Signature
8816 @cindex article signature
8818 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8819 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8820 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8821 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8822 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8823 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8824 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8825 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8826 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8829 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8830 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8831 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8832 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8833 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8834 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8835 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8836 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8839 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8842 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8843 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8844 signature when displaying articles.
8848 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8851 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8854 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8855 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8857 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8858 in question is not a signature.
8861 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8862 listed above. Here's an example:
8865 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8866 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8869 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8870 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8871 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8872 signature after all.
8875 @node Article Miscellania
8876 @subsection Article Miscellania
8880 @kindex A t (Summary)
8881 @findex gnus-article-babel
8882 Translate the article from one language to another
8883 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8889 @section MIME Commands
8890 @cindex MIME decoding
8892 @cindex viewing attachments
8894 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8895 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8901 @kindex K v (Summary)
8902 View the @sc{mime} part.
8905 @kindex K o (Summary)
8906 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8909 @kindex K c (Summary)
8910 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8913 @kindex K e (Summary)
8914 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8917 @kindex K i (Summary)
8918 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8921 @kindex K | (Summary)
8922 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8925 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8930 @kindex K b (Summary)
8931 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8932 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8936 @kindex K m (Summary)
8937 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8938 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8939 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8940 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8941 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8944 @kindex X m (Summary)
8945 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8946 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8947 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8948 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8951 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8952 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
8953 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8954 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8957 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8958 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
8959 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8960 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8963 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8964 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
8965 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8966 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8968 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8969 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8970 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8971 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
8972 include @sc{mime} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
8973 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8976 @kindex W M v (Summary)
8977 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
8978 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
8979 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
8986 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
8987 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
8988 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8989 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
8992 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
8995 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
8999 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
9000 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
9001 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't required the @samp{MIME-Version} header
9002 before interpreting the message as a @sc{mime} message. This helps
9003 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
9004 default is @code{nil}.
9006 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
9007 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
9008 There are other, non-@sc{mime} encoding methods used. The most common
9009 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
9010 This variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
9011 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
9012 Gnus @sc{mime} machinery. The default is @code{t}.
9014 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9015 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9016 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
9017 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9018 displayed or this variable is overridden by
9019 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
9020 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
9021 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is nil.
9023 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9024 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9025 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
9026 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9027 displayed. This variable overrides
9028 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
9029 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
9032 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
9033 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
9034 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
9036 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9037 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9038 If this is non-nil, then all @sc{mime} parts get buttons. The default
9039 value is @code{nil}.
9041 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
9042 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
9043 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
9044 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
9045 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
9046 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
9047 save all jpegs into some directory).
9049 Here's an example function the does the latter:
9052 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
9053 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
9055 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
9056 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
9057 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
9058 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
9059 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
9062 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9063 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9064 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
9066 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9067 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9068 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
9069 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
9071 Ready-made functions include@*
9072 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
9073 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
9074 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
9075 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
9076 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
9077 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
9078 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
9079 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9080 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9081 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9082 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9083 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9085 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9086 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9088 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9089 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9090 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9093 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9094 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9095 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9096 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
9100 to your @file{.gnus.el} file.
9109 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
9110 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
9111 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
9112 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
9113 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
9114 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
9115 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
9117 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
9118 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
9119 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
9120 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
9122 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
9123 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
9124 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
9125 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
9126 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
9127 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
9128 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
9129 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
9131 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
9132 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9133 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
9134 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9135 quoted-printable header encoding.
9137 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9138 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9139 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9143 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9146 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9147 means encode all charsets),
9149 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9150 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9151 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9158 @cindex coding system aliases
9159 @cindex preferred charset
9161 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9163 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9164 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9167 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9168 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9171 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9172 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
9174 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9177 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9180 This will almost do the right thing.
9182 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9186 (codepage-setup 1251)
9187 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9191 @node Article Commands
9192 @section Article Commands
9199 @kindex A P (Summary)
9200 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9201 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9202 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9203 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9204 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9205 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9210 @node Summary Sorting
9211 @section Summary Sorting
9212 @cindex summary sorting
9214 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9215 can't really see why you'd want that.
9220 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9221 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9222 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9225 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9226 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9227 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9230 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9231 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9232 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9235 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9236 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9237 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9240 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9241 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9242 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9245 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9246 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9247 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9250 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9251 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9252 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9255 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9256 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9257 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9260 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9261 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9262 Sort using the default sorting method
9263 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9266 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9267 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9268 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9269 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9270 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9274 @node Finding the Parent
9275 @section Finding the Parent
9276 @cindex parent articles
9277 @cindex referring articles
9282 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9283 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9284 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9285 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
9286 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9287 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9288 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9289 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9290 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9292 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9293 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9294 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
9295 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9296 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9300 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9301 @kindex A R (Summary)
9302 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9303 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9306 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9307 @kindex A T (Summary)
9308 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9309 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9310 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9311 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9312 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9313 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9314 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9316 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9317 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9318 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9319 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9320 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9321 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9324 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9325 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9327 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9328 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
9329 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9330 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9331 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9332 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9333 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9336 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9337 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9338 by giving this command a prefix.
9340 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9341 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9342 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9343 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
9344 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
9345 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9348 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9349 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9350 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9353 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9354 then ask Google if that fails:
9357 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9359 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
9362 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9363 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9364 @code{nnbabyl}, and @code{nnmaildir} are able to locate articles from
9365 any groups, while @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9366 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current group.
9367 (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not
9368 support this at all.
9371 @node Alternative Approaches
9372 @section Alternative Approaches
9374 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9375 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9378 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9379 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9384 @subsection Pick and Read
9385 @cindex pick and read
9387 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9388 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9389 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9390 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9392 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9393 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9394 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9395 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9396 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9397 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9399 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9404 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9405 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9406 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9407 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9408 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9409 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9410 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9411 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9414 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9415 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9416 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9417 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9421 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9422 Unpick the thread or article
9423 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9424 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9425 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9426 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9427 the thread or article at that line.
9431 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9432 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9433 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9434 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9435 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9436 will still be visible when you are reading.
9440 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9441 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9442 which is mapped to the same function
9443 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9445 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9448 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9451 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9452 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9454 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9455 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9456 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9458 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9459 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9460 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9461 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9462 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9463 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9464 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9468 @subsection Binary Groups
9469 @cindex binary groups
9471 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9472 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9473 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9474 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9475 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9476 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9477 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9480 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9481 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9482 command, when you have turned on this mode
9483 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9485 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9486 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9490 @section Tree Display
9493 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9494 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
9495 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9496 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9499 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9502 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9503 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9504 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9506 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9507 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9508 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9509 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9510 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9512 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9513 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9514 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9515 default is @code{modeline}.
9517 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9518 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9519 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9520 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9521 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9522 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9523 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9529 The name of the poster.
9531 The @code{From} header.
9533 The number of the article.
9535 The opening bracket.
9537 The closing bracket.
9542 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9544 Variables related to the display are:
9547 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9548 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9549 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9550 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9551 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
9552 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9554 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9555 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9556 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9557 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9561 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9562 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9563 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
9564 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
9565 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9566 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9567 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9568 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9569 other windows displayed next to it.
9571 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9575 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9576 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9579 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9580 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9581 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9582 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9583 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9584 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9585 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9589 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9592 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9602 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9606 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9607 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9609 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9611 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9616 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9617 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9618 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
9621 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9622 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9623 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9624 (gnus-add-configuration
9628 (summary 0.75 point)
9633 @xref{Window Layout}.
9636 @node Mail Group Commands
9637 @section Mail Group Commands
9638 @cindex mail group commands
9640 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9641 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9643 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9644 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9649 @kindex B e (Summary)
9650 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9651 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9652 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9653 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9654 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9657 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9658 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9659 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9660 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9661 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9662 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9665 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9666 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9667 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9668 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9669 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9670 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9673 @kindex B m (Summary)
9675 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9676 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9677 Move the article from one mail group to another
9678 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9679 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9682 @kindex B c (Summary)
9684 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9685 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9686 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9687 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9688 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9691 @kindex B B (Summary)
9692 @cindex crosspost mail
9693 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9694 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9695 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9696 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9697 be properly updated.
9700 @kindex B i (Summary)
9701 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9702 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9703 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9704 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9707 @kindex B I (Summary)
9708 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
9709 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
9710 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
9711 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9714 @kindex B r (Summary)
9715 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9716 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9717 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9718 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9719 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9720 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9721 (which is the default).
9725 @kindex B w (Summary)
9727 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9728 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9729 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
9730 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9731 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9732 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9733 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9736 @kindex B q (Summary)
9737 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9738 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9739 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9740 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9743 @kindex B t (Summary)
9744 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9745 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9746 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9749 @kindex B p (Summary)
9750 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9751 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
9752 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9753 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9754 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9755 article from your news server (or rather, from
9756 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9757 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9758 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9759 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9760 just not have arrived yet.
9763 @kindex K E (Summary)
9764 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
9765 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
9766 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
9767 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
9768 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
9772 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9773 @cindex moving articles
9774 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
9775 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9776 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9777 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9778 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9779 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9780 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9783 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9784 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9785 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9786 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9790 @node Various Summary Stuff
9791 @section Various Summary Stuff
9794 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9795 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9796 * Summary Generation Commands::
9797 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9801 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
9802 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
9803 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
9804 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
9805 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
9806 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
9808 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9809 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9810 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9812 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9813 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9814 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9815 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9816 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9817 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9820 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9821 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9822 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9823 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9824 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9826 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9827 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9828 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9831 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9832 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9833 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9834 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9835 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9836 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9837 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
9838 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9839 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9840 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9842 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9843 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9844 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9845 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9846 list of articles to be selected.
9848 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9849 the list in one particular group:
9852 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9853 (if (string= group "some.group")
9854 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9858 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
9859 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
9860 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
9861 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
9862 nil), that should be made global while the summary buffer is active.
9863 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
9864 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
9865 buffers. For example:
9868 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
9869 '(message-use-followup-to
9870 (gnus-visible-headers .
9871 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
9877 @node Summary Group Information
9878 @subsection Summary Group Information
9883 @kindex H f (Summary)
9884 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9885 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9886 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9887 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9888 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9889 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9890 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9891 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9892 be used for fetching the file.
9895 @kindex H d (Summary)
9896 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9897 Give a brief description of the current group
9898 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9899 rereading the description from the server.
9902 @kindex H h (Summary)
9903 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9904 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9905 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9908 @kindex H i (Summary)
9909 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9910 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9914 @node Searching for Articles
9915 @subsection Searching for Articles
9920 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9921 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9922 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9923 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9926 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9927 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9928 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9929 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9933 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9934 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9935 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9936 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9937 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9938 search backward instead.
9940 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9941 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9944 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9945 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9946 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9947 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9950 @node Summary Generation Commands
9951 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9956 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9957 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9958 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
9961 @kindex Y c (Summary)
9962 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
9963 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9964 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
9967 @kindex Y d (Summary)
9968 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
9969 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9970 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
9975 @node Really Various Summary Commands
9976 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
9982 @kindex C-d (Summary)
9983 @kindex A D (Summary)
9984 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
9985 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
9986 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
9987 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
9988 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
9989 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
9990 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
9991 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
9995 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
9996 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
9997 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
9998 several documents into one biiig group
9999 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
10000 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
10001 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
10002 command understands the process/prefix convention
10003 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10006 @kindex C-t (Summary)
10007 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
10008 Toggle truncation of summary lines
10009 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
10010 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
10011 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
10014 @kindex = (Summary)
10015 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
10016 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
10017 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
10020 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
10021 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
10022 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10023 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
10026 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
10027 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
10028 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10029 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
10034 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
10035 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
10036 @cindex summary exit
10037 @cindex exiting groups
10039 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
10040 group and return you to the group buffer.
10046 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
10047 @kindex q (Summary)
10048 @findex gnus-summary-exit
10049 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
10050 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
10051 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
10052 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
10053 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
10054 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
10055 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
10056 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
10057 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
10058 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
10062 @kindex Z E (Summary)
10063 @kindex Q (Summary)
10064 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
10065 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
10066 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
10070 @kindex Z c (Summary)
10071 @kindex c (Summary)
10072 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
10073 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
10074 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
10075 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
10078 @kindex Z C (Summary)
10079 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
10080 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
10081 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
10084 @kindex Z n (Summary)
10085 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
10086 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
10087 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
10090 @kindex Z R (Summary)
10091 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
10092 Exit this group, and then enter it again
10093 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
10094 all articles, both read and unread.
10098 @kindex Z G (Summary)
10099 @kindex M-g (Summary)
10100 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
10101 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
10102 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
10103 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
10104 articles, both read and unread.
10107 @kindex Z N (Summary)
10108 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
10109 Exit the group and go to the next group
10110 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
10113 @kindex Z P (Summary)
10114 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
10115 Exit the group and go to the previous group
10116 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
10119 @kindex Z s (Summary)
10120 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
10121 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
10122 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
10123 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
10124 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
10127 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
10128 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
10129 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
10130 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
10132 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
10133 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
10134 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
10135 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
10136 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
10137 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
10138 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
10139 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
10140 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
10141 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
10142 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
10143 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
10145 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10147 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10148 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10149 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10150 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10151 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10152 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10153 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10154 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10155 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10158 @node Crosspost Handling
10159 @section Crosspost Handling
10163 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10164 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10165 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10166 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10167 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10168 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10171 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10172 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10173 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10174 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10175 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10177 @cindex cross-posting
10180 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10181 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
10182 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10183 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
10184 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10185 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10186 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10187 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10188 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10189 the cross reference mechanism.
10191 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10192 @cindex overview.fmt
10193 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10194 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10195 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10196 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10197 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10198 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10201 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10202 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10203 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10208 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10211 @node Duplicate Suppression
10212 @section Duplicate Suppression
10214 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10215 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10216 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10217 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10222 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10223 is evil and not very common.
10226 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10227 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10230 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10231 different @sc{nntp} servers.
10234 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10237 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10238 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10240 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10241 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10242 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10243 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10244 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10245 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10246 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10249 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10250 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10251 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10252 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10253 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10254 saw the article in.
10257 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10258 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10259 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10261 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10262 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10263 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10264 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10265 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
10266 session are suppressed.
10268 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10269 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10270 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10271 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10273 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10274 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10275 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10276 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10279 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
10280 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10281 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10282 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10283 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
10284 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10285 to you to figure out, I think.
10290 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10291 The formats that are supported are PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} and @sc{s/mime},
10292 however you need some external programs to get things to work:
10296 To handle PGP and PGP/MIME messages, you have to install an OpenPGP
10297 implementation such as GnuPG. The lisp interface to GnuPG included
10298 with Gnus is called PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg, PGG Manual}), but
10299 Mailcrypt and gpg.el are also supported.
10302 To handle @sc{s/mime} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10303 or newer is recommended.
10307 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10308 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10311 @item mm-verify-option
10312 @vindex mm-verify-option
10313 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10314 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10315 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10317 @item mm-decrypt-option
10318 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10319 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10320 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10321 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10324 @vindex mml1991-use
10325 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for PGP
10326 messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but @code{mailcrypt} and
10327 @code{gpg} are also supported although deprecated.
10330 @vindex mml2015-use
10331 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10332 PGP/MIME messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but @code{mailcrypt}
10333 and @code{gpg} are also supported although deprecated.
10338 @section Mailing List
10340 @kindex A M (summary)
10341 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10342 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10343 either add a `to-list' group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10344 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10345 summary buffer, or say:
10348 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-mailing-list-mode)
10351 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10356 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10357 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10358 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10361 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10362 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10363 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10366 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10367 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10368 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10372 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10373 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10374 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10377 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10378 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10379 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10382 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10383 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10384 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10388 @node Article Buffer
10389 @chapter Article Buffer
10390 @cindex article buffer
10392 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10393 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10394 tell Gnus otherwise.
10397 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10398 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
10399 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10400 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10401 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10405 @node Hiding Headers
10406 @section Hiding Headers
10407 @cindex hiding headers
10408 @cindex deleting headers
10410 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10411 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10413 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10414 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10415 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10416 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10417 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10418 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10419 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
10420 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10421 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10423 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10427 @item gnus-visible-headers
10428 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10429 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10430 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10431 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10433 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10434 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10437 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10440 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10443 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10444 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10445 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10446 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10447 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10448 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10450 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
10451 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
10454 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10457 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10460 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10461 variable will have no effect.
10465 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10466 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10467 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10468 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10469 the headers are to be displayed.
10471 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10472 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10475 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10478 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10479 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10481 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10482 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10483 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10484 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10485 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10486 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
10487 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10490 These conditions are:
10493 Remove all empty headers.
10495 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10496 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10498 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
10499 @code{From} header.
10501 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10504 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10505 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
10507 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10510 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10512 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10515 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10518 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10519 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10522 This is also the default value for this variable.
10526 @section Using MIME
10529 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10530 while people stand around yawning.
10532 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10533 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10535 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10536 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10537 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10539 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
10540 @findex gnus-display-mime
10541 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
10542 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
10543 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
10544 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
10546 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
10550 @findex gnus-article-press-button
10551 @item RET (Article)
10552 @kindex RET (Article)
10553 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
10554 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
10555 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}). If builtin viewers can not display
10556 the object, Gnus resorts to external viewers in the @file{mailcap}
10557 files. If a viewer has the @samp{copiousoutput} specification, the
10558 object is displayed inline.
10560 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
10561 @item M-RET (Article)
10562 @kindex M-RET (Article)
10564 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10565 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
10567 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
10569 @kindex t (Article)
10570 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
10571 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
10573 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
10575 @kindex C (Article)
10576 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10577 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
10579 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
10581 @kindex o (Article)
10582 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
10583 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
10585 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
10586 @item C-o (Article)
10587 @kindex C-o (Article)
10588 Prompt for a file name, then save the @sc{mime} object and strip it from
10589 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
10590 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
10591 like. The stripped @sc{mime} object will be referred via the
10592 message/external-body @sc{mime} type.
10593 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
10595 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
10597 @kindex c (Article)
10598 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
10599 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and
10600 @file{.bz2} are automatically decompressed if
10601 @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled (@pxref{Compressed Files,,
10602 Accessing Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
10604 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
10606 @kindex p (Article)
10607 Print the @sc{mime} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
10608 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
10609 @file{.mailcap} file.
10611 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
10613 @kindex i (Article)
10614 Insert the contents of the @sc{mime} object into the buffer
10615 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
10616 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
10617 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
10618 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @pxref{Paging the
10621 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-internally
10623 @kindex E (Article)
10624 View the @sc{mime} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
10625 viewer is available, use an external viewer
10626 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-internally}).
10628 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-externally
10630 @kindex e (Article)
10631 View the @sc{mime} object with an external viewer.
10632 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-externally}).
10634 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
10636 @kindex | (Article)
10637 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
10639 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
10641 @kindex . (Article)
10642 Interactively run an action on the @sc{mime} object
10643 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
10647 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
10648 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs
10651 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
10652 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
10653 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
10654 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
10655 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
10656 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
10657 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
10658 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
10659 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
10661 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10663 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10666 @node Customizing Articles
10667 @section Customizing Articles
10668 @cindex article customization
10670 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10671 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
10672 called automatically when you select the articles.
10674 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10675 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10676 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10677 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10679 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10680 for sensible values.
10684 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10687 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10690 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10693 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10696 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10700 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10701 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10702 regexps in the list.
10705 A list where the first element is not a string:
10707 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10708 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10709 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10713 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10718 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10719 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
10720 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10721 considered to contain just a single part.
10723 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10724 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10725 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10726 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10727 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10728 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10729 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10731 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10732 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10733 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10734 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
10737 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
10738 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
10740 @xref{Article Buttons}.
10742 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10743 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10744 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
10745 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
10746 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10747 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10748 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
10749 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
10750 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
10751 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
10753 @xref{Article Washing}.
10755 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
10756 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
10757 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
10758 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
10759 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
10760 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
10761 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
10763 @xref{Article Date}.
10765 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
10766 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
10767 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
10771 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10773 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
10775 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
10776 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
10777 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
10781 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10785 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
10786 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
10787 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10788 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
10789 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
10790 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
10791 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
10792 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
10794 @xref{Article Hiding}.
10796 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
10797 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
10798 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
10800 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
10802 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10803 @item gnus-treat-translate
10804 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
10806 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
10807 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
10808 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
10809 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
10811 @xref{Article Header}.
10816 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10817 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10818 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10819 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10820 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10824 @node Article Keymap
10825 @section Article Keymap
10827 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10828 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10829 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10830 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10833 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10838 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10839 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10840 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10843 @kindex DEL (Article)
10844 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10845 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10848 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10849 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10850 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10851 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10852 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10855 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10856 @findex gnus-article-mail
10857 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10858 given a prefix, include the mail.
10861 @kindex s (Article)
10862 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10863 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10864 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10867 @kindex ? (Article)
10868 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10869 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10870 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10873 @kindex TAB (Article)
10874 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10875 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10876 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10879 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10880 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10881 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10884 @kindex R (Article)
10885 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
10886 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
10887 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
10888 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10892 @kindex F (Article)
10893 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
10894 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
10895 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
10896 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10904 @section Misc Article
10908 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10909 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10910 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10911 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10914 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10915 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10917 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
10918 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
10920 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
10921 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
10922 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
10923 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
10924 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
10925 the contents of the article buffer.
10927 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
10928 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
10929 Hook called in article mode buffers.
10931 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10932 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10933 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
10934 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
10936 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
10937 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
10938 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
10939 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
10940 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
10946 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
10947 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
10948 performed. The characters and their meaning:
10953 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
10956 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
10959 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
10960 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
10961 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
10964 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
10967 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
10970 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
10975 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
10979 @vindex gnus-break-pages
10981 @item gnus-break-pages
10982 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
10983 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
10984 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
10985 paging will not be done.
10987 @item gnus-page-delimiter
10988 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
10989 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
10994 @node Composing Messages
10995 @chapter Composing Messages
10996 @cindex composing messages
10999 @cindex sending mail
11004 @cindex using s/mime
11005 @cindex using smime
11007 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
11008 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
11009 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
11010 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
11011 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
11012 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
11015 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
11016 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
11017 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
11018 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
11019 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
11020 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
11021 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
11022 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
11025 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
11026 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
11032 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
11035 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
11036 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
11037 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
11038 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
11039 @code{nil} include all headers.
11041 @item gnus-add-to-list
11042 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
11043 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
11044 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
11046 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11047 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11048 This can also be a function receiving the group name as the only
11049 parameter which should return non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is
11050 needed, or a regular expression matching group names, where
11051 confirmation is should be asked for.
11053 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
11054 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
11056 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11057 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11058 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
11059 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
11060 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
11065 @node Posting Server
11066 @section Posting Server
11068 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
11069 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
11071 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
11073 It can be quite complicated.
11075 @vindex gnus-post-method
11076 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
11077 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
11078 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
11079 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
11080 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
11081 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
11082 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
11083 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
11084 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
11087 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
11090 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
11091 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
11092 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
11093 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
11095 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
11096 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
11098 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
11099 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
11102 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
11103 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
11105 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
11106 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
11107 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
11108 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
11109 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @sc{smtp}
11110 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
11111 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
11112 package correctly. An example:
11115 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
11116 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11119 To the thing similar to this, there is @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}.
11120 It is useful if your ISP requires the POP-before-SMTP authentication.
11121 See the documentation for the function @code{mail-source-touch-pop}.
11123 Other possible choices for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
11124 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
11125 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
11127 @node Mail and Post
11128 @section Mail and Post
11130 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
11134 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
11135 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
11136 @cindex mailing lists
11138 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
11139 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
11140 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
11141 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
11142 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
11143 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
11144 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
11145 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
11146 still a pain, though.
11150 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
11151 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
11152 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
11155 @findex ispell-message
11157 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
11160 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
11161 you're in, you could say something like the following:
11164 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
11168 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
11169 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
11171 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
11174 Modify to suit your needs.
11177 @node Archived Messages
11178 @section Archived Messages
11179 @cindex archived messages
11180 @cindex sent messages
11182 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
11183 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
11184 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
11185 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
11188 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
11189 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
11192 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
11193 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
11194 use to store sent messages. The default is:
11197 (nnfolder "archive"
11198 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
11199 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
11200 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
11201 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
11204 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
11205 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
11206 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
11207 directory chosen, you could say something like:
11210 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
11211 '(nnfolder "archive"
11212 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
11213 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
11214 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
11217 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
11219 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
11220 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
11221 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
11223 This variable can be used to do the following:
11228 Messages will be saved in that group.
11230 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
11231 message will not be stored in the select method given by
11232 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
11233 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
11234 has the default value shown above. Then setting
11235 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
11236 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
11237 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
11241 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
11243 an alist of regexps, functions and forms
11244 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
11247 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
11252 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
11254 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11257 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11259 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11262 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11264 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11265 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11266 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11267 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11270 More complex stuff:
11272 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11273 '((if (message-news-p)
11278 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11279 messages in one file per month:
11282 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11283 '((if (message-news-p)
11285 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11288 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11289 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11291 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11292 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11293 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11294 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11295 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11296 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11297 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11298 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11299 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11300 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11302 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11303 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11304 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11305 this will disable archiving.
11308 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11309 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11310 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11311 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11312 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11315 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11316 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11317 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11320 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11321 but the latter is the preferred method.
11323 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11324 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11325 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11327 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11328 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11329 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11330 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11331 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11332 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11333 changed in the future.
11338 @node Posting Styles
11339 @section Posting Styles
11340 @cindex posting styles
11343 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11345 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11346 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11347 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11350 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11351 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11352 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11353 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11354 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11359 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11360 (organization "What me?"))
11362 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11363 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11364 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11367 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11368 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11369 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11370 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11371 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11372 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11373 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11374 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11376 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11377 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11378 If it is the form @code{(header MATCH REGEXP)}, then Gnus will look in
11379 the original article for a header whose name is MATCH and compare that
11380 REGEXP. MATCH and REGEXP are strings. (There original article is the
11381 one you are replying or following up to. If you are not composing a
11382 reply or a followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
11383 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with no
11384 arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
11385 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
11386 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
11389 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11390 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11391 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
11392 @code{x-face-file}, @code{address} (overriding
11393 @code{user-mail-address}), @code{name} (overriding
11394 @code{(user-full-name)}) or @code{body}. The attribute name can also
11395 be a string or a symbol. In that case, this will be used as a header
11396 name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the article; if
11397 the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed. If the
11398 attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the result
11401 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11402 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11403 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11404 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11405 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11406 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11407 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11408 references chars lines xref extra.
11410 @vindex message-reply-headers
11412 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11413 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11414 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11416 @findex message-mail-p
11417 @findex message-news-p
11419 So here's a new example:
11422 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11424 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11426 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11427 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11429 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11430 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; A form
11431 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11432 (message-news-p ;; A function symbol
11433 (signature my-news-signature))
11434 (window-system ;; A value symbol
11435 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11436 ;; If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.
11437 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11438 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11439 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; A user defined function
11440 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11441 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11442 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11443 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11445 (From (save-excursion
11446 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11447 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11449 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11452 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11453 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11454 if you fill many roles.
11461 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11462 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11463 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11464 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11465 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11467 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11468 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11469 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11470 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11471 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11475 @vindex nndraft-directory
11476 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11477 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11478 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11479 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11480 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11481 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11483 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11484 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11487 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11488 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11489 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11490 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11491 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11492 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11493 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11494 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11495 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11496 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11497 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11498 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11499 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11500 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11502 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11503 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11504 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11506 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11507 @kindex D e (Draft)
11508 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11509 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11510 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11512 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11515 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11516 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11517 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11518 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11519 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11520 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11521 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11524 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11525 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11526 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11529 @node Rejected Articles
11530 @section Rejected Articles
11531 @cindex rejected articles
11533 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11534 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11535 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11536 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11538 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
11539 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11540 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11541 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
11542 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11544 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11545 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11546 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11548 @node Signing and encrypting
11549 @section Signing and encrypting
11551 @cindex using s/mime
11552 @cindex using smime
11554 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla PGP
11555 format or @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}. For decoding such messages,
11556 see the @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} options
11557 (@pxref{Security}).
11559 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
11560 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
11561 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
11562 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
11563 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
11564 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
11565 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
11566 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
11567 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
11568 automatically encrypted messages.
11570 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @sc{mime} part is
11571 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
11572 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11577 @kindex C-c C-m s s
11578 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
11580 Digitally sign current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11583 @kindex C-c C-m s o
11584 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11586 Digitally sign current message using PGP.
11589 @kindex C-c C-m s p
11590 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11592 Digitally sign current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11595 @kindex C-c C-m c s
11596 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
11598 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11601 @kindex C-c C-m c o
11602 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
11604 Digitally encrypt current message using PGP.
11607 @kindex C-c C-m c p
11608 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
11610 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11613 @kindex C-c C-m C-n
11614 @findex mml-unsecure-message
11615 Remove security related MML tags from message.
11619 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
11621 @node Select Methods
11622 @chapter Select Methods
11623 @cindex foreign groups
11624 @cindex select methods
11626 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
11627 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
11628 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
11629 personal mail group.
11631 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
11632 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
11633 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
11634 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
11635 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
11636 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
11638 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
11639 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
11641 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
11644 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
11645 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
11646 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
11647 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
11648 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
11650 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
11653 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
11654 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
11655 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
11656 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
11657 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
11658 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
11659 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
11660 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
11664 @node Server Buffer
11665 @section Server Buffer
11667 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
11668 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
11669 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
11670 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
11671 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
11672 back end represents a virtual server.
11674 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
11675 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
11676 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
11677 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
11679 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
11680 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
11681 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
11682 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
11683 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
11684 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
11685 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
11687 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
11688 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
11691 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
11692 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
11693 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
11694 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
11695 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
11696 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
11697 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
11700 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
11701 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
11704 @node Server Buffer Format
11705 @subsection Server Buffer Format
11706 @cindex server buffer format
11708 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
11709 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
11710 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
11711 variable, with some simple extensions:
11716 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
11719 The name of this server.
11722 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
11725 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
11728 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
11729 The mode line can also be customized by using the
11730 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
11731 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
11741 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
11744 @node Server Commands
11745 @subsection Server Commands
11746 @cindex server commands
11752 @findex gnus-server-add-server
11753 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
11757 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
11758 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
11761 @kindex SPACE (Server)
11762 @findex gnus-server-read-server
11763 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
11767 @findex gnus-server-exit
11768 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
11772 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
11773 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
11777 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
11778 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
11782 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
11783 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
11787 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
11788 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
11792 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
11793 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
11794 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
11799 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
11800 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
11801 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
11802 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
11807 @node Example Methods
11808 @subsection Example Methods
11810 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
11813 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
11816 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
11822 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
11823 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
11826 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
11827 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
11829 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
11830 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
11834 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
11837 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
11838 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
11840 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
11841 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
11842 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
11846 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
11849 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
11852 Here's the method for a public spool:
11856 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
11857 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
11863 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
11864 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
11865 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
11866 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
11867 should probably look something like this:
11871 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
11872 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
11873 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
11874 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11877 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
11878 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
11879 configuration to the example above:
11882 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
11885 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
11887 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
11888 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
11889 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
11893 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11894 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
11895 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
11896 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11899 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
11900 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
11901 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
11902 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
11905 @node Creating a Virtual Server
11906 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
11908 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
11909 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
11911 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
11912 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
11913 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
11915 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
11917 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
11918 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
11919 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
11920 will contain the following:
11930 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
11931 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
11932 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
11935 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
11936 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
11937 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
11940 @node Server Variables
11941 @subsection Server Variables
11943 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
11944 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
11945 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
11946 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
11947 won't change the "derived" variables.
11949 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
11950 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
11951 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
11952 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
11953 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
11954 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
11955 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
11956 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
11957 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
11961 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
11962 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
11963 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
11967 @node Servers and Methods
11968 @subsection Servers and Methods
11970 Wherever you would normally use a select method
11971 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
11972 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
11973 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
11977 @node Unavailable Servers
11978 @subsection Unavailable Servers
11980 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
11981 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
11982 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
11983 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
11984 actually the case or not.
11986 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
11987 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
11988 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
11989 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
11990 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
11991 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
11992 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
11993 it will regard that server as ``down''.
11995 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
11996 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
11998 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
11999 with the following commands:
12005 @findex gnus-server-open-server
12006 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
12007 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
12011 @findex gnus-server-close-server
12012 Close the connection (if any) to the server
12013 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
12017 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
12018 Mark the current server as unreachable
12019 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
12022 @kindex M-o (Server)
12023 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
12024 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
12025 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
12028 @kindex M-c (Server)
12029 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
12030 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
12031 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
12035 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
12036 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
12037 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
12041 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
12042 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
12048 @section Getting News
12049 @cindex reading news
12050 @cindex news back ends
12052 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
12053 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
12054 or it can read from a local spool.
12057 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
12058 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
12066 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
12067 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
12068 server as the, uhm, address.
12070 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
12071 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
12072 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
12073 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12075 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
12076 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
12077 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
12079 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
12084 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
12085 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
12086 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
12088 @cindex authentification
12089 @cindex nntp authentification
12090 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12091 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
12092 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
12093 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
12094 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
12095 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
12096 present in this hook.
12098 @item nntp-authinfo-function
12099 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
12100 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12101 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
12102 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
12103 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
12104 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
12105 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
12106 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
12107 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
12108 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
12109 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
12113 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
12116 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
12118 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
12119 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
12120 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
12121 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
12122 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
12123 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
12124 @samp{force} is explained below.
12128 Here's an example file:
12131 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
12132 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
12135 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
12136 have to be first, for instance.
12138 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
12139 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
12140 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
12141 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
12142 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
12143 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
12144 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
12146 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
12147 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
12153 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
12154 previously mentioned.
12156 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
12158 @item nntp-server-action-alist
12159 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
12160 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
12161 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
12162 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
12165 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
12166 '(("innd" (ding))))
12169 You probably don't want to do that, though.
12171 The default value is
12174 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
12175 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
12176 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
12179 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
12180 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
12182 @item nntp-maximum-request
12183 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
12184 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
12185 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
12186 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
12187 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
12188 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
12189 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
12191 @item nntp-connection-timeout
12192 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
12193 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
12194 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
12195 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
12196 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
12197 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
12198 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
12199 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
12200 no timeouts are done.
12202 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
12203 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
12204 @c @cindex PPP connections
12205 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
12206 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
12207 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
12208 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
12209 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
12210 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
12211 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
12212 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
12213 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
12214 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
12216 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
12217 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
12218 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
12219 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
12220 @c described above.
12222 @item nntp-server-hook
12223 @vindex nntp-server-hook
12224 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
12227 @item nntp-buggy-select
12228 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
12229 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
12231 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
12232 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12233 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
12234 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
12237 @item nntp-xover-commands
12238 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12241 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
12242 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12246 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12247 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
12248 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12249 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12250 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
12251 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12252 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12253 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12254 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12255 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12256 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12258 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12259 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12260 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
12262 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12263 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12264 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
12265 server closes connection.
12267 @item nntp-record-commands
12268 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12269 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12270 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12271 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
12272 that doesn't seem to work.
12274 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12275 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12276 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12277 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12278 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12279 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
12280 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
12281 indirect ones (two pre-made).
12283 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12284 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12285 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12286 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12287 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12288 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12289 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12292 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12295 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12296 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12298 @item nntp-read-timeout
12299 @vindex nntp-read-timeout
12300 How long nntp should wait between checking for the end of output.
12301 Shorter values mean quicker response, but is more CPU intensive. The
12302 default is 0.1 seconds. If you have a slow line to the server (and
12303 don't like to see Emacs eat your available CPU power), you might set
12309 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12310 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12311 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12315 @node Direct Functions
12316 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12317 @cindex direct connection functions
12319 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12320 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
12321 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12322 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12325 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12326 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12327 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12330 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12331 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12332 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12333 this you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
12334 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also
12335 need @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
12336 define a server as follows:
12339 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
12341 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
12342 ;; however, openssl s_client -port doesn't like named ports
12344 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12345 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12346 (nntp-port-number 563)
12347 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12350 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12351 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12352 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12353 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12354 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12355 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12356 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12357 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12361 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12362 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12363 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12366 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12367 session, which is not a good idea.
12371 @node Indirect Functions
12372 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12373 @cindex indirect connection functions
12375 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12376 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
12377 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12378 the "via" family of connection: they're all prefixed with "via" to make
12379 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12380 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12383 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12384 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12385 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12386 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12387 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12389 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12392 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12393 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12394 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12395 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12397 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12398 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12399 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12400 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12401 @samp{ssh} for `nntp-via-rlogin-command', you may set this to
12402 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12403 this to @samp{("-t")} or @samp{("-C" "-t")} if the telnet command
12404 requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate host.
12407 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12408 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12409 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12410 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12412 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12415 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12416 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12417 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12420 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12421 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12422 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12423 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12425 @item nntp-via-user-password
12426 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12427 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12429 @item nntp-via-envuser
12430 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
12431 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
12432 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
12433 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
12435 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
12436 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
12437 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
12438 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
12445 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
12450 @item nntp-via-user-name
12451 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
12452 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
12454 @item nntp-via-address
12455 @vindex nntp-via-address
12456 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
12461 @node Common Variables
12462 @subsubsection Common Variables
12464 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
12465 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
12470 @item nntp-pre-command
12471 @vindex nntp-pre-command
12472 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
12473 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
12474 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
12475 wrapper for instance.
12478 @vindex nntp-address
12479 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
12481 @item nntp-port-number
12482 @vindex nntp-port-number
12483 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
12484 If you use @sc{nntp} over @sc{ssl}, you may want to use integer ports rather
12485 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews}), because
12486 external SSL tools may not work with named ports.
12488 @item nntp-end-of-line
12489 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
12490 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
12491 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
12492 using a non native connection function.
12494 @item nntp-telnet-command
12495 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
12496 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
12497 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
12498 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
12500 @item nntp-telnet-switches
12501 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
12502 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
12509 @subsection News Spool
12513 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
12514 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
12515 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
12518 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
12519 anything else) as the address.
12521 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
12522 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
12523 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
12524 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
12528 @item nnspool-inews-program
12529 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
12530 Program used to post an article.
12532 @item nnspool-inews-switches
12533 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
12534 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
12536 @item nnspool-spool-directory
12537 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
12538 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
12539 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
12541 @item nnspool-nov-directory
12542 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
12543 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
12544 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
12546 @item nnspool-lib-dir
12547 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12548 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12550 @item nnspool-active-file
12551 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12552 The name of the active file.
12554 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12555 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12556 The name of the group descriptions file.
12558 @item nnspool-history-file
12559 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12560 The name of the news history file.
12562 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12563 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12564 The name of the active date file.
12566 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12567 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12568 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
12571 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12572 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12574 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12575 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
12576 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
12582 @section Getting Mail
12583 @cindex reading mail
12586 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
12590 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
12591 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
12592 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
12593 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
12594 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
12595 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
12596 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
12597 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
12598 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
12599 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
12600 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
12601 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
12602 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
12606 @node Mail in a Newsreader
12607 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
12609 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
12610 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
12611 of a culture shock.
12613 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
12614 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
12616 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
12617 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
12618 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
12619 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
12621 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
12623 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
12624 deleted? How awful!
12626 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
12627 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
12628 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
12629 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
12632 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
12633 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
12634 they want to treat a message.
12636 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
12637 via @sc{smtp}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
12638 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
12639 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
12640 archived somewhere else.
12642 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
12643 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
12644 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
12645 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
12646 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
12648 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
12649 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
12650 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
12652 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
12653 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
12656 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
12657 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
12658 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
12659 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
12660 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
12662 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
12663 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
12664 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
12665 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
12666 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
12667 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
12671 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
12672 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
12674 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
12675 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
12676 and things will happen automatically.
12678 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
12679 mail" back end), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
12682 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12685 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
12686 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
12687 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
12688 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
12689 like any other group.
12691 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
12694 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12695 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12696 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12700 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
12701 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
12702 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
12705 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
12706 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
12707 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
12710 @node Splitting Mail
12711 @subsection Splitting Mail
12712 @cindex splitting mail
12713 @cindex mail splitting
12715 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
12716 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
12717 to be split into groups.
12720 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12721 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12722 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12723 ("mail.other" "")))
12726 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
12727 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
12728 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
12729 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
12730 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
12731 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
12732 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
12735 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
12738 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
12739 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
12740 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
12741 mail belongs in that group.
12743 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
12744 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
12745 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
12746 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
12747 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
12748 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
12750 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
12751 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
12752 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
12753 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
12754 thinks should carry this mail message.
12756 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
12757 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
12758 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
12759 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
12761 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
12762 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
12763 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
12764 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
12765 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
12767 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
12770 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
12771 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
12772 links. If that's the case for you, set
12773 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
12774 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
12776 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
12777 @kindex nnmail-split-history
12778 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
12779 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
12780 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
12781 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
12784 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
12785 Header lines longer than the value of
12786 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
12789 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
12790 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
12791 By default the splitting codes MIME decodes headers so you can match
12792 on non-ASCII strings. The @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset}
12793 variable specifies the default charset for decoding. The behaviour
12794 can be turned off completely by binding
12795 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to nil, which is useful if you
12796 want to match articles based on the raw header data.
12798 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12799 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If
12800 you specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable
12801 @code{mail-sources} @pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}, however, then
12802 splitting does @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
12803 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-nil value to make splitting
12804 happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on other kinds
12807 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
12808 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
12809 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
12810 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
12811 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
12812 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
12813 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
12814 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
12815 month's rent money.
12819 @subsection Mail Sources
12821 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
12822 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
12826 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
12827 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
12828 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
12832 @node Mail Source Specifiers
12833 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
12835 @cindex mail server
12838 @cindex mail source
12840 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
12841 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
12846 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
12849 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
12850 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
12851 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
12854 The following mail source types are available:
12858 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
12864 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
12865 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
12866 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
12869 An example file mail source:
12872 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
12875 Or using the default file name:
12881 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
12882 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
12883 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
12886 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
12890 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
12893 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
12897 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
12900 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
12902 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
12905 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
12909 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
12910 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
12911 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. That is,
12912 there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that directory and
12913 groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool} will be put in
12914 the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix to be used instead
12915 of @code{.spool}.) Setting
12916 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus to
12917 scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you want
12918 to scan mail groups at a specified level.
12920 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12921 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
12922 that to a non-nil value, then the normal splitting process is applied
12923 to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
12929 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
12933 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
12937 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
12938 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
12939 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
12940 predicate are considered.
12944 Script run before/after fetching mail.
12948 An example directory mail source:
12951 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
12956 Get mail from a POP server.
12962 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
12963 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12966 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
12967 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
12968 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
12969 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
12970 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
12973 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
12977 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
12981 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
12982 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
12985 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
12988 The valid format specifier characters are:
12992 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
12993 included in this string.
12996 The name of the server.
12999 The port number of the server.
13002 The user name to use.
13005 The password to use.
13008 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13009 corresponding keywords.
13012 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13013 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13016 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13017 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13020 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
13021 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
13024 @item :authentication
13025 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
13026 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
13031 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
13032 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
13034 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
13035 default user name, and default fetcher:
13041 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
13044 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
13045 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
13048 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
13051 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
13055 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
13056 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
13057 contains exactly one mail.
13063 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
13064 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
13067 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
13068 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
13070 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
13071 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
13072 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
13075 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
13076 from locking problems).
13080 Two example maildir mail sources:
13083 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
13084 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
13088 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
13093 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
13094 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
13095 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
13096 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
13099 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, SSL/TLS and STARTTLS support you
13100 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
13106 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
13107 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13110 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
13111 @samp{993} for SSL/TLS connections.
13114 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
13118 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
13122 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
13123 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
13124 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{ssl},
13125 @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
13127 @item :authentication
13128 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
13129 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
13130 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
13131 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
13134 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
13135 mapped into the `imap-shell-program' variable. This should be a
13136 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
13142 The valid format specifier characters are:
13146 The name of the server.
13149 User name from `imap-default-user'.
13152 The port number of the server.
13155 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13156 corresponding keywords.
13159 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
13160 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
13163 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
13164 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
13165 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
13166 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
13167 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
13168 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
13171 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
13172 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
13173 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
13174 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
13177 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
13178 after finishing the fetch.
13182 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
13185 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
13187 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
13191 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{www.hotmail.com},
13192 @uref{webmail.netscape.com}, @uref{www.netaddress.com},
13193 @uref{mail.yahoo..com}.
13195 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
13196 required for url "4.0pre.46".
13198 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
13204 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
13205 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13208 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13212 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13216 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
13217 folder after finishing the fetch.
13221 An example webmail source:
13224 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13226 :password "secret")
13231 @item Common Keywords
13232 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13238 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
13239 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
13243 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13248 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13249 useful when you use local mail and news.
13254 @subsubsection Function Interface
13256 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
13257 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
13258 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
13259 consider the following mail-source setting:
13262 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
13263 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
13266 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
13267 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
13268 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
13269 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
13270 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
13272 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13275 @node Mail Source Customization
13276 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13278 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13279 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13283 @item mail-source-crash-box
13284 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13285 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
13286 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13288 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13289 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13290 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
13292 @item mail-source-directory
13293 @vindex mail-source-directory
13294 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
13295 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
13296 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
13299 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13300 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13301 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13302 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13303 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13304 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13306 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13307 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13308 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13310 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13311 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13312 If non-nil, name of program for fetching new mail. If nil,
13313 @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13318 @node Fetching Mail
13319 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13321 @vindex mail-sources
13322 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13323 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13324 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13325 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13327 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13328 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13331 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
13332 mail server, you'd say something like:
13337 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13338 :password "secret")))
13341 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13345 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13346 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13349 :password "secret")))
13353 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13354 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13355 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13356 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13357 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13358 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13362 @node Mail Back End Variables
13363 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13365 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13369 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13370 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13371 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13372 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13374 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13375 @item nnmail-split-hook
13376 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
13377 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
13378 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
13379 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
13380 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
13381 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
13382 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
13383 in the buffer will show up in any files.
13384 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
13387 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13388 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13389 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13390 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13391 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
13392 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
13393 starting to handle the new mail) and
13394 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
13395 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
13396 default file modes the new mail files get:
13399 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13400 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
13402 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13403 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
13406 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
13407 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
13408 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
13409 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
13410 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
13411 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
13412 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
13414 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
13415 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
13416 @findex delete-file
13417 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
13419 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13420 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13421 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
13422 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
13423 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
13425 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13426 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13427 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
13428 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
13429 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
13431 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
13432 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
13433 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
13438 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
13439 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
13440 @cindex mail splitting
13441 @cindex fancy mail splitting
13443 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
13444 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
13445 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
13446 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
13447 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
13448 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
13450 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
13453 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
13454 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
13455 ;; from real errors.
13456 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
13458 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
13459 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
13460 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
13461 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
13462 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
13463 ;; Other mailing lists...
13464 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
13465 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
13466 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
13467 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
13468 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
13469 ;; message was really cross-posted.
13470 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
13471 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
13473 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
13474 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
13478 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
13479 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
13480 the five possible split syntaxes:
13485 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
13486 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
13490 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
13491 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
13492 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
13493 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
13494 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
13495 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
13496 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
13497 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
13500 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13501 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
13502 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
13503 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
13506 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13507 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
13510 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
13511 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
13514 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
13515 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
13516 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
13517 function should return a @var{split}.
13520 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
13521 body of the messages:
13524 (defun split-on-body ()
13526 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
13527 (goto-char (point-min))
13528 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
13532 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
13533 when the @code{:} function is run.
13536 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13537 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
13538 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
13542 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
13546 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
13547 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
13548 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
13549 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
13550 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
13552 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
13553 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
13554 are expanded as specified by the variable
13555 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
13556 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
13559 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
13560 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
13561 when all this splitting is performed.
13563 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
13564 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
13565 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
13568 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
13571 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
13572 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
13574 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
13575 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
13576 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
13577 groupings 1 through 9.
13579 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
13580 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
13581 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
13582 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
13583 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
13584 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
13585 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
13586 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
13587 it once per thread.
13589 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
13590 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
13591 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
13594 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; or 'delete
13595 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
13597 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
13598 ;; other splits go here
13602 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
13603 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
13604 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
13605 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
13606 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
13607 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
13608 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
13609 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
13610 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
13611 unless the group name matches the regexp
13612 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
13613 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
13614 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
13615 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
13616 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13617 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
13618 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
13619 messages goes into the new group.
13621 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
13622 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
13623 outgoing messages are written to an `outgoing' group, you could set
13624 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
13625 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
13629 @node Group Mail Splitting
13630 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
13631 @cindex mail splitting
13632 @cindex group mail splitting
13634 @findex gnus-group-split
13635 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
13636 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
13637 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
13638 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
13639 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
13640 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
13641 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
13642 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
13644 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
13645 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
13646 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
13647 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
13649 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
13650 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
13651 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
13652 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
13653 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
13654 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
13655 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
13657 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
13658 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
13659 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
13660 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
13661 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
13662 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
13663 @code{gnus-group-split}.
13665 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
13666 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
13667 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
13668 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
13669 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
13670 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
13671 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
13672 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
13673 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
13674 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
13675 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
13676 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
13677 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
13679 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
13684 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
13685 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
13687 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
13688 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
13689 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
13690 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
13692 ((split-spec . catch-all))
13695 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
13696 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
13697 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
13700 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
13701 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
13702 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
13706 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
13707 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
13708 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
13712 (: gnus-group-split-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
13715 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
13716 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
13717 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
13718 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
13719 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
13720 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
13721 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
13722 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
13723 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
13725 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
13726 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
13727 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
13728 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
13729 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
13730 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
13731 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
13732 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
13733 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
13735 @findex gnus-group-split-update
13736 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
13737 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
13738 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
13739 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
13740 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus.el}:
13743 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
13746 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
13747 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
13748 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
13749 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
13750 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
13753 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
13754 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
13755 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
13756 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
13758 @node Incorporating Old Mail
13759 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
13760 @cindex incorporating old mail
13761 @cindex import old mail
13763 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
13764 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
13765 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
13768 Doing so can be quite easy.
13770 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
13771 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
13772 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
13773 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
13774 your @code{nnml} groups.
13780 Go to the group buffer.
13783 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
13784 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13787 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
13790 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
13791 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13794 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
13795 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
13798 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
13799 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
13800 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
13801 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
13802 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
13804 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
13805 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
13806 using the new mail back end.
13809 @node Expiring Mail
13810 @subsection Expiring Mail
13811 @cindex article expiry
13813 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
13814 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
13815 different approach to mail reading.
13817 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
13818 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
13819 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
13820 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
13821 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
13822 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
13825 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
13826 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default keybindings, this means
13827 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
13828 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
13829 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
13830 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
13831 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
13832 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
13833 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
13835 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
13836 two features, called `auto-expire' and `total-expire', that can help you
13837 with this. In a nutshell, `auto-expire' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
13838 for you when you select an article. And `total-expire' means that Gnus
13839 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
13840 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
13841 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
13844 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
13845 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
13846 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
13847 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
13848 into its own group.)
13850 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
13851 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
13852 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
13853 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
13854 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
13855 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
13856 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring @pxref{Adaptive
13857 Scoring}. Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
13860 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13861 Groups that match the regular expression
13862 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
13863 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
13864 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
13866 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
13867 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
13868 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
13869 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
13870 @file{.gnus.el} file:
13872 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
13874 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
13875 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
13876 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
13879 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
13880 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
13881 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
13882 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
13883 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
13885 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
13886 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
13889 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13890 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
13893 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
13894 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
13896 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
13897 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
13898 don't really mix very well.
13900 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
13901 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
13902 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
13903 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
13906 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
13907 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
13908 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
13909 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
13912 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13914 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13916 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
13918 ((string= group "mail.junk")
13920 ((string= group "important")
13926 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
13927 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
13929 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
13930 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
13931 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
13934 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
13935 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
13937 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
13938 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
13939 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
13940 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
13941 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
13942 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
13943 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
13944 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
13945 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
13946 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
13947 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
13948 from as its parameter) which should return a target -- either a group
13949 name or @code{delete}.
13951 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
13953 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
13956 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13957 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13958 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
13959 expire mail to groups according to the variable
13960 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
13963 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13964 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13965 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
13966 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
13967 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
13970 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
13971 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
13972 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
13973 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
13974 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
13975 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
13977 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
13978 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
13979 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
13980 easier for procmail users.
13982 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
13983 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
13984 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
13985 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
13986 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
13987 caution. Even more dangerous is the
13988 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
13989 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
13990 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
13991 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
13992 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
13993 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
13994 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
13997 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
13999 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
14000 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
14001 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
14002 auto-expire turned on.
14006 @subsection Washing Mail
14007 @cindex mail washing
14008 @cindex list server brain damage
14009 @cindex incoming mail treatment
14011 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
14012 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
14013 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
14014 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
14015 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
14016 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
14018 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
14019 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
14020 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
14023 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
14024 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
14025 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
14026 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
14029 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14030 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14031 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
14032 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
14033 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
14036 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14037 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14038 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
14039 Emacs running on MS machines.
14043 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14044 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14045 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
14046 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
14049 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14050 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14051 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
14052 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
14054 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
14055 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
14056 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
14057 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
14058 into a feature by documenting it.)
14060 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14061 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14062 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
14063 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
14064 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
14065 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
14066 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
14069 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
14070 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
14073 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
14074 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
14077 This can also be done non-destructively with
14078 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
14080 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
14081 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
14082 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
14084 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14085 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14087 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
14088 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
14089 @code{References} headers.
14093 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14094 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14095 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
14099 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
14100 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
14101 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
14108 @subsection Duplicates
14110 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
14111 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
14112 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
14113 @cindex duplicate mails
14114 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
14115 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
14116 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
14117 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
14118 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
14119 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
14120 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
14121 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
14122 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
14123 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
14124 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
14125 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
14126 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
14128 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
14129 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
14130 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
14131 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
14133 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
14136 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
14137 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
14141 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
14142 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
14143 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
14144 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
14145 (any mail "mail.misc")
14152 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14153 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
14158 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
14159 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
14160 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
14161 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
14162 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
14165 @node Not Reading Mail
14166 @subsection Not Reading Mail
14168 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
14169 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
14170 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
14172 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
14173 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
14174 mail, which should help.
14176 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14177 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14178 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14179 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14180 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14181 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
14182 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
14183 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
14184 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
14185 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
14186 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
14188 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
14189 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
14193 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
14194 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
14196 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
14197 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
14198 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
14200 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
14201 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
14202 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
14203 Spool}). You might notice that only five back ends are listed below;
14204 @code{nnmaildir}'s documentation has not yet been completely
14205 incorporated into this manual. Until it is, you can find it at
14206 @uref{http://multivac.cwru.edu./nnmaildir/}.
14209 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
14210 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
14211 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
14212 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
14213 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
14214 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
14218 @node Unix Mail Box
14219 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
14221 @cindex unix mail box
14223 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14224 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14225 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
14226 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
14227 which group it belongs in.
14229 Virtual server settings:
14232 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
14233 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14234 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
14237 @item nnmbox-active-file
14238 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14239 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
14240 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
14242 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
14243 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14244 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
14245 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
14250 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
14254 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14255 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14256 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
14257 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
14258 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
14260 Virtual server settings:
14263 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
14264 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14265 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
14267 @item nnbabyl-active-file
14268 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14269 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
14270 @file{~/.rmail-active}
14272 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14273 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14274 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
14280 @subsubsection Mail Spool
14282 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
14284 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
14285 format. It should be used with some caution.
14287 @vindex nnml-directory
14288 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
14289 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
14290 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
14291 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
14293 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
14296 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
14297 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
14298 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14299 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14300 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14301 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14302 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14303 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14305 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14306 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14307 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14308 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14310 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14312 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14313 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14314 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14315 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14316 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14317 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14318 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14319 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14322 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14323 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14324 them next time it starts.
14326 Virtual server settings:
14329 @item nnml-directory
14330 @vindex nnml-directory
14331 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
14332 The default is the value of `message-directory' (whose default value is
14335 @item nnml-active-file
14336 @vindex nnml-active-file
14337 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
14338 @file{~/Mail/active"}.
14340 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
14341 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
14342 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14343 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
14345 @item nnml-get-new-mail
14346 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14347 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
14350 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
14351 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
14352 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14353 default is @code{nil}.
14355 @item nnml-nov-file-name
14356 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
14357 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
14359 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14360 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14361 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
14363 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
14364 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
14365 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14366 default is @code{nil}.
14368 @item nnml-marks-file-name
14369 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
14370 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
14372 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
14373 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
14374 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
14379 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
14380 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
14381 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
14382 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
14383 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
14384 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
14385 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
14390 @subsubsection MH Spool
14392 @cindex mh-e mail spool
14394 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
14395 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
14396 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
14397 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
14399 Virtual server settings:
14402 @item nnmh-directory
14403 @vindex nnmh-directory
14404 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
14405 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14408 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
14409 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14410 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
14414 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
14415 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
14416 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
14417 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
14418 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
14419 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
14420 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
14425 @subsubsection Mail Folders
14427 @cindex mbox folders
14428 @cindex mail folders
14430 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
14431 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
14432 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
14435 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
14437 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
14438 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14439 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14440 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
14441 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
14442 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
14443 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
14444 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
14445 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
14446 @code{nnfolder} directory).
14448 Virtual server settings:
14451 @item nnfolder-directory
14452 @vindex nnfolder-directory
14453 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
14454 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14457 @item nnfolder-active-file
14458 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
14459 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
14461 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14462 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14463 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14464 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
14466 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
14467 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14468 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
14471 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14472 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14473 @cindex backup files
14474 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
14475 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
14476 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
14477 your @file{.emacs} file:
14480 (defun turn-off-backup ()
14481 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
14483 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
14486 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14487 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14488 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
14489 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
14490 extract some information from it before removing it.
14492 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14493 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14494 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14495 default is @code{nil}.
14497 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14498 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14499 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
14501 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
14502 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
14503 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
14504 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14506 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14507 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14508 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14509 default is @code{nil}.
14511 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14512 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14513 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
14515 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
14516 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
14517 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
14518 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14523 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
14524 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
14525 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
14526 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
14527 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
14528 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
14531 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
14532 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
14534 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
14535 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
14536 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
14537 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
14538 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
14540 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
14541 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
14542 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
14543 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
14544 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
14545 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
14546 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
14547 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
14550 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
14551 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
14552 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
14553 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
14558 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
14559 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
14560 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
14561 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
14562 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
14563 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
14564 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
14565 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
14566 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
14567 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
14568 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
14569 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
14570 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
14575 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
14576 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
14577 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
14578 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
14579 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
14580 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
14581 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
14582 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
14583 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
14584 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
14585 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
14586 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
14587 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
14588 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
14590 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
14591 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
14596 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
14597 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
14598 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
14599 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
14600 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
14601 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
14602 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
14603 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
14604 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
14605 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
14606 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
14607 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
14608 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
14609 provided by the active file and overviews.
14611 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
14612 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
14613 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
14614 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
14615 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
14618 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
14619 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
14624 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
14625 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
14626 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
14627 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
14628 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
14629 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
14630 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
14634 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
14635 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
14636 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
14637 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
14638 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
14639 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
14640 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
14641 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
14642 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
14644 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
14645 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
14646 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
14647 friendly mail back end all over.
14651 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
14652 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
14653 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
14654 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
14655 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
14656 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
14657 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to ReiserFS
14658 (@uref{http://www.namesys.com/}) or another non-block-structured
14661 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
14662 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
14663 This means you can skip Gnus's mail splitting if your mail is already
14664 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
14665 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
14666 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
14667 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
14668 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
14669 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
14670 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will undergo
14671 treatment such as duplicate checking.
14673 An article will not necessarily keep the same number across Gnus
14674 sessions; articles are renumbered starting from 1 for each Gnus session
14675 (more precisely, each time you open the @code{nnmaildir} server). This
14676 way, you don't get gaps in your article number ranges, and when entering
14677 large groups, Gnus is likely to give a more accurate article count. The
14678 price is that @code{nnmaildir} doesn't work with the cache or agent.
14679 This will probably be changed in the future.
14681 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
14682 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
14683 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
14684 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
14685 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
14688 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses group
14689 parameters slightly different from those of other mail back ends.
14691 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
14692 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
14693 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
14694 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
14695 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
14696 would) to make it use less memory.
14698 Startup and shutdown are likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than
14699 with other back ends. Everything in between is likely to be faster,
14700 depending in part on your file system.
14702 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
14703 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
14708 @node Browsing the Web
14709 @section Browsing the Web
14711 @cindex browsing the web
14715 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
14716 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
14717 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
14718 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
14719 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
14720 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
14721 even know what a news group is.
14723 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
14724 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
14725 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
14726 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
14727 you mad in the end.
14729 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
14732 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
14733 interfaces to these sources.
14737 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
14738 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
14739 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
14740 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
14741 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
14742 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
14745 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
14747 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
14748 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
14749 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
14750 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
14751 though, you should be ok.
14753 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
14754 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
14755 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
14756 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
14757 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
14759 @node Archiving Mail
14760 @subsection Archiving Mail
14761 @cindex archiving mail
14762 @cindex backup of mail
14764 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
14765 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
14766 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
14767 marks is fairly simple.
14769 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
14770 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
14773 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
14774 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
14775 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
14776 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
14777 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
14778 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
14779 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
14780 before you restore the data.
14782 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
14783 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
14784 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
14785 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
14786 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
14787 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
14788 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
14789 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
14790 is unnecessary in that case.
14793 @subsection Web Searches
14798 @cindex Usenet searches
14799 @cindex searching the Usenet
14801 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
14802 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
14803 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
14804 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
14805 searches without having to use a browser.
14807 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
14808 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
14809 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
14810 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
14811 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
14813 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
14814 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
14815 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
14816 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
14817 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
14818 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
14819 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
14820 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
14821 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
14822 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
14825 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
14826 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
14827 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
14828 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
14829 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
14830 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
14832 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
14833 to use @code{nnweb}.
14835 Virtual server variables:
14840 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
14841 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
14842 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
14845 @vindex nnweb-search
14846 The search string to feed to the search engine.
14848 @item nnweb-max-hits
14849 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
14850 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
14853 @item nnweb-type-definition
14854 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
14855 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
14856 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
14861 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
14865 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
14868 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
14871 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
14875 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
14882 @subsection Slashdot
14886 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
14887 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
14888 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
14890 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
14891 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
14894 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14895 '((nnslashdot "")))
14898 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
14899 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
14900 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
14901 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
14902 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
14905 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
14906 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14908 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
14909 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
14910 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
14911 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
14912 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
14913 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
14916 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
14919 @item nnslashdot-threaded
14920 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
14921 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
14922 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
14923 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
14924 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
14925 but much, much slower than unthreaded.
14927 @item nnslashdot-login-name
14928 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
14929 The login name to use when posting.
14931 @item nnslashdot-password
14932 @vindex nnslashdot-password
14933 The password to use when posting.
14935 @item nnslashdot-directory
14936 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
14937 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
14938 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
14940 @item nnslashdot-active-url
14941 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
14942 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
14943 news articles and comments. The default is
14944 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
14946 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
14947 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
14948 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
14950 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
14952 @item nnslashdot-article-url
14953 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
14954 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
14956 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
14958 @item nnslashdot-threshold
14959 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
14960 The score threshold. The default is -1.
14962 @item nnslashdot-group-number
14963 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
14964 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
14965 updated. The default is 0.
14972 @subsection Ultimate
14974 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
14976 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
14977 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
14978 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
14979 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
14981 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
14982 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
14983 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
14984 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
14985 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
14986 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
14987 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
14989 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
14992 @item nnultimate-directory
14993 @vindex nnultimate-directory
14994 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
14995 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
15000 @subsection Web Archive
15002 @cindex Web Archive
15004 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
15005 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
15006 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
15007 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
15010 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
15011 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
15012 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
15013 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
15014 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
15015 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
15016 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
15018 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
15021 @item nnwarchive-directory
15022 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
15023 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
15024 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
15026 @item nnwarchive-login
15027 @vindex nnwarchive-login
15028 The account name on the web server.
15030 @item nnwarchive-passwd
15031 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
15032 The password for your account on the web server.
15040 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
15041 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
15042 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
15045 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
15046 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
15049 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
15052 @item nnrss-directory
15053 @vindex nnrss-directory
15054 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
15055 @samp{~/News/rss/}.
15059 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
15060 the summary buffer.
15063 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
15064 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
15066 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
15068 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
15069 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
15072 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
15075 (require 'browse-url)
15077 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
15079 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
15082 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
15083 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
15086 (browse-url (cdr url))
15087 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
15088 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
15090 (eval-after-load "gnus"
15091 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
15092 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
15093 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
15096 @node Customizing w3
15097 @subsection Customizing w3
15103 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
15104 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
15105 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
15107 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
15108 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
15109 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
15112 (eval-after-load "w3"
15114 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
15115 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
15116 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
15117 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
15119 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
15122 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
15123 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
15132 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
15133 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
15134 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
15135 specify the network address of the server.
15137 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
15138 POP can, it can hence be viewed as a POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
15139 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
15140 protocol -- however, @sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp}
15141 because news is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
15143 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a POP++, use an imap entry in
15144 @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the
15145 @sc{imap} server and store them on the local disk. This is not the
15146 usage described in this section--@xref{Mail Sources}.
15148 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
15149 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
15150 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
15151 usage explained in this section.
15153 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
15154 might look something like the following. (Note that for SSL/TLS, you
15155 need external programs and libraries, see below.)
15158 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15159 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
15160 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
15162 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15163 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
15164 ; a UW server running on localhost
15166 (nnimap-server-port 143)
15167 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15168 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
15169 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
15170 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
15171 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
15172 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
15173 (nnimap-stream network))
15174 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
15176 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
15177 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
15178 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
15181 After defining the new server, you can subscribe to groups on the
15182 server using normal Gnus commands such as @kbd{U} in the Group Buffer
15183 (@pxref{Subscription Commands}) or via the Server Buffer
15184 (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
15186 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
15191 @item nnimap-address
15192 @vindex nnimap-address
15194 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
15195 server name if not specified.
15197 @item nnimap-server-port
15198 @vindex nnimap-server-port
15199 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
15201 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
15204 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15205 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
15208 @item nnimap-list-pattern
15209 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
15210 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
15211 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
15212 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
15213 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
15214 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
15216 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
15217 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
15218 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
15221 Example server specification:
15224 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15225 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
15226 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
15229 @item nnimap-stream
15230 @vindex nnimap-stream
15231 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
15232 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
15233 of SSL/TLS. (@sc{imap} over SSL/TLS is being replaced by STARTTLS, which
15234 can be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
15236 Example server specification:
15239 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15240 (nnimap-stream ssl))
15243 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
15247 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
15248 @samp{imtest} program.
15250 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
15252 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
15253 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
15256 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the program
15257 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
15258 library @samp{ssl.el}.
15260 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
15262 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
15265 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
15266 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
15267 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
15268 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
15269 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
15270 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
15271 restrictions on @sc{imap} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
15272 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
15273 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
15276 @vindex imap-ssl-program
15277 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
15278 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
15279 and nnimap support it too - although the most recent versions of
15280 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
15281 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
15282 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
15283 to OpenSSL/SSLeay. You also need @samp{ssl.el} (from the W3
15284 distribution, for instance).
15286 @vindex imap-shell-program
15287 @vindex imap-shell-host
15288 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
15289 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
15291 @item nnimap-authenticator
15292 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
15294 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
15295 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
15297 Example server specification:
15300 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15301 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
15304 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
15308 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
15309 external program @code{imtest}.
15311 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
15314 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
15315 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
15317 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
15319 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
15321 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your email address as password.
15324 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
15326 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
15327 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
15328 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
15329 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
15330 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
15331 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
15334 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
15335 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
15336 running in circles yet?
15338 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
15339 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
15342 The possible options are:
15347 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
15350 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
15351 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
15352 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
15353 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
15355 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
15360 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
15361 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
15363 If non-nil (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as well),
15364 for other @sc{imap} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
15365 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
15366 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @sc{imap}
15367 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @sc{imap}
15370 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
15371 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
15374 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
15375 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15376 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
15377 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15380 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
15381 as ticked for other users.
15383 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
15385 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
15387 This variable contain the @sc{imap} search command sent to server when
15388 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
15389 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
15390 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
15392 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
15393 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
15394 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
15395 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
15397 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
15398 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
15400 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
15401 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
15402 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
15408 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
15409 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
15410 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
15411 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
15412 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
15417 @node Splitting in IMAP
15418 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
15419 @cindex splitting imap mail
15421 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
15422 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
15423 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
15424 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
15425 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
15429 Here are the variables of interest:
15433 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
15434 @cindex splitting, crosspost
15436 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
15438 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
15439 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
15441 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
15443 @item nnimap-split-inbox
15444 @cindex splitting, inbox
15446 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
15448 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
15449 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
15453 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
15454 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
15457 No nnmail equivalent.
15459 @item nnimap-split-rule
15460 @cindex Splitting, rules
15461 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
15463 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
15466 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
15467 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
15468 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
15469 Neither did I, we need examples.
15472 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15474 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
15475 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
15476 ("INBOX.private" "")))
15479 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
15480 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
15481 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
15483 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
15484 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
15488 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
15491 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
15492 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
15494 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
15495 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
15496 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
15497 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
15499 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
15500 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
15501 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
15502 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
15503 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
15504 them every time you fetch new mail.)
15506 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
15507 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
15508 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
15510 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
15511 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
15512 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15514 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
15516 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
15517 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
15518 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
15521 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15522 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
15523 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
15524 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
15525 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
15526 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
15529 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
15530 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
15531 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
15532 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
15533 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
15534 group/function elements.
15536 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
15538 @item nnimap-split-predicate
15540 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
15542 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
15543 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
15545 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
15546 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
15547 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
15550 @item nnimap-split-fancy
15551 @cindex splitting, fancy
15552 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
15553 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
15555 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15556 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
15557 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
15559 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
15560 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15561 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
15562 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15567 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
15568 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
15571 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
15573 @item nnimap-split-download-body
15574 @findex nnimap-split-download-body
15575 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
15577 Set to non-nil to download entire articles during splitting. This is
15578 generally not required, and will slow things down considerably. You
15579 may need it if you want to use an advanced splitting function that
15580 analyses the body to split the article.
15584 @node Expiring in IMAP
15585 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
15586 @cindex expiring imap mail
15588 Even though @code{nnimap} is not a proper @code{nnmail} derived back
15589 end, it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring
15590 Mail}). Unlike splitting in IMAP (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}) it do
15591 not clone the @code{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating
15592 @var{nnimap-expiry-wait}) but reuse the @code{nnmail} variables. What
15593 follows below are the variables used by the @code{nnimap} expiry
15596 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @sc{imap} server is
15597 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
15598 @code{imap} client specific mark, @code{gnus-expire}, and stored on the
15599 message. This means that likely only Gnus will understand and treat
15600 the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may allow
15601 you to view client specific flags on the message. It also means that
15602 your server must support permanent storage of client specific flags on
15603 messages. Most do, fortunately.
15607 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
15608 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
15610 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
15611 number, the symbol @var{immediate} or @var{never}.
15613 @item nnmail-expiry-target
15615 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
15616 @code{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
15617 that if the destination is a IMAP group on the same server, the
15618 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
15622 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
15623 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
15624 @cindex editing imap acls
15625 @cindex Access Control Lists
15626 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
15628 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
15630 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
15631 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
15632 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
15635 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
15636 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
15637 editing window with detailed instructions.
15639 Some possible uses:
15643 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
15644 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
15645 follow the list without subscribing to it.
15647 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
15648 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
15649 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
15653 @node Expunging mailboxes
15654 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
15658 @cindex Manual expunging
15660 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
15662 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
15663 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
15664 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
15666 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
15669 @node A note on namespaces
15670 @subsection A note on namespaces
15671 @cindex IMAP namespace
15674 The IMAP protocol has a concept called namespaces, described by the
15675 following text in the RFC:
15678 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
15680 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
15681 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
15682 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
15683 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
15685 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
15686 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
15687 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
15688 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
15689 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
15690 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
15693 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the IMAP
15694 implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace prefixes in a way
15695 that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
15697 Specifically, University of Washington's IMAP server uses mailbox
15698 names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only in the
15699 @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is created
15700 (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed without
15701 the namespace prefix, i.e @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do not make it
15702 possible for the user to guarantee that user entered mailbox names
15703 will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands, you should
15704 simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in Gnus.
15706 See the UoW @sc{imapd} documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
15707 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
15708 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
15710 @node Other Sources
15711 @section Other Sources
15713 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
15714 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
15718 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
15719 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
15720 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
15721 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
15722 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
15726 @node Directory Groups
15727 @subsection Directory Groups
15729 @cindex directory groups
15731 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
15732 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
15735 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
15736 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
15737 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
15738 back end to read directories. Big deal.
15740 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
15741 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
15742 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
15743 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
15744 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
15746 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
15748 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
15749 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
15750 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
15751 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
15754 @node Anything Groups
15755 @subsection Anything Groups
15758 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
15759 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
15760 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
15763 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
15764 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
15765 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
15766 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
15767 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
15768 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
15769 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
15770 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
15771 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
15772 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
15775 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
15776 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
15777 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
15778 in the article buffer, just as usual.
15780 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
15781 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
15782 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
15783 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
15785 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
15786 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
15787 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
15788 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
15789 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
15790 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
15791 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
15792 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
15797 @item nneething-map-file-directory
15798 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
15799 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
15800 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
15802 @item nneething-exclude-files
15803 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
15804 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
15805 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
15807 @item nneething-include-files
15808 @vindex nneething-include-files
15809 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
15810 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
15812 @item nneething-map-file
15813 @vindex nneething-map-file
15814 Name of the map files.
15818 @node Document Groups
15819 @subsection Document Groups
15821 @cindex documentation group
15824 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
15825 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
15832 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
15837 The standard Unix mbox file.
15839 @cindex MMDF mail box
15841 The MMDF mail box format.
15844 Several news articles appended into a file.
15847 @cindex rnews batch files
15848 The rnews batch transport format.
15849 @cindex forwarded messages
15852 Forwarded articles.
15855 Netscape mail boxes.
15858 @sc{mime} multipart messages.
15860 @item standard-digest
15861 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
15864 A @sc{mime} digest of messages.
15866 @item lanl-gov-announce
15867 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
15869 @item rfc822-forward
15870 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
15873 The Outlook mail box.
15876 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
15879 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
15882 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
15885 An RFC934-forwarded message.
15891 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
15894 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
15900 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
15901 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
15902 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
15905 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
15906 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
15907 group. And that's it.
15909 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
15910 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
15911 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
15912 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
15913 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
15914 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
15915 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
15916 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
15917 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
15918 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
15920 Virtual server variables:
15923 @item nndoc-article-type
15924 @vindex nndoc-article-type
15925 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
15926 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
15927 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
15928 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
15929 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
15931 @item nndoc-post-type
15932 @vindex nndoc-post-type
15933 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
15934 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
15939 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
15943 @node Document Server Internals
15944 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
15946 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
15947 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
15948 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
15949 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
15951 First, here's an example document type definition:
15955 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
15956 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
15959 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
15960 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
15961 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
15962 types can be defined with very few settings:
15965 @item first-article
15966 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
15967 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
15970 @item article-begin
15971 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
15972 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
15974 @item head-begin-function
15975 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
15978 @item nndoc-head-begin
15979 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
15982 @item nndoc-head-end
15983 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
15984 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
15986 @item body-begin-function
15987 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
15991 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
15994 @item body-end-function
15995 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
15999 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
16002 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
16003 regexp will be totally ignored.
16007 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
16008 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
16009 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
16010 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
16011 something that's palatable for Gnus:
16014 @item prepare-body-function
16015 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
16016 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
16017 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
16019 @item article-transform-function
16020 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
16021 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
16022 body of the article.
16024 @item generate-head-function
16025 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
16026 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
16027 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
16028 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
16032 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
16037 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16038 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16039 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
16040 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
16041 (head-end . "^ ?$")
16042 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
16043 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
16044 (subtype digest guess))
16047 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
16048 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
16049 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
16050 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
16051 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
16053 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
16054 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
16055 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
16056 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
16057 traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for a given type @code{TYPE}. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
16058 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
16059 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
16060 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
16061 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
16062 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
16070 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
16071 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
16072 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
16074 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
16075 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
16076 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
16079 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
16080 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
16081 that interested in doing things properly.
16083 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
16084 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
16087 First some terminology:
16092 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
16093 get news and/or mail from.
16096 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
16097 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
16100 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
16104 @item message packets
16105 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
16106 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
16107 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16109 @item response packets
16110 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
16111 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
16112 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16122 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
16123 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
16124 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
16125 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
16128 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
16131 You put the packet in your home directory.
16134 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
16135 the native or secondary server.
16138 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
16139 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
16142 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
16146 You transfer this packet to the server.
16149 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
16152 You then repeat until you die.
16156 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
16157 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
16160 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
16161 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
16162 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
16166 @node SOUP Commands
16167 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
16169 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
16173 @kindex G s b (Group)
16174 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
16175 Pack all unread articles in the current group
16176 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
16177 process/prefix convention.
16180 @kindex G s w (Group)
16181 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
16182 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
16185 @kindex G s s (Group)
16186 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
16187 Send all replies from the replies packet
16188 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
16191 @kindex G s p (Group)
16192 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
16193 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
16196 @kindex G s r (Group)
16197 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
16198 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
16201 @kindex O s (Summary)
16202 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
16203 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
16204 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
16205 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16210 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
16215 @item gnus-soup-directory
16216 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
16217 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
16218 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
16220 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
16221 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
16222 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
16223 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
16225 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
16226 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
16227 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
16228 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
16230 @item gnus-soup-packer
16231 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
16232 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16233 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
16235 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
16236 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
16237 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16238 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16240 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
16241 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
16242 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
16244 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16245 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16246 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
16247 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
16253 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
16256 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
16257 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
16258 you can read them at leisure.
16260 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
16264 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
16265 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
16266 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
16267 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
16269 @item nnsoup-directory
16270 @vindex nnsoup-directory
16271 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
16272 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
16274 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
16275 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
16276 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
16277 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
16279 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
16280 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
16281 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
16282 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
16283 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
16285 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
16286 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
16287 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
16288 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
16290 @item nnsoup-active-file
16291 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
16292 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
16293 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
16294 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
16295 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
16297 @item nnsoup-packer
16298 @vindex nnsoup-packer
16299 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
16300 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
16302 @item nnsoup-unpacker
16303 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
16304 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
16305 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16307 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
16308 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
16309 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
16312 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
16313 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
16314 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
16317 @item nnsoup-always-save
16318 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
16319 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
16325 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
16327 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
16328 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
16329 more for that to happen.
16331 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
16332 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
16333 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
16336 In specific, this is what it does:
16339 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
16340 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
16343 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
16344 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
16345 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
16348 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
16349 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
16350 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
16353 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
16354 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
16355 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
16357 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
16363 @item nngateway-address
16364 @vindex nngateway-address
16365 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
16367 @item nngateway-header-transformation
16368 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
16369 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
16370 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
16371 transformation should be called, and defaults to
16372 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
16373 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
16376 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
16377 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
16378 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
16381 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
16384 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
16387 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
16390 The following pre-defined functions exist:
16392 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16395 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16396 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16397 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
16399 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16401 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16402 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16403 @code{nngateway-address}.
16408 (setq gnus-post-method
16410 "mail2news@@replay.com"
16411 (nngateway-header-transformation
16412 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
16420 So, to use this, simply say something like:
16423 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
16428 @node Combined Groups
16429 @section Combined Groups
16431 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
16435 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
16436 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
16440 @node Virtual Groups
16441 @subsection Virtual Groups
16443 @cindex virtual groups
16444 @cindex merging groups
16446 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
16449 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
16450 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
16451 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
16453 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
16454 regexp to match component groups.
16456 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
16457 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
16458 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
16459 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
16460 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
16461 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
16462 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
16463 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
16465 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
16466 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
16469 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
16472 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
16473 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
16475 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
16476 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
16477 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
16478 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
16481 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
16484 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
16485 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
16486 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
16488 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
16489 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
16490 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
16491 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
16492 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
16494 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
16495 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
16496 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
16498 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
16499 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
16500 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
16501 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
16502 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
16503 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
16504 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
16505 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
16506 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
16507 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
16508 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
16510 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
16511 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
16512 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
16513 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
16514 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
16515 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
16516 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
16518 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
16519 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
16521 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
16522 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
16526 @node Kibozed Groups
16527 @subsection Kibozed Groups
16531 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
16532 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
16533 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
16534 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
16536 @kindex G k (Group)
16537 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
16540 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
16541 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
16542 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
16543 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
16545 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
16546 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
16547 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
16549 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
16550 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
16551 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
16552 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
16553 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
16554 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
16555 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
16556 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
16558 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
16559 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
16560 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
16561 Stranger things have happened.
16563 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
16564 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
16566 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
16567 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
16568 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
16569 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
16570 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
16571 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
16573 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
16574 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
16577 @node Gnus Unplugged
16578 @section Gnus Unplugged
16583 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
16585 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
16586 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
16587 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
16588 read news. Believe it or not.
16590 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
16591 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
16592 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
16593 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
16594 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
16596 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
16597 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
16598 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
16599 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
16600 reading news on a machine.
16602 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
16603 fact, you don't even have to configure anything.
16605 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
16608 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
16609 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
16610 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
16611 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
16612 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
16613 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
16614 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
16615 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
16616 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
16617 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
16618 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
16619 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
16624 @subsection Agent Basics
16626 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
16628 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
16629 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
16630 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
16631 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
16633 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
16634 connected to the net continuously.
16636 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
16637 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
16639 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
16644 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
16645 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
16646 already fetched while in this mode.
16649 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
16650 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
16651 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
16652 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
16653 Source Specifiers}).
16656 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
16657 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
16658 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
16659 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
16660 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
16663 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
16664 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
16665 then you read the news offline.
16668 And then you go to step 2.
16671 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
16677 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
16678 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
16679 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
16680 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
16681 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
16682 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
16683 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} groups in @code{gnus-select-method} and
16684 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
16687 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
16694 @node Agent Categories
16695 @subsection Agent Categories
16697 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
16698 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
16699 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
16700 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
16701 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
16702 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
16703 you're interested in the articles anyway.
16705 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
16706 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
16707 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
16708 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
16709 managing categories.
16712 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
16713 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
16714 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
16718 @node Category Syntax
16719 @subsubsection Category Syntax
16721 A category consists of two things.
16725 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
16726 are eligible for downloading; and
16729 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
16730 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
16731 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
16734 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
16735 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
16736 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
16737 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
16739 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
16740 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
16741 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
16743 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
16744 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
16745 operators sprinkled in between.
16747 Perhaps some examples are in order.
16749 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
16750 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
16756 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
16757 short (for some value of ``short'').
16759 Here's a more complex predicate:
16768 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
16769 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
16772 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
16773 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
16774 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
16776 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
16777 you want to do, you can write your own.
16781 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
16782 lines; default 100.
16785 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
16786 lines; default 200.
16789 True iff the article has a download score less than
16790 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
16793 True iff the article has a download score greater than
16794 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
16797 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
16798 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
16799 checksum and sees whether articles match.
16808 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
16809 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
16810 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
16813 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
16814 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
16815 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
16816 something along the lines of the following:
16819 (defun my-article-old-p ()
16820 "Say whether an article is old."
16821 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
16822 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
16825 with the predicate then defined as:
16828 (not my-article-old-p)
16831 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
16832 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
16836 (require 'gnus-agent)
16837 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
16838 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
16839 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
16842 and simply specify your predicate as:
16848 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
16849 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
16850 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
16851 just don't give a damn.
16853 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
16854 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
16855 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
16856 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
16857 parameters like so:
16860 (agent-predicate . short)
16863 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
16864 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
16865 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
16867 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
16870 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
16873 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
16874 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
16875 predicate is assumed to be a list.
16878 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
16879 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
16880 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
16881 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
16882 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
16883 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
16885 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
16886 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
16887 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
16888 if it's to be specific to that group.
16890 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
16897 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
16898 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
16904 Category specification
16908 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16914 Group Parameter specification
16917 (agent-score ("from"
16918 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16923 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
16929 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
16936 Category specification
16939 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
16945 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
16949 Group Parameter specification
16952 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
16955 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
16960 Use @code{normal} score files
16962 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
16963 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
16964 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
16965 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
16967 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
16968 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
16969 files for a group, *filtering out* those sections that do not
16970 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
16974 Category Specification
16981 Group Parameter specification
16984 (agent-score . file)
16989 @node Category Buffer
16990 @subsubsection Category Buffer
16992 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
16993 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
16994 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
16996 The following commands are available in this buffer:
17000 @kindex q (Category)
17001 @findex gnus-category-exit
17002 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
17005 @kindex k (Category)
17006 @findex gnus-category-kill
17007 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
17010 @kindex c (Category)
17011 @findex gnus-category-copy
17012 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
17015 @kindex a (Category)
17016 @findex gnus-category-add
17017 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
17020 @kindex p (Category)
17021 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
17022 Edit the predicate of the current category
17023 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
17026 @kindex g (Category)
17027 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
17028 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
17029 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
17032 @kindex s (Category)
17033 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
17034 Edit the download score rule of the current category
17035 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
17038 @kindex l (Category)
17039 @findex gnus-category-list
17040 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
17044 @node Category Variables
17045 @subsubsection Category Variables
17048 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
17049 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
17050 Hook run in category buffers.
17052 @item gnus-category-line-format
17053 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
17054 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
17055 Variables}). Valid elements are:
17059 The name of the category.
17062 The number of groups in the category.
17065 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
17066 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
17067 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
17069 @item gnus-agent-short-article
17070 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
17071 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
17073 @item gnus-agent-long-article
17074 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
17075 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
17077 @item gnus-agent-low-score
17078 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
17079 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
17082 @item gnus-agent-high-score
17083 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
17084 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
17090 @node Agent Commands
17091 @subsection Agent Commands
17093 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
17094 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
17095 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
17099 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
17100 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
17101 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
17107 @node Group Agent Commands
17108 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
17112 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
17113 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
17114 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
17115 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
17118 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
17119 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
17120 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
17123 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
17124 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
17125 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
17126 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
17129 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
17130 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
17131 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
17132 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
17135 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
17136 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
17137 Add the current group to an Agent category
17138 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
17139 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17142 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
17143 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
17144 Remove the current group from its category, if any
17145 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
17146 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17149 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
17150 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17151 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
17157 @node Summary Agent Commands
17158 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
17162 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
17163 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
17164 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
17167 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
17168 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
17169 Remove the downloading mark from the article
17170 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
17174 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
17175 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
17176 Toggle whether to download the article
17177 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The dowload mark is @samp{%} by
17181 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
17182 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
17183 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
17186 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
17187 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
17188 Download all eligible (See @pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
17189 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
17192 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
17193 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-series
17194 Download all processable articles in this group.
17195 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-series}).
17198 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
17199 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
17200 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
17201 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
17206 @node Server Agent Commands
17207 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
17211 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
17212 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
17213 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
17214 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
17217 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
17218 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
17219 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
17220 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
17225 @node Agent as Cache
17226 @subsection Agent as Cache
17228 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
17229 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
17230 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
17231 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
17232 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
17233 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
17234 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
17235 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
17236 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
17238 This behaviour can be controlled by @code{gnus-agent-cache}
17239 (@pxref{Agent Variables}).
17242 @subsection Agent Expiry
17244 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
17245 @findex gnus-agent-expire
17246 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
17247 @cindex Agent expiry
17248 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
17251 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
17252 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
17253 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
17254 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
17255 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
17256 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
17258 Note that other functions, e.g. @code{gnus-request-expire-articles},
17259 might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you to keep the agent
17260 synchronized with the group.
17262 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} can also be a list of regexp/day pairs.
17263 The regexps will be matched against group names to allow differing
17264 expiry in different groups.
17267 (setq gnus-agent-expire-days
17273 If you use the list form, the last element must always be the default
17274 method---it must always match all groups. Also, for a regexp to match,
17275 it must match from the beginning of the group's name.
17277 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
17278 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
17279 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
17280 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
17281 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
17283 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
17284 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's a special
17285 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} command to fix possible problems.
17287 @node Agent Regeneration
17288 @subsection Agent Regeneration
17290 @cindex Agent Regeneration
17291 @cindex Gnus Agent Regeneration
17292 @cindex regeneration
17294 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
17295 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
17296 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
17297 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
17298 internal inconsistencies.
17300 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
17301 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
17302 know about articles downloaded prior to the connection failure.
17303 Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
17304 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
17305 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
17307 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
17308 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
17309 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
17310 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
17311 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
17312 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
17314 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
17315 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
17316 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
17317 of individual articles to repair the local NOV(header) database. It
17318 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
17319 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
17322 @node Agent and IMAP
17323 @subsection Agent and IMAP
17325 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
17326 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
17327 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
17328 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
17330 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
17331 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
17332 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
17333 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
17335 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
17336 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
17337 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
17338 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
17340 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17341 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
17342 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
17343 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
17344 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
17345 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
17347 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
17348 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
17349 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
17350 in the group buffer.
17352 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
17353 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
17358 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
17361 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
17365 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
17366 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
17367 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
17368 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
17369 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
17370 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
17371 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
17372 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
17375 @node Outgoing Messages
17376 @subsection Outgoing Messages
17378 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
17379 stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view
17380 them there after posting, and edit them at will.
17382 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
17383 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
17384 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
17385 messages in the draft group.
17389 @node Agent Variables
17390 @subsection Agent Variables
17393 @item gnus-agent-directory
17394 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
17395 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
17396 @file{~/News/agent/}.
17398 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
17399 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
17400 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
17401 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
17402 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
17405 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17406 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17407 Hook run when connecting to the network.
17409 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17410 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17411 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
17413 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17414 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17415 Hook run when after finishing fetching articles.
17417 @item gnus-agent-cache
17418 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
17419 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @sc{nov} and
17420 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
17421 The default is non-nil, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
17423 @item gnus-agent-go-online
17424 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
17425 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
17426 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
17427 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
17428 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
17429 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
17432 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
17433 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
17434 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
17435 mark articles as unread after downloading. The default is t.
17437 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
17438 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
17439 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
17440 agent will fetch all missing headers. When @code{nil}, the agent will
17441 fetch only new headers. The default is @code{nil}.
17443 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
17444 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
17445 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
17446 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
17447 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
17448 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
17449 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
17450 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
17451 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
17452 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
17453 However, all articles parsed prior to loosing the connection will be
17454 available while unplugged).
17456 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
17457 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
17458 Perhaps not a Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
17459 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
17460 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
17461 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
17462 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
17463 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
17464 is only valid if the Agent is used.
17469 @node Example Setup
17470 @subsection Example Setup
17472 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
17473 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
17474 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
17477 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
17478 ;;; from your ISP's server.
17479 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
17481 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
17482 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
17483 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
17485 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
17486 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
17488 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
17489 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; The obsolete setting.
17490 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; Now the default.
17493 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
17494 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
17497 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
17498 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
17499 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
17500 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
17501 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
17504 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
17505 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
17506 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
17507 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
17508 back all the killed groups.)
17510 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
17511 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
17512 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
17515 @node Batching Agents
17516 @subsection Batching Agents
17518 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
17519 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
17520 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
17522 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
17523 following incantation:
17527 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f -l ~/.gnus.el gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
17531 @node Agent Caveats
17532 @subsection Agent Caveats
17534 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
17535 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
17539 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
17541 @strong{No}. If you want this behaviour, add
17542 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
17543 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
17545 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
17547 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is `nil'.
17551 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
17552 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
17553 locally stored articles.
17560 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
17561 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
17562 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
17565 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
17566 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
17567 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
17568 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
17569 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
17571 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
17572 before generating the summary buffer.
17574 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
17575 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
17576 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
17578 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
17579 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
17580 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
17581 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
17584 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
17585 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
17586 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
17587 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
17588 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
17589 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
17590 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
17591 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
17592 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
17593 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
17594 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
17595 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
17596 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
17597 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
17598 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
17599 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
17600 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
17604 @node Summary Score Commands
17605 @section Summary Score Commands
17606 @cindex score commands
17608 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
17609 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
17610 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
17611 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
17612 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
17614 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
17615 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
17616 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
17617 score file the current one.
17619 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
17624 @kindex V s (Summary)
17625 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
17626 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
17629 @kindex V S (Summary)
17630 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
17631 Display the score of the current article
17632 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
17635 @kindex V t (Summary)
17636 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
17637 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
17638 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
17641 @kindex V w (Summary)
17642 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
17643 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
17646 @kindex V R (Summary)
17647 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
17648 Run the current summary through the scoring process
17649 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
17650 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
17651 effect you're having.
17654 @kindex V c (Summary)
17655 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
17656 Make a different score file the current
17657 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
17660 @kindex V e (Summary)
17661 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
17662 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
17663 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
17667 @kindex V f (Summary)
17668 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
17669 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
17670 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
17673 @kindex V F (Summary)
17674 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17675 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
17676 after editing score files.
17679 @kindex V C (Summary)
17680 @findex gnus-score-customize
17681 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
17682 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
17686 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
17691 @kindex V m (Summary)
17692 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
17693 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
17694 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
17697 @kindex V x (Summary)
17698 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
17699 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
17700 expunge all articles below this score
17701 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
17704 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
17705 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
17708 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
17709 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
17713 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
17714 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
17716 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
17717 keys are available:
17721 Score on the author name.
17724 Score on the subject line.
17727 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
17730 Score on the @code{References} line.
17736 Score on the number of lines.
17739 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
17742 Score on an "extra" header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
17743 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
17746 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
17747 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
17748 @file{ADAPT} files.)
17757 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
17763 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
17764 what headers you are scoring on.
17776 Substring matching.
17779 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
17808 Greater than number.
17813 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
17814 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
17815 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
17820 Temporary score entry.
17823 Permanent score entry.
17826 Immediately scoring.
17830 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
17831 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
17832 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
17836 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
17837 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
17838 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
17839 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
17841 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
17842 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
17843 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
17844 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
17845 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
17847 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
17848 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
17849 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
17850 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
17851 current score file.
17853 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
17854 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
17855 pretend they are keymaps or not.
17858 @node Group Score Commands
17859 @section Group Score Commands
17860 @cindex group score commands
17862 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
17867 @kindex W f (Group)
17868 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17869 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
17870 all the time. This command will flush the cache
17871 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
17875 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
17877 @findex gnus-batch-score
17878 @cindex batch scoring
17880 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
17884 @node Score Variables
17885 @section Score Variables
17886 @cindex score variables
17890 @item gnus-use-scoring
17891 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
17892 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
17893 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
17895 @item gnus-kill-killed
17896 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
17897 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
17898 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
17899 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
17900 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
17901 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
17902 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
17904 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
17905 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
17906 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
17907 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
17908 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
17910 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
17911 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
17912 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
17913 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
17915 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17916 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17917 @cindex score cache
17918 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
17919 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
17920 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
17921 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
17922 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
17923 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
17926 @item gnus-save-score
17927 @vindex gnus-save-score
17928 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
17929 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
17930 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
17932 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
17933 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
17934 across group visits.
17936 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17937 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17938 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
17939 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
17940 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
17941 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
17942 manually entered data.
17944 @item gnus-summary-default-score
17945 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
17946 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
17948 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
17949 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
17950 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
17951 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
17952 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
17953 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
17955 @item gnus-score-over-mark
17956 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
17957 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
17958 default. Default is @samp{+}.
17960 @item gnus-score-below-mark
17961 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
17962 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
17963 default. Default is @samp{-}.
17965 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17966 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17967 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
17968 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
17970 Predefined functions available are:
17973 @item gnus-score-find-single
17974 @findex gnus-score-find-single
17975 Only apply the group's own score file.
17977 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
17978 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
17979 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
17980 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
17981 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
17982 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
17983 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
17984 then a regexp match is done.
17986 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
17987 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
17989 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
17990 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
17991 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
17992 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
17994 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17995 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17996 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
17997 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
17998 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
18002 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
18003 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
18004 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
18005 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
18006 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
18007 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
18008 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
18011 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
18012 overall score file, you could use the value
18014 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
18015 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
18018 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
18019 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
18020 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
18021 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
18022 are expired. It's 7 by default.
18024 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
18025 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
18026 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
18027 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
18028 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
18029 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
18030 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
18031 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
18033 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
18034 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
18035 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
18037 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
18038 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
18039 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
18040 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
18041 threading---according to the current value of
18042 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
18043 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
18044 simplified in this manner.
18049 @node Score File Format
18050 @section Score File Format
18051 @cindex score file format
18053 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
18054 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
18055 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
18057 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
18061 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
18063 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
18065 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
18067 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
18072 (mark-and-expunge -10)
18076 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
18077 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
18078 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
18079 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
18083 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
18084 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
18086 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
18087 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
18088 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
18090 Six keys are supported by this alist:
18095 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
18096 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
18097 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
18098 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
18099 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
18100 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
18101 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
18102 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
18103 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
18104 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
18105 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
18106 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
18107 to articles that matches these score entries.
18109 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
18110 score entry has one to four elements.
18114 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
18115 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
18119 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
18120 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
18121 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
18122 is successful. If this element is not present, the
18123 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
18124 instead. This is 1000 by default.
18127 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
18128 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
18129 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
18130 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
18131 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
18134 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
18135 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
18136 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
18137 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
18140 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
18141 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
18142 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
18143 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
18144 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
18145 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
18146 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
18147 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
18148 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
18149 instead, if you feel like.
18152 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
18153 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
18154 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
18155 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
18156 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin host,
18157 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks NNTP-Posting-Host in overviews:
18160 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s "NNTP-Posting-Host")
18164 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
18165 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
18167 These predicates are true if
18170 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
18173 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
18174 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
18181 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
18182 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
18183 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
18184 it's not. I think.)
18186 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
18187 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
18188 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
18189 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
18192 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
18193 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
18194 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
18195 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
18196 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
18197 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
18198 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
18202 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
18203 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
18204 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
18205 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
18206 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
18207 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
18208 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
18209 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
18212 @item Head, Body, All
18213 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
18217 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
18218 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
18219 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
18220 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
18221 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
18222 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
18223 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
18227 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
18228 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
18229 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
18230 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
18231 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
18232 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
18233 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
18234 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
18235 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
18236 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
18237 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
18241 @cindex Score File Atoms
18243 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18244 lower than this number will be marked as read.
18247 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18248 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
18250 @item mark-and-expunge
18251 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18252 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
18255 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
18256 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
18257 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
18258 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
18259 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
18262 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
18263 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
18266 @item exclude-files
18267 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
18268 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
18272 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
18273 ignored when handling global score files.
18276 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
18277 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
18278 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
18279 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
18282 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
18283 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
18284 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
18285 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
18287 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
18291 (mark-and-expunge -100)
18294 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
18295 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
18296 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
18297 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
18298 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
18300 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
18301 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
18302 scoring rules exist.
18305 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
18306 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
18307 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
18308 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
18309 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
18310 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
18311 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
18312 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
18313 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
18314 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
18315 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
18319 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
18320 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
18321 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
18322 file for a number of groups.
18325 @cindex local variables
18326 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
18327 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
18328 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
18329 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
18330 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
18334 @node Score File Editing
18335 @section Score File Editing
18337 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
18338 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
18339 with a mode for that.
18341 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
18342 additional commands:
18347 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
18348 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
18349 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
18350 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
18353 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
18354 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
18355 Insert the current date in numerical format
18356 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
18357 you were wondering.
18360 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
18361 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
18362 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
18363 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
18364 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
18369 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
18371 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
18372 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
18374 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
18375 e} to begin editing score files.
18378 @node Adaptive Scoring
18379 @section Adaptive Scoring
18380 @cindex adaptive scoring
18382 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
18383 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
18384 stupidity, to be precise.
18386 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
18387 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
18388 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
18389 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
18390 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
18391 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
18392 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
18393 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
18394 variable to @code{(word line)}.
18396 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18397 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
18398 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
18399 might look something like this:
18402 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18403 '((gnus-unread-mark)
18404 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
18405 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
18406 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
18407 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
18408 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
18409 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
18410 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
18411 (gnus-ancient-mark)
18412 (gnus-low-score-mark)
18413 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
18416 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
18417 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
18418 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
18419 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
18420 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
18421 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
18424 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
18425 will be applied to each article.
18427 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
18428 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
18429 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
18430 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
18432 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
18433 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
18434 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
18435 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
18437 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
18438 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
18439 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
18440 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
18442 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
18443 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
18444 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
18445 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
18446 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
18447 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
18449 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
18450 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
18451 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
18453 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
18454 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
18455 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
18457 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
18458 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
18459 let you use different rules in different groups.
18461 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
18462 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
18463 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
18466 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
18467 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
18468 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
18469 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
18470 the length of the match is less than
18471 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
18472 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
18475 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18476 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
18477 headers. If you adapt on words, the
18478 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
18479 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
18482 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18483 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
18484 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
18485 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
18486 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
18489 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
18490 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
18491 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
18492 score with 30 points.
18494 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
18495 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
18496 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
18497 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
18498 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
18500 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
18501 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
18502 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
18503 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
18504 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
18506 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
18507 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
18508 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
18509 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
18511 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
18512 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
18513 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
18514 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
18516 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
18517 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
18518 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
18519 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
18520 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
18522 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
18523 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
18524 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
18526 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
18527 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
18528 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
18529 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
18532 @node Home Score File
18533 @section Home Score File
18535 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
18536 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
18537 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
18538 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
18540 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
18541 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
18542 could perhaps use the same home score file.
18544 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
18545 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
18550 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
18554 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
18555 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
18559 A list. The elements in this list can be:
18563 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
18564 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
18567 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
18568 the home score file.
18571 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
18574 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
18579 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
18582 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18583 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
18586 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
18587 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
18589 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
18591 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18592 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
18595 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
18596 Other functions include
18599 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
18600 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
18601 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
18602 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
18606 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
18607 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
18608 their own home score files:
18611 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18612 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
18613 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
18614 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
18615 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
18618 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
18619 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
18620 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
18621 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
18622 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
18624 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
18625 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
18626 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
18627 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
18628 precedence over this variable.
18631 @node Followups To Yourself
18632 @section Followups To Yourself
18634 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
18635 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
18636 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
18637 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
18638 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
18639 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
18643 @item gnus-score-followup-article
18644 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
18645 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
18648 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
18649 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
18650 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
18654 @vindex message-sent-hook
18655 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
18656 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
18658 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
18662 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
18663 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
18667 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18668 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18671 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
18672 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
18677 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
18681 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
18682 is system-dependent.
18685 @node Scoring On Other Headers
18686 @section Scoring On Other Headers
18687 @cindex scoring on other headers
18689 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
18690 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
18691 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
18692 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
18693 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
18695 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
18696 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
18697 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
18698 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
18699 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
18701 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
18704 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
18705 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
18708 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
18709 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
18710 time if you have much mail.
18712 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
18713 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
18719 @section Scoring Tips
18720 @cindex scoring tips
18726 @cindex scoring crossposts
18727 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
18728 the @code{Xref} header.
18730 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
18733 @item Multiple crossposts
18734 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
18735 more than, say, 3 groups:
18738 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
18742 @item Matching on the body
18743 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
18744 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
18745 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
18746 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
18747 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
18748 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
18749 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
18752 @item Marking as read
18753 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
18754 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
18755 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
18759 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
18761 @item Negated character classes
18762 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
18763 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
18764 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
18768 @node Reverse Scoring
18769 @section Reverse Scoring
18770 @cindex reverse scoring
18772 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
18773 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
18774 like this in your score file:
18778 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
18783 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
18784 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
18787 @node Global Score Files
18788 @section Global Score Files
18789 @cindex global score files
18791 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
18792 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
18793 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
18795 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
18796 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
18797 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
18799 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
18800 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
18801 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
18802 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
18803 files are applicable to which group.
18805 To use the score file
18806 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
18807 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
18811 (setq gnus-global-score-files
18812 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
18813 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
18816 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
18818 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
18819 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
18820 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
18821 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
18823 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
18824 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
18826 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
18827 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
18828 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
18829 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
18830 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
18831 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
18833 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
18839 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
18841 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
18843 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
18845 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
18846 lowered out of existence.
18848 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
18849 articles completely.
18852 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
18853 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
18854 old articles for a long time.
18857 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
18858 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
18859 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
18860 holding our breath yet?
18864 @section Kill Files
18867 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
18868 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
18869 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
18871 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
18872 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
18873 files into score files.
18875 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
18876 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
18877 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
18878 that isn't a very good idea.
18880 Normal kill files look like this:
18883 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18884 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
18888 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
18889 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
18891 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
18892 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
18895 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
18900 @kindex M-k (Summary)
18901 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
18902 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
18905 @kindex M-K (Summary)
18906 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
18907 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
18910 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
18915 @kindex M-k (Group)
18916 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
18917 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
18920 @kindex M-K (Group)
18921 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
18922 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
18925 Kill file variables:
18928 @item gnus-kill-file-name
18929 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
18930 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
18931 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
18932 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
18933 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
18934 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
18936 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18937 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18938 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
18939 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
18942 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
18943 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
18944 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
18945 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
18946 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
18947 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
18948 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
18949 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
18950 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
18952 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18953 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18954 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
18959 @node Converting Kill Files
18960 @section Converting Kill Files
18962 @cindex converting kill files
18964 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
18965 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
18966 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
18969 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
18970 You can fetch it from
18971 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
18973 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
18974 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
18975 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
18983 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
18984 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
18985 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
18986 news articles generated every day.
18988 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
18989 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
18990 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
18991 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
18992 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
18993 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
18994 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
18995 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
18998 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
18999 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
19002 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
19003 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
19004 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
19005 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
19009 @node Using GroupLens
19010 @subsection Using GroupLens
19012 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
19014 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
19015 better bit in town at the moment.
19017 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
19021 @item gnus-use-grouplens
19022 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
19023 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
19024 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
19026 @item grouplens-pseudonym
19027 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
19028 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
19029 with the Better Bit Bureau.
19031 @item grouplens-newsgroups
19032 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
19033 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
19037 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
19038 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
19039 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
19040 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
19041 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
19042 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
19045 @node Rating Articles
19046 @subsection Rating Articles
19048 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
19049 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
19050 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
19051 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
19054 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
19059 @kindex r (GroupLens)
19060 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
19061 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
19064 @kindex k (GroupLens)
19065 @findex grouplens-score-thread
19066 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
19067 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
19068 threads in rec.humor.
19072 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
19073 the score of the article you're reading.
19078 @kindex n (GroupLens)
19079 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
19080 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
19083 @kindex , (GroupLens)
19084 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
19085 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
19089 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
19090 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
19093 @node Displaying Predictions
19094 @subsection Displaying Predictions
19096 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
19097 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
19098 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
19099 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
19100 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
19102 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
19103 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
19104 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
19105 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
19106 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
19107 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
19108 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
19109 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
19110 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
19111 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
19112 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
19113 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
19114 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
19116 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
19117 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
19118 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
19119 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
19121 The following are valid values for that variable.
19124 @item prediction-spot
19125 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
19128 @item confidence-interval
19129 A numeric confidence interval.
19131 @item prediction-bar
19132 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
19134 @item confidence-bar
19135 Numerical confidence.
19137 @item confidence-spot
19138 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
19140 @item prediction-num
19141 Plain-old numeric value.
19143 @item confidence-plus-minus
19144 Prediction +/- confidence.
19149 @node GroupLens Variables
19150 @subsection GroupLens Variables
19154 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
19155 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
19156 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
19157 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
19160 @item grouplens-bbb-host
19161 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
19164 @item grouplens-bbb-port
19165 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
19167 @item grouplens-score-offset
19168 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
19169 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
19172 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
19173 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
19174 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
19179 @node Advanced Scoring
19180 @section Advanced Scoring
19182 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
19183 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
19184 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
19185 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
19186 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
19188 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
19192 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
19193 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
19194 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
19198 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
19199 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
19201 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
19202 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
19203 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
19204 non-@code{nil} value.
19206 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
19207 operator, and various match operators.
19214 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
19215 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
19216 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
19221 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
19222 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
19223 then this operator will return @code{false}.
19228 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
19229 logical negation of the value of its argument.
19233 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
19234 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
19235 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
19236 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
19237 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
19238 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
19239 the ancestry you want to go.
19241 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
19242 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
19243 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
19244 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
19245 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
19248 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
19249 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
19251 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
19252 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
19255 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
19256 when he's talking about Gnus:
19260 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19261 ("subject" "Gnus"))
19267 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
19271 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19278 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
19279 really don't want to read what he's written:
19283 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19284 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
19288 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
19289 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
19290 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
19297 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
19298 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
19299 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
19300 ("body" "white.*socks"))
19304 The possibilities are endless.
19307 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
19308 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
19310 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
19311 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
19312 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
19313 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
19314 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
19315 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
19316 @samp{subject}) first.
19318 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
19319 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
19330 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
19331 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
19337 ("subject" "Gnus")))
19344 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
19345 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
19350 @section Score Decays
19351 @cindex score decays
19354 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
19355 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
19356 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
19357 use them in any sensible way.
19359 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
19360 @findex gnus-decay-score
19361 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
19362 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
19363 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
19364 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
19365 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
19366 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
19367 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
19368 definition of that function:
19371 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
19373 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
19374 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
19377 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
19379 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
19381 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
19384 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
19385 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
19386 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
19387 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
19391 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
19394 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
19397 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
19401 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
19402 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
19403 the new score, which should be an integer.
19405 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
19406 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
19411 @include message.texi
19412 @chapter Emacs MIME
19413 @include emacs-mime.texi
19415 @include sieve.texi
19425 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
19426 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
19427 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
19428 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
19429 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
19430 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
19431 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
19432 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
19433 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
19434 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
19435 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
19436 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
19437 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
19438 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
19439 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
19440 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
19441 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
19442 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
19443 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
19447 @node Process/Prefix
19448 @section Process/Prefix
19449 @cindex process/prefix convention
19451 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
19452 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
19454 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
19455 command to be performed on.
19459 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
19460 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
19461 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
19462 with the current one.
19464 @vindex transient-mark-mode
19465 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
19466 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
19468 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
19469 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
19472 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
19473 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
19475 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
19478 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
19479 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
19480 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
19481 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
19483 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
19484 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
19485 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
19486 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
19487 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
19488 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
19489 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
19490 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
19492 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
19493 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
19494 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
19495 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
19496 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
19500 @section Interactive
19501 @cindex interaction
19505 @item gnus-novice-user
19506 @vindex gnus-novice-user
19507 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
19508 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
19509 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
19510 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
19513 @item gnus-expert-user
19514 @vindex gnus-expert-user
19515 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
19516 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
19517 matter how strange.
19519 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
19520 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
19521 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
19522 is @code{t} by default.
19524 @item gnus-interactive-exit
19525 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
19526 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
19531 @node Symbolic Prefixes
19532 @section Symbolic Prefixes
19533 @cindex symbolic prefixes
19535 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
19536 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
19537 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
19538 rule of 900 to the current article.
19540 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
19541 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
19542 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
19543 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
19544 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
19545 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
19546 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
19548 @kindex M-i (Summary)
19549 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
19550 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
19551 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
19552 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
19553 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
19554 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
19555 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
19556 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
19558 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
19559 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
19560 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
19562 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
19566 @node Formatting Variables
19567 @section Formatting Variables
19568 @cindex formatting variables
19570 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
19571 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
19572 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
19573 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
19574 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
19577 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
19578 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
19579 lots of percentages everywhere.
19582 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
19583 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
19584 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
19585 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
19586 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
19587 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
19588 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
19589 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
19592 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
19593 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
19594 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
19595 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
19596 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
19597 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
19598 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
19599 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
19601 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
19602 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
19604 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
19605 @findex gnus-update-format
19606 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
19607 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
19608 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
19609 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
19613 @node Formatting Basics
19614 @subsection Formatting Basics
19616 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
19617 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
19618 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
19620 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
19621 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
19622 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
19623 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
19624 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
19627 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
19628 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
19629 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
19630 less than 4 characters wide.
19632 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
19633 @samp{%&user-date;}.
19636 @node Mode Line Formatting
19637 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
19639 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
19640 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
19641 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
19642 with the following two differences:
19647 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
19650 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
19651 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
19652 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
19653 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
19654 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
19655 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
19656 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
19661 @node Advanced Formatting
19662 @subsection Advanced Formatting
19664 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
19665 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
19666 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
19667 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
19669 These are the valid modifiers:
19674 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
19678 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
19683 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
19686 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
19691 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
19694 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
19697 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
19700 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
19706 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
19711 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
19712 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
19713 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
19714 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
19715 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
19716 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
19717 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
19719 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
19720 last operation, padding.
19722 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
19723 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
19724 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
19725 @xref{Compilation}.
19728 @node User-Defined Specs
19729 @subsection User-Defined Specs
19731 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
19732 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
19733 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
19734 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
19735 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
19736 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
19737 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
19738 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
19739 should protect against that.
19741 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
19742 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
19744 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
19745 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
19746 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
19747 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
19751 @node Formatting Fonts
19752 @subsection Formatting Fonts
19754 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
19755 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
19756 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
19757 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
19760 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
19761 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
19762 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
19763 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
19764 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
19765 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
19767 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
19768 special @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}.
19769 If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on.
19770 The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or
19771 symbols naming functions that return a string. When the mouse passes
19772 over text with this property set, a balloon window will appear and
19773 display the string. Please refer to @ref{(emacs)Help Echo} (in GNU
19774 Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in XEmacs) for
19775 more information on this. (For technical reasons, the guillemets have
19776 been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this paragraph.)
19778 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
19781 ;; Create three face types.
19782 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
19783 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
19785 ;; We want the article count to be in
19786 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
19787 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
19788 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
19790 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
19791 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
19793 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
19794 (setq gnus-group-line-format
19795 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
19798 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
19799 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
19801 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
19802 mode-line variables.
19804 @node Positioning Point
19805 @subsection Positioning Point
19807 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
19808 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
19809 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
19811 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
19813 @findex gnus-goto-colon
19814 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
19815 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
19817 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
19818 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
19819 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
19824 @subsection Tabulation
19826 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
19827 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
19828 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
19829 about lining up the following text afterwards.
19831 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
19832 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
19834 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19835 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
19836 This is the soft tabulator.
19838 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19839 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
19840 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
19843 @node Wide Characters
19844 @subsection Wide Characters
19846 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
19847 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
19848 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
19850 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
19851 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
19852 these countries, that's not true.
19854 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
19855 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
19856 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
19857 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
19861 @node Window Layout
19862 @section Window Layout
19863 @cindex window layout
19865 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
19867 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
19868 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
19869 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
19870 @code{t} by default.
19872 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
19873 glitches. Use at your own peril.
19875 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
19876 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
19877 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
19880 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
19881 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
19882 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19886 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
19887 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
19888 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
19889 possible names is listed below.
19891 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
19892 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
19895 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19899 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
19900 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
19901 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
19902 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
19903 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
19904 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
19905 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
19906 size spec per split.
19908 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
19909 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
19910 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
19911 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
19912 present) gets focus.
19914 Here's a more complicated example:
19917 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
19918 (summary 0.25 point)
19919 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
19923 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
19924 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
19925 occupy, not a percentage.
19927 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
19928 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
19929 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
19930 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
19931 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
19934 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
19937 (article (horizontal 1.0
19942 (summary 0.25 point)
19947 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
19948 @code{horizontal} thingie?
19950 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
19951 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
19952 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
19953 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
19954 the screen is to be given to this strip.
19956 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
19957 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
19958 lines from the splits.
19960 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
19964 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
19965 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
19966 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
19967 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
19968 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
19969 size = number | frame-params
19970 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
19973 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
19974 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
19975 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
19976 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
19978 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
19979 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
19980 @cindex window height
19981 @cindex window width
19982 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
19983 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
19984 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
19985 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
19986 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
19987 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
19989 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
19990 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
19991 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
19992 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
19994 @findex gnus-configure-frame
19995 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
19996 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
19997 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
19998 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
19999 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
20000 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
20001 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
20002 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
20003 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
20004 configuration list.
20007 (gnus-configure-frame
20011 (article 0.3 point))
20019 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
20020 @code{frame} split:
20023 (gnus-configure-frame
20026 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
20028 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
20029 (user-position . t)
20030 (left . -1) (top . 1))
20035 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
20036 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
20037 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
20038 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
20039 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
20040 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
20041 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
20042 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
20044 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
20045 be found in its default value.
20047 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
20048 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
20049 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
20053 (message (horizontal 1.0
20054 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
20056 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
20061 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
20062 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
20063 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
20068 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
20069 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
20070 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
20071 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
20072 (name . "Message"))
20073 (message 1.0 point))))
20076 @findex gnus-add-configuration
20077 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
20078 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
20079 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
20080 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
20083 (gnus-add-configuration
20084 '(article (vertical 1.0
20086 (summary .25 point)
20090 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
20091 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
20092 Gnus has been loaded.
20094 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
20095 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
20096 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
20097 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
20098 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
20100 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
20101 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
20102 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
20105 @subsection Example Window Configurations
20109 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
20110 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
20125 (gnus-add-configuration
20128 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
20130 (summary 0.16 point)
20133 (gnus-add-configuration
20136 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
20137 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
20143 @node Faces and Fonts
20144 @section Faces and Fonts
20149 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
20150 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
20151 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
20156 @section Compilation
20157 @cindex compilation
20158 @cindex byte-compilation
20160 @findex gnus-compile
20162 Remember all those line format specification variables?
20163 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
20164 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
20165 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
20166 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
20167 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
20170 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
20171 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
20172 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
20173 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
20174 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
20175 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
20176 them into the @file{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
20180 @section Mode Lines
20183 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
20184 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
20185 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
20186 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
20187 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
20188 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
20189 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
20192 @cindex display-time
20194 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
20195 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
20196 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
20197 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
20198 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
20199 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
20200 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
20201 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
20204 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
20206 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
20207 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
20209 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
20210 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
20211 (length display-time-string)))))
20214 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
20215 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
20216 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
20217 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
20218 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
20221 @node Highlighting and Menus
20222 @section Highlighting and Menus
20224 @cindex highlighting
20227 @vindex gnus-visual
20228 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
20229 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
20230 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
20233 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
20234 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
20237 @item group-highlight
20238 Do highlights in the group buffer.
20239 @item summary-highlight
20240 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
20241 @item article-highlight
20242 Do highlights in the article buffer.
20244 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
20246 Create menus in the group buffer.
20248 Create menus in the summary buffers.
20250 Create menus in the article buffer.
20252 Create menus in the browse buffer.
20254 Create menus in the server buffer.
20256 Create menus in the score buffers.
20258 Create menus in all buffers.
20261 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
20262 buffers, you could say something like:
20265 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
20268 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
20271 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
20274 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
20275 in all Gnus buffers.
20277 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
20280 @item gnus-mouse-face
20281 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
20282 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
20283 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
20287 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
20291 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
20292 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
20293 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
20295 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
20296 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
20297 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
20299 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
20300 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
20301 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
20303 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
20304 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
20305 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
20307 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
20308 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
20309 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
20311 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
20312 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
20313 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
20324 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
20325 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
20326 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
20327 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
20328 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
20332 @vindex gnus-carpal
20333 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
20334 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
20335 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
20340 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
20341 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
20342 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
20344 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
20345 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
20346 Face used on buttons.
20348 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
20349 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
20350 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
20352 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20353 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20354 Buttons in the group buffer.
20356 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20357 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20358 Buttons in the summary buffer.
20360 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20361 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20362 Buttons in the server buffer.
20364 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20365 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20366 Buttons in the browse buffer.
20369 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
20370 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
20371 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
20379 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
20380 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
20381 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
20382 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
20383 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
20385 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
20386 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
20387 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
20389 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
20390 been idle for thirty minutes:
20393 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
20396 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
20400 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
20403 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
20404 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
20405 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20407 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
20408 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
20409 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
20410 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20412 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
20413 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
20414 @var{idle} minutes.
20416 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
20417 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
20420 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
20421 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
20422 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
20424 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
20425 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
20426 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
20427 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
20429 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
20430 your @file{.gnus.el} file:
20432 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
20434 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
20437 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
20438 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
20439 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
20440 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
20441 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
20442 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
20443 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
20444 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
20445 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
20446 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
20447 @file{.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
20449 @findex gnus-demon-init
20450 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
20451 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
20452 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
20453 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
20454 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
20456 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
20457 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
20458 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
20467 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
20468 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
20470 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
20471 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
20472 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
20473 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
20476 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
20477 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
20478 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
20479 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
20481 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
20482 this will make spam disappear.
20484 There are some variables to customize, of course:
20487 @item gnus-use-nocem
20488 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
20489 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
20492 @item gnus-nocem-groups
20493 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
20494 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
20495 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
20496 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
20498 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
20499 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
20500 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
20501 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
20502 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
20503 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
20505 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
20506 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
20508 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
20509 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
20510 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
20511 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
20512 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
20513 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
20514 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
20515 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
20516 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
20517 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
20519 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
20520 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
20523 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
20526 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
20527 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
20530 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
20533 The specs are applied left-to-right.
20536 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
20537 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
20539 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
20540 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
20541 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
20542 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
20544 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
20545 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
20548 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
20550 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
20558 This might be dangerous, though.
20560 @item gnus-nocem-directory
20561 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
20562 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
20563 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
20565 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20566 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20567 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
20568 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
20569 might then see old spam.
20571 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
20572 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
20573 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
20574 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
20575 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
20578 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20579 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20580 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
20581 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
20585 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
20586 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
20587 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
20588 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
20595 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
20596 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
20597 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
20599 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
20600 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
20601 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
20602 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
20603 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
20604 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
20605 @code{undo} function.
20607 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
20608 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
20609 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
20610 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
20611 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
20612 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
20613 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
20614 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
20615 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
20616 never be totally undoable.
20618 @findex gnus-undo-mode
20619 @vindex gnus-use-undo
20621 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
20622 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
20623 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
20624 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
20628 @node Predicate Specifiers
20629 @section Predicate Specifiers
20630 @cindex predicate specifiers
20632 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
20633 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
20634 to type all that much.
20636 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
20641 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
20642 gnus-article-unread-p)
20645 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
20646 functions all take one parameter.
20648 @findex gnus-make-predicate
20649 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
20650 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
20651 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
20656 @section Moderation
20659 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
20660 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
20661 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
20664 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
20668 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
20671 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
20673 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
20678 You split your incoming mail by matching on
20679 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
20680 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
20683 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
20684 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
20687 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
20688 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
20692 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
20695 (setq gnus-moderated-list
20696 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
20700 @node Image Enhancements
20701 @section Image Enhancements
20703 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21, is able to display pictures and stuff, so
20704 Gnus has taken advantage of that.
20707 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
20708 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
20709 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
20710 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
20723 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
20724 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
20725 over your shoulder as you read news.
20727 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
20736 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
20737 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
20738 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
20739 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
20740 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
20741 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
20742 @code{GIF} formats.
20745 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
20746 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
20747 point your Web browser at
20748 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
20750 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
20751 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
20753 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
20754 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
20757 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
20761 @item gnus-picon-databases
20762 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
20763 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
20764 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
20765 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
20766 "/usr/local/faces")}.
20768 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
20769 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
20770 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
20771 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
20773 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
20774 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
20775 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
20776 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
20778 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
20779 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
20780 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
20781 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
20782 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
20784 @item gnus-picon-file-types
20785 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
20786 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
20787 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your Emacs.
20792 @subsection Smileys
20797 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
20802 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
20803 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
20805 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
20806 @file{.gnus.el} file:
20809 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
20812 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
20813 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
20814 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
20815 text and maps that to file names.
20817 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
20818 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
20819 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
20820 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
20821 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
20824 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
20829 @item smiley-data-directory
20830 @vindex smiley-data-directory
20831 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
20833 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
20834 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
20835 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
20844 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
20845 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
20846 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
20850 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
20851 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
20852 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
20853 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
20861 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
20862 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
20863 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
20864 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
20866 The variable that controls this is the
20867 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
20868 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
20869 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
20870 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
20871 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
20873 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
20874 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
20875 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
20876 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
20879 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
20880 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
20881 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
20882 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
20883 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
20884 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
20885 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
20886 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
20888 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
20891 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
20892 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
20894 @findex gnus-random-x-face
20895 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
20896 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
20897 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
20898 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
20899 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
20900 header data as a string.
20902 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
20903 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
20904 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
20905 randomly generated data.
20907 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
20908 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
20909 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
20910 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
20912 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
20913 like the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
20916 (setq message-required-news-headers
20917 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20918 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
20921 Using the last function would be something like this:
20924 (setq message-required-news-headers
20925 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20926 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
20927 (gnus-x-face-from-file
20928 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
20933 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
20936 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20937 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20938 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
20939 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
20940 unusual directory structure.
20942 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20943 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20944 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
20945 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
20947 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20948 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20949 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
20950 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
20951 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
20952 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
20954 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20955 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20956 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
20961 @subsubsection Toolbar
20965 @item gnus-use-toolbar
20966 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
20967 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
20968 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
20969 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
20971 @item gnus-group-toolbar
20972 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
20973 The toolbar in the group buffer.
20975 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
20976 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
20977 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
20979 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20980 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20981 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
20992 @node Fuzzy Matching
20993 @section Fuzzy Matching
20994 @cindex fuzzy matching
20996 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
20997 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
20999 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
21000 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
21001 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
21003 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
21004 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
21005 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
21006 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
21007 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
21010 @node Thwarting Email Spam
21011 @section Thwarting Email Spam
21015 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21017 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
21018 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
21019 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
21020 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
21021 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
21022 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
21023 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
21024 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
21027 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
21028 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
21029 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
21030 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
21031 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
21032 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
21034 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
21037 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
21038 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
21039 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
21040 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
21041 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
21042 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
21045 @node The problem of spam
21046 @subsection The problem of spam
21048 @cindex spam filtering approaches
21049 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
21051 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21053 First, some background on spam.
21055 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
21056 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it exists
21057 because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail, so only
21058 a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to make it
21059 worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most common
21060 spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for further
21061 spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers}, but terms like
21062 @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, and @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
21064 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
21065 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
21066 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
21067 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
21068 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
21069 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
21070 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
21071 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
21072 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
21075 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering. If you get 200
21076 spam messages per day from @email{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you
21077 block @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about
21078 @samp{VIAGRA}, you discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the
21079 message. This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate
21080 e-mail. For instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest
21081 has been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it
21082 @strong{contained} words that were common in spam messages.
21083 Nevertheless, in isolated cases, with great care, direct filtering of
21084 mail can be useful.
21086 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
21087 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
21088 @code{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @samp{X} in
21089 China, Ghana, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
21090 @code{N} systems enter @samp{X} or the spam e-mail from @samp{X} into
21091 a database. The criteria for spam detection vary - it may be the
21092 number of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When
21093 a user of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a
21094 message is spam, he consults one of those @code{N} systems.
21096 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
21097 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
21098 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
21099 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
21100 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
21101 sending spam, and their web sites have been shut down for some time
21102 because of the incident.
21104 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
21105 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
21106 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
21107 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
21108 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
21109 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
21110 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
21111 to store the database of spam analyses.
21113 @node Anti-Spam Basics
21114 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
21118 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21120 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
21121 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
21123 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
21124 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
21125 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
21126 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
21127 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
21128 part of the mail address.)
21131 (setq message-default-news-headers
21132 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
21135 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
21136 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21141 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
21142 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
21143 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
21149 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
21150 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
21151 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
21152 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
21154 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @sc{smtp} server
21155 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
21156 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
21157 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
21158 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
21159 your fancy split rule in this way:
21164 (to "larsi" "misc")
21168 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
21169 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
21170 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
21171 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
21172 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
21174 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
21175 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
21176 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
21177 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
21178 cosmic balance somewhat.
21180 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
21181 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
21182 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
21183 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
21188 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
21189 @cindex SpamAssassin
21190 @cindex Vipul's Razor
21193 The days where the hints in the previous section was sufficient in
21194 avoiding spam is coming to an end. There are many tools out there
21195 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
21196 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
21197 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
21198 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
21199 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
21201 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
21202 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
21203 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
21204 Specifiers}) follows.
21208 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
21211 :postscript "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
21214 Once you managed to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
21215 the mail contain e.g. a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
21216 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
21219 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
21223 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21226 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
21227 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
21231 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
21232 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
21233 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
21234 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
21237 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
21239 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
21241 (let ((buf (or (get-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
21242 (get-buffer " *nnml move*"))))
21244 (progn (message "Oops, cannot find message buffer") nil)
21246 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
21247 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
21251 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
21252 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
21253 spam. And here is the nifty function:
21256 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
21257 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
21259 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
21260 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
21261 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
21265 @subsection Hashcash
21268 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
21269 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
21270 you cannot rely on that everyone in the world uses this technique,
21271 since it is not part of the Internet standards, but it may be useful
21272 in smaller communities.
21274 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
21275 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
21276 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
21277 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
21278 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
21279 instead requires that everyone you communicate with supports the
21280 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
21281 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
21282 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
21283 one of them separately.
21286 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
21287 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
21288 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
21289 header. For more details, and for the external application
21290 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
21291 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
21292 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
21294 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
21298 (require 'hashcash)
21299 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
21302 The @code{hashcash.el} library can be found at
21303 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}, or in the Gnus
21304 development contrib directory.
21306 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
21310 @item hashcash-default-payment
21311 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
21312 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
21313 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
21314 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
21316 @item hashcash-payment-alist
21317 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
21318 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
21319 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(ADDR AMOUNT)} cells,
21320 where ADDR is the receiver (email address or newsgroup) and AMOUNT is
21321 the number of bits in the collision that is needed. It can also
21322 contain @samp{(ADDR STRING AMOUNT)} cells, where the STRING is the
21323 string to use (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
21327 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
21331 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
21332 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
21333 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
21334 a useful contribution, however.
21336 @node Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
21337 @subsection Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
21338 @cindex spam filtering
21341 The idea behind @code{spam.el} is to have a control center for spam detection
21342 and filtering in Gnus. To that end, @code{spam.el} does two things: it
21343 filters incoming mail, and it analyzes mail known to be spam or ham.
21344 @emph{Ham} is the name used throughout @code{spam.el} to indicate
21347 So, what happens when you load @code{spam.el}? First of all, you get
21348 the following keyboard commands:
21358 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
21359 @code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}.
21361 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{H} mark.
21362 Whenever you see a spam article, make sure to mark its summary line
21363 with @kbd{M-d} before leaving the group. This is done automatically
21364 for unread articles in @emph{spam} groups.
21370 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
21371 @code{spam-bogofilter-score}.
21373 You must have Bogofilter installed for that command to work properly.
21379 Also, when you load @code{spam.el}, you will be able to customize its
21380 variables. Try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{spam} variable
21383 The concepts of ham processors and spam processors are very important.
21384 Ham processors and spam processors for a group can be set with the
21385 @code{spam-process} group parameter, or the
21386 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. Ham processors take
21387 mail known to be non-spam (@emph{ham}) and process it in some way so
21388 that later similar mail will also be considered non-spam. Spam
21389 processors take mail known to be spam and process it so similar spam
21390 will be detected later.
21392 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
21393 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
21394 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
21395 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
21396 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
21397 by customizing the corresponding variable
21398 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
21399 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
21400 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
21401 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
21402 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
21403 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
21404 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
21407 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
21408 they get the @samp{H} mark when you enter the group. You must review
21409 these messages from time to time and remove the @samp{H} mark for
21410 every message that is not spam after all. To remove the @samp{H}
21411 mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to "unread" the article, or @kbd{d} for
21412 declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a group, all
21413 spam-marked (@samp{H}) articles are sent to a spam processor which
21414 will study them as spam samples.
21416 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
21417 @code{spam-ham-marks} gets overridden below, marks @samp{R} and
21418 @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
21419 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
21420 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
21421 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
21422 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
21423 should then adjust the @code{spam-ham-marks} variable.
21425 @defvar spam-ham-marks
21426 You can customize this variable to be the list of marks you want to
21427 consider ham. By default, the list contains the deleted, read,
21428 killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks.
21431 @defvar spam-spam-marks
21432 You can customize this variable to be the list of marks you want to
21433 consider spam. By default, the list contains only the spam mark.
21436 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
21437 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
21438 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
21439 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
21440 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
21441 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{H},
21444 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
21445 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
21446 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
21447 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
21448 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
21449 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
21450 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
21451 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with
21452 @code{customize-variable gnus-ham-process-destinations}). The ultimate
21453 location is a group name. If the @code{ham-process-destination}
21454 parameter is not set, spam articles are only expired.
21456 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
21457 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
21459 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
21460 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
21461 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
21462 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
21463 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
21464 customize this variable with @code{customize-variable
21465 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). The ultimate location is a group
21466 name. If the @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set,
21467 the spam articles are only expired.
21469 To use the @code{spam.el} facilities for incoming mail filtering, you
21470 must add the following to your fancy split list
21471 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}:
21477 Note that the fancy split may be called @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
21478 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on whether you use the nnmail or
21479 nnimap back ends to retrieve your mail.
21481 The @code{spam-split} function will process incoming mail and send the
21482 mail considered to be spam into the group name given by the variable
21483 @code{spam-split-group}. By default that group name is @samp{spam},
21484 but you can customize it.
21486 @emph{Note for IMAP users}
21488 The boolean variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body} needs to be
21489 set, if you want to split based on the whole message instead of just
21490 the headers. By default, the nnimap backend will only retrieve the
21491 message headers. If you use spam-check-bogofilter, spam-check-ifile,
21492 or spam-check-stat (the splitters that can benefit from the full
21493 message body), you should set this variable. It is not set by default
21494 because it will slow IMAP down.
21496 @xref{Splitting in IMAP}.
21498 @emph{TODO: Currently, spam.el only supports insertion of articles
21499 into a backend. There is no way to tell spam.el that an article is no
21500 longer spam or ham.}
21502 @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
21503 statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
21506 The following are the methods you can use to control the behavior of
21507 @code{spam-split} and their corresponding spam and ham processors:
21510 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
21511 * BBDB Whitelists::
21513 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
21515 * ifile spam filtering::
21516 * spam-stat spam filtering::
21517 * Extending the spam elisp package::
21520 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
21521 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
21522 @cindex spam filtering
21523 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
21524 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
21527 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
21528 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
21529 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
21530 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
21531 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
21535 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
21536 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
21537 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
21538 whitelist will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an
21539 implicit filter, meaning it believes everyone to be a spammer unless
21540 told otherwise. Use with care.
21543 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
21544 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21545 customizing the group parameters or the
21546 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21547 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
21548 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
21551 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
21552 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21553 customizing the group parameters or the
21554 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21555 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
21556 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
21557 whitelist. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
21558 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21561 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
21562 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
21563 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
21564 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
21565 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
21567 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
21568 legitimate. All non-whitelisted addresses are considered spammers.
21569 This option is probably not useful for most Gnus users unless the
21570 whitelists is very comprehensive or permissive. Also see @ref{BBDB
21571 Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the Emacs regular expression
21574 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
21575 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
21576 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
21577 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
21578 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
21579 @file{blacklist} respectively.
21581 @node BBDB Whitelists
21582 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
21583 @cindex spam filtering
21584 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
21585 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
21588 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
21590 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
21591 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted addresses,
21592 without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded for
21593 @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Only addresses in the BBDB
21594 will be allowed through; all others will be classified as spam.
21598 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
21599 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21600 customizing the group parameters or the
21601 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21602 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
21603 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
21604 BBDB. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
21605 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21609 @subsubsection Blackholes
21610 @cindex spam filtering
21611 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
21614 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
21616 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
21617 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
21618 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
21619 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
21620 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
21621 contains outdated servers.
21623 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
21624 @code{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
21625 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to nil. It is not recommended at this
21626 time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to nil despite the possible
21627 performance improvements, because some users may be unable to use it,
21628 but you can try it and see if it works for you.
21632 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
21634 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
21638 @defvar spam-use-dig
21640 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
21641 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
21645 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
21646 ham processor for blackholes.
21648 @node Regular Expressions Header Matching
21649 @subsubsection Regular Expressions Header Matching
21650 @cindex spam filtering
21651 @cindex regular expressions header matching, spam filtering
21654 @defvar spam-use-regex-headers
21656 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus check the
21657 message headers against lists of regular expressions when you set this
21658 option. The variables @code{spam-regex-headers-spam} and
21659 @code{spam-regex-headers-ham} hold the list of regular expressions.
21660 Gnus will check against the message headers to determine if the
21661 message is spam or ham, respectively.
21665 @defvar spam-regex-headers-spam
21667 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
21668 the message, positively identify it as spam.
21672 @defvar spam-regex-headers-ham
21674 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
21675 the message, positively identify it as ham.
21679 Regular expression header checks are done only on incoming mail.
21680 There is no specific spam or ham processor for regular expressions.
21683 @subsubsection Bogofilter
21684 @cindex spam filtering
21685 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
21688 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
21690 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
21693 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{H} mark for spam
21694 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
21695 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
21696 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
21697 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
21698 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
21700 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on an internal
21701 threshold, set at compilation time. That threshold can't be
21704 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
21705 processing will be turned off.
21707 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
21711 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
21713 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
21714 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
21715 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
21716 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
21717 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
21718 installation documents for details.
21720 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
21724 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
21725 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21726 customizing the group parameters or the
21727 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21728 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
21729 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
21732 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
21733 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21734 customizing the group parameters or the
21735 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21736 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
21737 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
21738 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
21739 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21742 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
21744 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
21745 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
21746 database directory.
21750 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to ifile in intent and
21751 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
21752 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
21753 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
21754 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
21755 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
21757 @node ifile spam filtering
21758 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
21759 @cindex spam filtering
21760 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
21763 @defvar spam-use-ifile
21765 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use ifile, a
21766 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
21770 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
21772 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
21773 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
21774 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
21778 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
21780 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
21781 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
21782 the default value of @samp{spam}.
21785 @defvar spam-ifile-database-path
21787 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
21788 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
21792 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
21793 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
21794 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
21795 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
21798 @node spam-stat spam filtering
21799 @subsubsection spam-stat spam filtering
21800 @cindex spam filtering
21801 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
21805 @xref{Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat}.
21807 @defvar spam-use-stat
21809 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use
21810 spam-stat.el, an Emacs Lisp statistical analyzer.
21814 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
21815 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21816 customizing the group parameters or the
21817 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21818 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
21819 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
21822 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
21823 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21824 customizing the group parameters or the
21825 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21826 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
21827 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
21828 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
21829 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21832 This enables spam.el to cooperate with spam-stat.el. spam-stat.el
21833 provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database, which unlike ifile or
21834 Bogofilter does not require external programs. A spam and a ham
21835 processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for @code{spam-split}
21838 @node Extending the spam elisp package
21839 @subsubsection Extending the spam elisp package
21840 @cindex spam filtering
21841 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
21842 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
21844 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
21845 incoming mail, provide the following:
21853 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
21854 "True if blackbox should be used.")
21859 (spam-use-blackbox . spam-check-blackbox)
21861 to @code{spam-list-of-checks}.
21866 Write the @code{spam-check-blackbox} function. It should return
21867 @samp{nil} or @code{spam-split-group}. See the existing
21868 @code{spam-check-*} functions for examples of what you can do.
21871 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
21878 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
21879 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
21882 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
21883 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
21884 Only applicable to spam groups.")
21886 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
21887 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
21888 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
21896 (defun spam-blackbox-register-spam-routine ()
21897 (spam-generic-register-routine
21898 ;; the spam function
21900 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
21901 (when (stringp from)
21902 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer from))))
21903 ;; the ham function
21906 (defun spam-blackbox-register-ham-routine ()
21907 (spam-generic-register-routine
21908 ;; the spam function
21910 ;; the ham function
21912 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
21913 (when (stringp from)
21914 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender from))))))
21917 Write the @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender} and
21918 @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer} functions. You can add
21919 more complex code than fetching the message sender, but keep in mind
21920 that retrieving the whole message takes significantly longer than the
21921 sender through @code{spam-fetch-field-from-fast}, because the message
21922 senders are kept in memory by Gnus.
21927 @node Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
21928 @subsection Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
21929 @cindex Paul Graham
21930 @cindex Graham, Paul
21931 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
21932 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
21933 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
21935 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
21936 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
21937 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
21938 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
21939 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
21940 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
21941 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
21942 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
21943 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
21946 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
21947 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
21948 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
21949 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
21950 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
21951 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
21952 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
21953 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
21955 Gnus supports this kind of filtering. But it needs some setting up.
21956 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
21957 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
21958 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
21959 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
21962 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
21963 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
21964 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
21967 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
21968 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
21970 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
21971 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
21972 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
21973 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
21974 need several hundred emails in both collections.
21976 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
21977 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
21978 per mail. Use the following:
21980 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
21981 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
21982 is treated as one spam mail.
21985 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
21986 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
21987 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
21990 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
21991 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds
21992 the the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
21993 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
21994 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds the the group
21995 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
21997 When you are using IMAP, you won't have the mails available locally,
21998 so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent to cache
21999 the articles. Then you can use directories such as
22000 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
22001 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
22004 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics -- the
22005 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
22006 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
22007 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
22010 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
22011 reset the dictionary.
22013 @defun spam-stat-reset
22014 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
22017 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
22018 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
22019 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
22020 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
22021 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
22022 only non-spam mails.
22024 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
22025 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
22026 to update the dictionary incrementally.
22029 @defun spam-stat-save
22030 Save the dictionary.
22033 @defvar spam-stat-file
22034 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
22035 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
22038 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
22039 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
22041 In order to use @code{spam-stat} to split your mail, you need to add the
22042 following to your @file{~/.gnus} file:
22045 (require 'spam-stat)
22049 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
22052 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
22053 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
22054 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
22055 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
22057 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
22058 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
22059 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
22060 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
22063 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22064 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22068 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
22069 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
22072 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
22073 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
22074 expression are considered potential spam.
22077 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22078 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22079 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22083 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
22084 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
22085 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
22086 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
22087 mails, when creating the dictionary!
22090 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22091 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22092 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22096 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
22097 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
22098 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
22099 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
22100 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
22104 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22105 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
22106 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22107 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22112 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
22113 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
22115 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
22117 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
22118 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
22119 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
22122 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
22123 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
22124 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
22127 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
22128 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
22129 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
22130 already been processed as non-spam.
22133 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
22134 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
22135 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
22136 been processed as spam.
22139 @defun spam-stat-save
22140 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
22141 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
22144 @defun spam-stat-load
22145 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
22146 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
22149 @defun spam-stat-score-word
22150 Return the spam score for a word.
22153 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
22154 Return the spam score for a buffer.
22157 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
22158 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
22159 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
22162 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
22163 following in your @file{~/.gnus} file:
22166 (require 'spam-stat)
22170 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
22173 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
22174 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22175 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22176 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22177 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
22178 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
22179 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22180 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22181 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
22182 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22183 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
22184 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
22185 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22186 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22189 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
22192 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
22193 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22194 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22195 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
22196 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
22197 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22200 @node Various Various
22201 @section Various Various
22207 @item gnus-home-directory
22208 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
22209 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
22211 @item gnus-directory
22212 @vindex gnus-directory
22213 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
22214 this variable, which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment
22215 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
22217 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
22218 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
22219 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
22220 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
22222 @item gnus-default-directory
22223 @vindex gnus-default-directory
22224 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
22225 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
22226 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
22227 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
22228 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
22229 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
22232 @vindex gnus-verbose
22233 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
22234 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
22235 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
22236 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
22237 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
22239 @item gnus-verbose-backends
22240 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
22241 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
22242 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
22244 @item nnheader-max-head-length
22245 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
22246 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
22247 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
22248 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
22249 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
22250 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
22251 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
22252 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
22253 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
22255 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
22256 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
22257 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
22258 read when doing the operation described above.
22260 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22261 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22263 @cindex invalid characters in file names
22264 @cindex characters in file names
22265 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
22266 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
22267 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
22270 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22274 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
22275 Windows (phooey) systems.
22277 @item gnus-hidden-properties
22278 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
22279 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
22280 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
22281 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
22283 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
22284 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
22285 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
22286 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
22287 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
22289 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
22290 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
22291 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
22293 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
22294 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
22296 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
22297 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
22298 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
22299 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
22302 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
22310 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
22311 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
22313 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
22315 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
22321 Not because of victories @*
22324 but for the common sunshine,@*
22326 the largess of the spring.
22330 but for the day's work done@*
22331 as well as I was able;@*
22332 not for a seat upon the dais@*
22333 but at the common table.@*
22338 @chapter Appendices
22341 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
22342 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
22343 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
22344 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
22345 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
22346 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
22347 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
22348 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
22349 * Frequently Asked Questions::
22356 @cindex Installing under XEmacs
22358 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
22359 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
22360 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{w3}, @samp{mh-e},
22361 @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{rmail}, @samp{eterm}, @samp{mail-lib},
22362 @samp{xemacs-base}, @samp{sh-script} and @samp{fsf-compat}. The
22363 @samp{misc-games} package is required for Morse decoding.
22370 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
22371 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
22373 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
22374 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
22375 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
22376 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
22377 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
22379 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
22380 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
22381 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
22382 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
22383 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
22384 appropriate name, don't you think?)
22386 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
22387 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
22388 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
22389 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
22392 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
22393 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
22394 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
22395 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
22396 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
22397 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
22398 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
22399 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
22400 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
22404 @node Gnus Versions
22405 @subsection Gnus Versions
22407 @cindex September Gnus
22409 @cindex Quassia Gnus
22410 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
22414 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
22415 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
22416 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
22418 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
22419 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
22421 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
22422 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
22424 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
22425 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
22427 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
22428 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
22431 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
22433 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
22434 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
22435 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
22436 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
22437 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
22438 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
22441 @node Other Gnus Versions
22442 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
22445 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
22446 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
22447 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
22448 @sc{mime} capabilities.
22450 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
22451 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
22452 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
22453 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
22460 What's the point of Gnus?
22462 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
22463 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
22464 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
22465 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
22466 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
22467 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
22468 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
22469 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
22470 keep track of millions of people who post?
22472 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
22473 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
22474 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
22475 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
22476 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
22477 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
22478 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
22479 every one of you to explore and invent.
22481 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
22482 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
22485 @node Compatibility
22486 @subsection Compatibility
22488 @cindex compatibility
22489 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
22490 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
22491 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
22496 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
22500 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
22503 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
22506 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
22507 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
22508 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
22509 important variables have their values copied into their global
22510 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
22511 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
22513 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
22514 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
22515 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
22516 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
22517 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
22521 @cindex highlighting
22522 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
22523 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
22524 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
22525 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
22526 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
22527 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
22530 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
22531 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
22532 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
22533 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
22535 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
22536 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
22537 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
22538 to stop doing it the old way.
22540 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
22542 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
22544 @cindex reporting bugs
22546 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
22547 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
22548 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
22550 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
22551 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
22552 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
22553 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
22558 @subsection Conformity
22560 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
22561 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
22569 There are no known breaches of this standard.
22573 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
22575 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
22576 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
22577 We do have some breaches to this one.
22583 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
22584 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
22585 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
22586 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
22587 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
22592 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
22593 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
22594 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
22595 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
22597 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
22599 All the various @sc{mime} RFCs are supported.
22601 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
22602 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
22604 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
22607 RFC 1991 is the original PGP message specification, published as a
22608 Information RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now called Open PGP, and
22609 put on the Standards Track. Both document a non-@sc{mime} aware PGP
22610 format. Gnus supports both encoding (signing and encryption) and
22611 decoding (verification and decryption).
22613 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
22614 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
22615 1991) describes the @sc{mime}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
22616 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
22618 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
22619 RFC 2633 describes the @sc{s/mime} format.
22621 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
22622 RFC 1730 is @sc{imap} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060 (@sc{imap} 4
22623 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5 authentication for @sc{imap}. RFC
22624 2086 describes access control lists (ACLs) for @sc{imap}. RFC 2359
22625 describes a @sc{imap} protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper
22626 TLS integration (STARTTLS) with @sc{imap}. RFC 1731 describes the
22627 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @sc{imap}.
22631 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
22632 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
22637 @subsection Emacsen
22643 Gnus should work on :
22651 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
22655 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
22656 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
22659 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
22660 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
22661 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
22665 @node Gnus Development
22666 @subsection Gnus Development
22668 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
22669 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
22670 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
22671 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
22672 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
22673 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
22674 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
22675 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
22677 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
22678 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
22679 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
22680 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
22681 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
22684 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
22685 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
22686 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
22687 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
22688 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
22690 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
22691 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
22692 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
22693 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
22694 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
22695 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
22696 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
22697 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
22698 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
22699 can't be assumed to do so.
22704 @subsection Contributors
22705 @cindex contributors
22707 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
22708 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
22709 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
22710 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
22711 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
22712 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
22713 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
22714 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
22715 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
22716 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
22718 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
22724 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
22727 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
22728 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
22729 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
22730 functionality and stuff.
22733 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
22734 well as numerous other things).
22737 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
22740 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
22743 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
22746 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
22749 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
22750 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
22753 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
22756 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
22757 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
22760 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
22763 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
22766 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
22769 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
22772 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
22773 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
22776 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
22779 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
22782 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
22785 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
22789 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
22792 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
22795 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
22798 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
22799 well as autoconf support.
22803 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
22804 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
22806 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
22815 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
22819 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
22829 Alexei V. Barantsev,
22844 Massimo Campostrini,
22849 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
22850 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
22854 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
22857 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
22863 Michael Welsh Duggan,
22868 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
22872 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
22880 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
22882 Michelangelo Grigni,
22886 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
22888 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
22890 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
22897 François Felix Ingrand,
22898 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
22899 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
22901 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
22912 Peter Skov Knudsen,
22913 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
22915 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
22916 Thor Kristoffersen,
22919 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
22937 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
22938 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
22945 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
22950 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
22954 John McClary Prevost,
22960 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
22965 Christian von Roques,
22968 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
22975 Philippe Schnoebelen,
22977 Randal L. Schwartz,
22991 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
22996 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
23012 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
23017 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
23018 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
23019 (550kB and counting).
23021 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
23024 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
23025 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
23029 @subsection New Features
23030 @cindex new features
23033 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
23034 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
23035 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
23036 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
23037 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
23040 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
23041 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
23042 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
23045 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
23047 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
23052 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
23053 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
23056 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
23057 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
23060 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
23063 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
23064 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
23065 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
23068 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
23069 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
23070 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
23071 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
23074 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
23075 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23078 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
23079 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
23080 (@pxref{The Active File}).
23083 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
23084 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
23087 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
23088 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
23089 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
23092 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
23093 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
23094 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
23097 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus.el}) to avoid cluttering up
23098 the @file{.emacs} file.
23101 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
23102 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
23105 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
23106 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
23109 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
23110 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23113 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
23114 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
23117 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
23118 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
23121 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
23124 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
23125 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
23128 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
23129 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
23132 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
23133 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
23136 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
23139 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
23140 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
23143 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
23147 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
23151 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
23152 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
23155 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
23161 @node September Gnus
23162 @subsubsection September Gnus
23166 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
23170 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
23175 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
23176 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
23180 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
23181 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
23185 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
23189 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
23190 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
23193 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
23197 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
23200 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
23203 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
23206 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
23210 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
23211 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
23214 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
23218 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
23222 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
23226 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
23230 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
23233 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
23234 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
23237 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
23241 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
23242 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
23245 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
23248 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
23249 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
23250 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
23253 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
23257 The Gnus cache is much faster.
23260 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
23264 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
23265 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
23268 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
23269 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
23272 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
23273 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
23276 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
23277 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
23278 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
23281 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
23282 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
23285 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
23288 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
23291 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
23294 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
23297 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
23298 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
23301 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
23305 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
23308 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
23313 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
23316 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
23320 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23323 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
23327 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
23330 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
23333 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
23334 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
23337 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
23338 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
23342 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
23343 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
23346 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
23350 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
23351 buffer to allow easier treatment.
23354 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
23357 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
23361 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
23365 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
23366 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
23369 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
23373 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
23374 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
23377 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
23378 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
23381 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
23385 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
23388 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
23391 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
23397 @subsubsection Red Gnus
23399 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
23403 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
23410 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
23413 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
23414 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
23417 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
23418 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
23422 Article washing status can be displayed in the
23423 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
23426 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
23429 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
23430 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
23433 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
23437 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
23438 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
23442 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
23443 Server Internals}).
23446 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
23450 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
23453 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
23454 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
23457 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
23458 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
23459 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
23462 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
23463 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
23466 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
23467 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
23470 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
23474 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
23475 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
23478 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
23479 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
23482 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
23486 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
23489 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
23493 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
23494 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
23497 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
23498 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
23501 A new command for reading collections of documents
23502 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
23503 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
23506 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
23510 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
23511 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
23514 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
23515 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
23516 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
23519 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
23520 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
23524 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
23528 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
23532 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
23537 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
23541 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
23545 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
23546 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
23549 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
23555 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
23557 New features in Gnus 5.6:
23562 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
23563 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
23564 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
23567 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
23568 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
23569 group, which is created automatically.
23572 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
23576 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
23579 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
23580 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
23583 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
23587 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
23590 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
23591 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
23594 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
23597 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
23598 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
23601 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
23602 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
23605 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
23606 control over simplification.
23609 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
23612 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
23616 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
23619 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
23622 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
23623 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
23624 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
23627 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
23628 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
23631 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
23635 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
23636 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
23639 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
23640 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
23643 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
23647 A history of where mails have been split is available.
23650 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
23653 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
23654 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
23657 A new function for citing in Message has been
23658 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
23661 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
23664 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
23668 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
23669 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
23672 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
23673 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
23676 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
23679 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
23683 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
23684 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
23686 New features in Gnus 5.8:
23691 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
23692 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
23694 If you used procmail like in
23697 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
23698 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
23699 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
23700 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
23703 this now has changed to
23707 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
23711 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
23712 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
23715 Gnus is now a @sc{mime}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
23716 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
23719 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
23720 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
23723 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
23724 called to position point.
23727 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
23728 summary buffers and @sc{nov} files.
23731 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
23732 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
23735 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
23736 subtly different manner.
23739 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
23740 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
23741 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
23744 Gnus can now read @sc{imap} mail via @code{nnimap}.
23752 @section The Manual
23756 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
23757 either @code{texi2dvi}
23759 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
23760 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
23762 to get what you hold in your hands now.
23764 The following conventions have been used:
23769 This is a @samp{string}
23772 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
23775 This is a @file{file}
23778 This is a @code{symbol}
23782 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
23786 (setq flargnoze "yes")
23789 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
23792 (setq flumphel 'yes)
23795 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
23796 ever get them confused.
23800 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
23801 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
23802 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
23803 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
23804 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
23805 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
23806 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
23812 @node On Writing Manuals
23813 @section On Writing Manuals
23815 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
23816 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
23817 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
23818 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
23819 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
23820 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
23823 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
23824 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
23825 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
23828 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
23829 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
23834 @section Terminology
23836 @cindex terminology
23841 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
23842 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
23843 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
23844 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
23845 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
23849 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
23850 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
23851 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
23852 not posting, and replying is not following up.
23856 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
23860 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
23865 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
23866 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
23867 commonly fetched via the protocol NNTP, whereas mail messages could be
23868 read from a file on the local disk. The internal architecture of Gnus
23869 thus comprises a `front end' and a number of `back ends'. Internally,
23870 when you enter a group (by hitting @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke
23871 a function in the front end in Gnus. The front end then `talks' to a
23872 back end and says things like ``Give me the list of articles in the foo
23873 group'' or ``Show me article number 4711''.
23875 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back end
23876 accesses news via NNTP, the @code{nnimap} back end accesses mail via
23877 IMAP) or a file format and directory layout (the @code{nnspool} back end
23878 accesses news via the common `spool directory' format, the @code{nnml}
23879 back end access mail via a file format and directory layout that's
23882 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
23883 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
23884 access the articles.
23886 However, sometimes the term `back end' is also used where `server'
23887 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term `select
23888 method' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
23893 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
23894 default, way of getting news.
23898 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
23899 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
23904 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
23905 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
23909 A message that has been posted as news.
23912 @cindex mail message
23913 A message that has been mailed.
23917 A mail message or news article
23921 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
23926 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
23931 A line from the head of an article.
23935 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
23936 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
23940 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
23941 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
23942 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
23943 normal @sc{head} format.
23947 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
23948 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
23949 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
23950 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
23951 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
23952 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
23954 @item killed groups
23955 @cindex killed groups
23956 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
23957 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
23959 @item zombie groups
23960 @cindex zombie groups
23961 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
23964 @cindex active file
23965 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
23966 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
23967 is rather large, as you might surmise.
23970 @cindex bogus groups
23971 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
23972 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
23973 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
23976 @cindex activating groups
23977 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
23978 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
23979 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
23983 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
23985 @item select method
23986 @cindex select method
23987 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
23990 @item virtual server
23991 @cindex virtual server
23992 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
23993 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
23994 whole is a virtual server.
23998 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
23999 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
24002 @item ephemeral groups
24003 @cindex ephemeral groups
24004 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
24005 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
24006 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
24009 @cindex solid groups
24010 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
24011 group buffer are solid groups.
24013 @item sparse articles
24014 @cindex sparse articles
24015 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
24016 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
24020 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
24021 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
24025 @cindex thread root
24026 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
24027 articles in the thread.
24031 An article that has responses.
24035 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
24039 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
24040 specified by RFC 1153.
24046 @node Customization
24047 @section Customization
24048 @cindex general customization
24050 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
24051 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
24052 for some quite common situations.
24055 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
24056 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
24057 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
24058 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
24062 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
24063 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
24065 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
24066 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
24067 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
24071 @item gnus-read-active-file
24072 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
24073 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
24074 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
24075 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
24076 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
24078 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
24079 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
24080 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
24081 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
24085 @node Slow Terminal Connection
24086 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
24088 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
24089 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
24090 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
24094 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
24095 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
24096 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
24097 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
24098 horizontal and vertical recentering.
24100 @item gnus-visible-headers
24101 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
24102 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
24103 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
24104 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
24106 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
24108 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
24109 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
24110 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
24113 @item gnus-use-full-window
24114 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
24115 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
24116 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
24117 want to read them anyway.
24119 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
24120 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
24124 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
24125 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
24126 lines, which might save some time.
24130 @node Little Disk Space
24131 @subsection Little Disk Space
24134 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
24135 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
24139 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
24140 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
24141 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
24142 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
24145 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
24146 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
24147 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
24148 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
24151 @item gnus-save-killed-list
24152 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
24153 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
24154 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
24155 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
24161 @subsection Slow Machine
24162 @cindex slow machine
24164 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
24165 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
24167 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
24168 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
24170 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
24171 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
24172 summary buffer faster.
24176 @node Troubleshooting
24177 @section Troubleshooting
24178 @cindex troubleshooting
24180 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
24188 Make sure your computer is switched on.
24191 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
24192 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
24196 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
24197 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
24198 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
24199 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
24202 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
24206 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
24207 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
24208 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
24209 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
24210 something like that.
24213 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
24216 @cindex reporting bugs
24218 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
24220 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
24221 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
24222 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
24223 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
24225 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
24226 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
24227 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
24228 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
24231 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
24232 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
24233 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
24234 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
24235 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
24236 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
24238 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
24239 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
24240 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
24244 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
24245 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
24248 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
24249 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
24250 edebug. Debugging lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
24251 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
24252 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
24253 you discover some weird behaviour when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
24254 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
24255 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
24256 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
24257 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
24258 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
24259 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
24260 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
24261 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
24266 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate a elisp error but
24267 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
24268 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press C-j when things are
24269 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
24270 helps isolating the real problem areas). A fancier approach is to use
24271 the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is (or should be) fully
24272 documented elsewhere, but to get you started there are a few steps
24273 that need to be followed. First, instrument the part of Gnus you are
24274 interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package RET
24275 gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-packagre RET message}. Then perform
24276 the operation that is slow and press @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will
24277 then see which operations that takes time, and can debug them further.
24278 If the entire operation takes much longer than the time spent in the
24279 slowest function in the profiler output, you probably profiled the
24280 wrong part of Gnus. To reset profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x
24281 elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove
24282 profiling, but given the complexities and dynamic code generation in
24283 Gnus, it might not always work perfectly.
24285 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
24286 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
24288 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
24289 @cindex ding mailing list
24290 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
24291 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
24295 @node Gnus Reference Guide
24296 @section Gnus Reference Guide
24298 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
24299 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
24300 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
24301 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
24304 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
24305 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
24306 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
24307 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
24308 and general methods of operation.
24311 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
24312 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
24313 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
24314 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
24315 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
24316 * Group Info:: The group info format.
24317 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
24318 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
24319 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
24323 @node Gnus Utility Functions
24324 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
24325 @cindex Gnus utility functions
24326 @cindex utility functions
24328 @cindex internal variables
24330 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
24331 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
24332 Below is a list of the most common ones.
24336 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
24337 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
24338 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
24340 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
24341 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
24342 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
24344 @item gnus-group-real-name
24345 @findex gnus-group-real-name
24346 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
24349 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
24350 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
24351 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
24352 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
24354 @item gnus-get-info
24355 @findex gnus-get-info
24356 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
24358 @item gnus-group-unread
24359 @findex gnus-group-unread
24360 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
24364 @findex gnus-active
24365 The active entry for @var{group}.
24367 @item gnus-set-active
24368 @findex gnus-set-active
24369 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
24371 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
24372 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
24373 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
24376 @item gnus-continuum-version
24377 @findex gnus-continuum-version
24378 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
24379 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
24382 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
24383 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
24384 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
24386 @item gnus-news-group-p
24387 @findex gnus-news-group-p
24388 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
24390 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
24391 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
24392 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
24394 @item gnus-server-to-method
24395 @findex gnus-server-to-method
24396 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
24398 @item gnus-server-equal
24399 @findex gnus-server-equal
24400 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
24402 @item gnus-group-native-p
24403 @findex gnus-group-native-p
24404 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
24406 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
24407 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
24408 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
24410 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
24411 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
24412 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
24414 @item group-group-find-parameter
24415 @findex group-group-find-parameter
24416 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
24417 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
24419 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
24420 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
24421 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
24423 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
24424 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
24425 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
24427 @item gnus-check-backend-function
24428 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
24429 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
24430 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
24433 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
24437 @item gnus-read-method
24438 @findex gnus-read-method
24439 Prompts the user for a select method.
24444 @node Back End Interface
24445 @subsection Back End Interface
24447 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
24448 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
24449 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
24450 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
24451 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
24452 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
24454 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
24455 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
24456 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
24457 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
24458 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
24459 been opened, the function should fail.
24461 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
24462 name. Take this example:
24466 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
24467 (nntp-port-number 4324))
24470 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
24471 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
24473 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
24474 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
24475 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
24477 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
24478 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
24479 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
24481 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
24482 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
24483 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
24484 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
24485 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
24486 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
24489 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
24490 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
24491 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
24492 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
24495 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
24496 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
24497 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
24498 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
24499 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
24500 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
24501 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
24502 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
24503 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
24504 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
24506 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
24507 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
24508 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
24509 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
24510 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
24511 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
24512 of numbers as long as possible.
24514 Note that by convention, backends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
24515 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
24516 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
24518 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
24521 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
24524 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
24525 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
24526 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
24527 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
24528 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
24529 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
24533 @node Required Back End Functions
24534 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
24538 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
24540 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
24541 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
24542 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
24543 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
24545 The result data should either be HEADs or @sc{nov} lines, and the result
24546 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
24547 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
24548 of HEADs and @sc{nov} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
24550 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
24551 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
24552 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
24553 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
24554 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
24555 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
24556 number, do maximum fetches.
24558 Here's an example HEAD:
24561 221 1056 Article retrieved.
24562 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
24563 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
24564 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
24565 Subject: Re: Something very droll
24566 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
24567 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
24569 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
24570 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
24571 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
24575 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
24576 these in the data buffer.
24578 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
24582 head = error / valid-head
24583 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
24584 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
24585 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
24586 header = <text> eol
24589 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
24590 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
24594 nov-buffer = *nov-line
24595 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
24596 field = <text except TAB>
24599 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
24603 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
24605 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
24606 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
24608 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
24609 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
24610 server. In fact, it should do so.
24612 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
24613 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
24616 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
24618 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
24619 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
24622 There should be no data returned.
24625 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
24627 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
24628 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
24629 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
24630 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
24632 There should be no data returned.
24635 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
24637 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
24638 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
24639 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
24640 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
24642 There should be no data returned.
24645 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
24647 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
24649 There should be no data returned.
24652 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
24654 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
24655 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
24656 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
24657 it would be nice if that were possible.
24659 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
24660 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
24661 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
24662 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
24663 into its article buffer.
24665 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
24666 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
24667 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
24668 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
24669 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
24670 on successful article retrieval.
24673 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
24675 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
24676 making @var{group} the current group.
24678 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
24681 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
24684 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
24687 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
24688 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
24689 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
24690 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
24691 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
24692 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
24693 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
24694 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
24695 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
24699 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
24700 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
24701 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
24705 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
24707 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
24708 a no-op on most back ends.
24710 There should be no data returned.
24713 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
24715 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
24718 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
24721 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
24722 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
24725 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
24726 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
24727 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
24728 and the highest as 0.
24731 active-file = *active-line
24732 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
24734 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
24737 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
24738 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
24739 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
24742 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
24744 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
24745 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
24746 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
24747 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
24748 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
24749 clear if the posting could not be completed.
24751 There should be no result data from this function.
24756 @node Optional Back End Functions
24757 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
24761 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
24763 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
24764 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
24765 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
24767 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
24768 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
24769 former is in the same format as the data from
24770 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
24771 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
24774 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
24778 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
24780 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
24781 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
24782 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
24783 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
24784 should return a non-nil value.
24786 There should be no result data from this function.
24789 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
24791 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
24792 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
24793 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
24794 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
24795 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
24796 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
24797 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
24798 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
24800 There should be no result data from this function.
24803 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
24805 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
24806 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
24807 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
24808 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
24809 propagate the mark information to the server.
24811 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
24814 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
24817 RANGE is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. ACTION is
24818 @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove marks
24819 (preserving all marks not mentioned). MARK is a list of marks; where
24820 each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read},
24821 @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
24822 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
24823 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
24824 possible, not limit itself to these.
24826 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
24827 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
24828 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
24829 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
24831 An example action list:
24834 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
24835 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
24836 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
24839 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
24840 mark on (currently not used for anything).
24842 There should be no result data from this function.
24844 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
24846 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
24847 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
24848 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
24849 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
24850 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
24852 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
24853 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
24854 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
24857 There should be no result data from this function.
24860 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
24862 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
24863 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
24864 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
24865 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
24866 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
24867 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
24868 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
24870 There should be no result data from this function.
24873 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
24875 The result data from this function should be a description of
24879 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
24881 description = <text>
24884 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
24886 The result data from this function should be the description of all
24887 groups available on the server.
24890 description-buffer = *description-line
24894 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
24896 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
24897 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
24898 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
24899 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
24900 in the active buffer format.
24902 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
24903 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
24904 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
24905 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
24906 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
24907 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
24908 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
24911 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
24913 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
24915 There should be no return data.
24918 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
24920 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
24921 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
24922 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
24923 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
24924 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
24927 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
24930 There should be no result data returned.
24933 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
24936 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
24937 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
24939 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
24940 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
24941 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
24942 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
24943 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
24944 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
24946 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
24947 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
24950 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
24951 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
24953 There should be no data returned.
24956 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
24958 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
24959 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
24960 this function in short order.
24962 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
24963 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
24965 The group should exist before the backend is asked to accept the
24966 article for that group.
24968 There should be no data returned.
24971 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
24973 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
24974 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
24976 There should be no data returned.
24979 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
24981 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
24982 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
24983 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
24985 There should be no data returned.
24988 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
24990 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
24991 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
24993 There should be no data returned.
24998 @node Error Messaging
24999 @subsubsection Error Messaging
25001 @findex nnheader-report
25002 @findex nnheader-get-report
25003 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
25004 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
25005 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
25006 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
25007 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
25008 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
25011 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
25013 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
25016 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
25017 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
25018 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
25019 takes one argument---the server symbol.
25021 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
25022 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
25023 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
25026 @node Writing New Back Ends
25027 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
25029 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
25030 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
25031 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
25032 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
25033 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
25036 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
25037 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
25038 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
25040 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
25041 package called @code{nnoo}.
25043 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
25044 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
25050 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
25051 parameters. For instance:
25054 (nnoo-declare nndir
25058 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
25059 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
25062 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
25063 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
25064 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
25066 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
25067 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
25068 a function in those back ends.
25071 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
25072 "Where nndir will look for groups."
25073 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
25076 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
25077 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
25078 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
25080 @item nnoo-define-basics
25081 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
25085 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
25089 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
25090 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
25091 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
25093 @item nnoo-map-functions
25094 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
25095 functions from the parent back ends.
25098 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
25099 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25100 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
25103 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
25104 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
25105 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
25106 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
25109 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
25110 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
25111 haven't already been defined.
25117 nnmh-request-newgroups)
25121 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
25122 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
25123 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
25128 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
25131 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
25132 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
25136 (require 'nnheader)
25140 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
25142 (nnoo-declare nndir
25145 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
25146 "Where nndir will look for groups."
25147 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
25149 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
25150 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
25153 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
25155 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
25156 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
25157 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
25159 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
25160 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
25162 ;;; Interface functions.
25164 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
25166 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
25167 (setq nndir-directory
25168 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
25170 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
25171 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
25172 (push `(nndir-current-group
25173 ,(file-name-nondirectory
25174 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
25176 (push `(nndir-top-directory
25177 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
25179 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
25181 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
25182 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25183 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25184 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
25185 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
25189 nnmh-status-message
25191 nnmh-request-newgroups))
25197 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
25198 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
25200 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
25201 @findex gnus-declare-backend
25202 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
25203 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
25204 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
25206 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
25207 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
25212 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
25215 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
25217 The abilities can be:
25221 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
25223 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
25225 This back end supports both mail and news.
25227 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
25230 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
25231 articles and groups.
25233 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
25234 true for almost all back ends.
25235 @item prompt-address
25236 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
25237 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
25238 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
25242 @node Mail-like Back Ends
25243 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
25245 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
25246 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
25247 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
25248 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
25251 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
25252 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
25253 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
25256 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
25257 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
25260 This function takes four parameters.
25264 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
25267 @item exit-function
25268 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
25270 @item temp-directory
25271 Where the temporary files should be stored.
25274 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
25275 performed for one group only.
25278 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
25279 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
25280 find the article number assigned to this article.
25282 The function also uses the following variables:
25283 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
25284 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
25285 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
25286 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
25290 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
25291 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
25295 @node Score File Syntax
25296 @subsection Score File Syntax
25298 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
25299 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
25300 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
25302 Here's a typical score file:
25306 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
25313 BNF definition of a score file:
25316 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
25317 element = rule / atom
25318 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
25319 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
25320 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
25321 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
25323 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
25324 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
25325 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
25326 date-header = "date"
25327 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
25328 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
25329 score = "nil" / <integer>
25330 date = "nil" / <natural number>
25331 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
25332 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
25333 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
25334 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
25335 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
25336 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
25337 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
25338 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
25339 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
25340 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
25341 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
25342 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
25343 exclude-files / read-only / touched
25344 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
25345 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
25346 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
25347 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
25348 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
25349 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
25350 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
25351 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
25352 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
25353 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
25354 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
25355 eval = "eval" space <form>
25356 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
25359 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
25362 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
25363 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
25364 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
25365 one looong line, then that's ok.
25367 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
25368 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
25372 @subsection Headers
25374 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
25375 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
25376 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
25377 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
25379 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
25380 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
25381 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
25382 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
25383 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
25384 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
25385 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
25387 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
25388 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
25389 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
25390 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
25391 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
25393 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
25394 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
25400 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
25401 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
25403 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
25404 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
25405 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
25406 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
25408 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
25412 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
25415 is transformed into
25418 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
25421 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
25422 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
25425 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
25428 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
25429 is slightly tricky:
25432 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
25438 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
25441 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
25447 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
25454 and is equal to the previous range.
25456 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
25457 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
25458 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
25462 range = simple-range / normal-range
25463 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
25464 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
25465 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
25466 number *[ " " contents ]
25469 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
25470 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
25471 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
25472 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
25473 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
25478 @subsection Group Info
25480 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
25481 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
25482 describes the group.
25484 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
25485 second is a more complex one:
25488 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
25490 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
25491 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
25493 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
25496 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
25497 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
25498 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
25499 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
25500 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
25501 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
25502 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
25503 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
25504 this section is about.
25506 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
25507 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
25508 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
25510 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
25513 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
25514 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
25515 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
25516 group = quote <string> quote
25517 ralevel = rank / level
25518 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
25519 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
25520 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
25522 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
25523 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
25524 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
25525 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
25528 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
25529 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
25532 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
25533 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
25536 @item gnus-info-group
25537 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
25538 @findex gnus-info-group
25539 @findex gnus-info-set-group
25540 Get/set the group name.
25542 @item gnus-info-rank
25543 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
25544 @findex gnus-info-rank
25545 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
25546 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
25548 @item gnus-info-level
25549 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
25550 @findex gnus-info-level
25551 @findex gnus-info-set-level
25552 Get/set the group level.
25554 @item gnus-info-score
25555 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
25556 @findex gnus-info-score
25557 @findex gnus-info-set-score
25558 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
25560 @item gnus-info-read
25561 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
25562 @findex gnus-info-read
25563 @findex gnus-info-set-read
25564 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
25566 @item gnus-info-marks
25567 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
25568 @findex gnus-info-marks
25569 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
25570 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
25572 @item gnus-info-method
25573 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
25574 @findex gnus-info-method
25575 @findex gnus-info-set-method
25576 Get/set the group select method.
25578 @item gnus-info-params
25579 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
25580 @findex gnus-info-params
25581 @findex gnus-info-set-params
25582 Get/set the group parameters.
25585 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
25586 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
25588 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
25589 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
25590 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
25591 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
25594 @node Extended Interactive
25595 @subsection Extended Interactive
25596 @cindex interactive
25597 @findex gnus-interactive
25599 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
25600 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
25601 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
25604 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
25605 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
25610 The best thing to do would have been to implement
25611 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
25612 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
25613 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
25614 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
25615 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
25616 @code{interactive}.
25618 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
25623 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
25624 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
25628 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
25629 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
25630 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
25633 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
25637 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
25641 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
25647 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
25648 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
25652 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
25653 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
25654 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
25656 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
25657 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
25658 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
25659 Gnus, that's very useful.
25661 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
25662 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
25663 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
25664 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
25665 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
25666 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
25667 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
25668 following function:
25671 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
25675 (,function ,@@args))
25679 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
25680 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
25681 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
25684 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
25685 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
25686 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
25688 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
25689 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
25690 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
25693 @node Various File Formats
25694 @subsection Various File Formats
25697 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
25698 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
25702 @node Active File Format
25703 @subsubsection Active File Format
25705 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
25706 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
25709 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
25712 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
25713 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
25714 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
25715 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
25716 no.general 1000 900 y
25719 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
25722 active = *group-line
25723 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
25724 group = <non-white-space string>
25726 high-number = <non-negative integer>
25727 low-number = <positive integer>
25728 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
25731 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
25732 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
25735 @node Newsgroups File Format
25736 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
25738 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
25739 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
25740 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
25743 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
25744 Here's the definition:
25748 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
25749 group = <non-white-space string>
25751 description = <string>
25756 @node Emacs for Heathens
25757 @section Emacs for Heathens
25759 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
25760 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
25761 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
25762 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
25763 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
25764 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
25765 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
25769 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
25770 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
25775 @subsection Keystrokes
25779 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
25782 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
25785 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
25786 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
25787 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
25788 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
25789 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
25790 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
25792 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
25793 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
25794 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
25795 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
25796 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
25797 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
25798 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
25800 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
25801 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
25802 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
25803 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
25804 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
25805 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
25806 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
25808 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
25809 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
25810 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
25811 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
25812 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
25818 @subsection Emacs Lisp
25820 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
25821 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
25822 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
25823 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
25825 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
25826 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
25827 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
25828 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
25829 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
25830 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
25831 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
25834 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
25835 write the following:
25838 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
25841 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
25842 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
25843 you can go and fill your @file{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
25846 If you have put that thing in your @file{.emacs} file, it will be read
25847 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
25848 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
25849 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
25850 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
25852 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
25853 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
25854 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
25858 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
25862 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
25865 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
25866 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
25869 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
25872 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
25873 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
25876 @include gnus-faq.texi
25896 @c Local Variables:
25898 @c coding: iso-8859-1
25900 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
25901 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
25902 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
25903 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
25904 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref