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334 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
339 @setchapternewpage odd
346 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
348 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
354 @top The Gnus Newsreader
358 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
359 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@acronym{NNTP}, local
360 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
363 This manual corresponds to No Gnus v0.3.
374 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
375 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
377 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
378 being accused of plagiarism:
380 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
381 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
382 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
383 can even read news with it!
385 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
386 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
387 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
388 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
389 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
395 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
396 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
397 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
398 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
399 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
400 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
401 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
402 * Various:: General purpose settings.
403 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
404 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, @acronym{FAQ}, History, Internals.
405 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
406 * Key Index:: Key Index.
408 Other related manuals
410 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
411 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
412 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
413 * PGG:(pgg). @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
414 * SASL:(sasl). @acronym{SASL} authentication in Emacs.
417 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
421 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
422 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
423 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
424 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
425 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
426 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
427 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
428 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
429 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
430 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
431 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
435 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
436 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
437 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
441 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
442 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
443 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
444 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
445 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
446 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
447 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
448 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
449 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
450 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
451 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
452 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
453 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
454 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
455 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
456 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
457 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
461 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
462 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
463 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
467 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
468 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
469 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
470 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
471 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
475 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
476 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
477 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
478 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
479 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
483 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
484 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
485 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
486 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
487 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
488 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
489 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
490 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
491 * Threading:: How threads are made.
492 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
493 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
494 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
495 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
496 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
497 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
498 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
499 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
500 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
501 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
502 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
503 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
504 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
505 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
506 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
507 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
508 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
509 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
510 or reselecting the current group.
511 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
512 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
513 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
514 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
516 Summary Buffer Format
518 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
519 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
520 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
521 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
525 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
526 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
528 Reply, Followup and Post
530 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
531 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
532 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
533 * Canceling and Superseding::
537 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
538 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
539 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
540 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
541 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
542 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
546 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
547 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
549 Customizing Threading
551 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
552 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
553 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
554 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
558 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
559 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
560 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
561 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
562 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
563 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
567 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
568 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
569 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
573 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
574 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
575 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
576 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
577 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
578 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
579 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
580 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
581 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
582 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
583 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
585 Alternative Approaches
587 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
588 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
590 Various Summary Stuff
592 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
593 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
594 * Summary Generation Commands::
595 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
599 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
600 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
601 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
602 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
603 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
607 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
608 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
609 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
610 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
611 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
612 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
613 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
614 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
615 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
619 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
620 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
621 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
622 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
623 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
624 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
625 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
626 * Email Based Diary:: Using mails to manage diary events in Gnus.
627 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
631 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
632 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
633 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
634 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
635 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
636 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
637 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
641 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
642 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
646 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
647 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
648 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
649 * NNTP marks:: Storing marks for @acronym{NNTP} servers.
653 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
654 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
655 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
656 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
657 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
658 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
659 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
660 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
661 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
662 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
663 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
664 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
665 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
669 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
670 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
671 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
673 Choosing a Mail Back End
675 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
676 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
677 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
678 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
679 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
680 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
681 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
686 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
687 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
688 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
689 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
690 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
691 * Customizing W3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/W3 from Gnus.
695 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
696 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
697 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
698 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
699 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
700 * Debugging IMAP:: What to do when things don't work.
704 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
705 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
706 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
707 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
708 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
712 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
716 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
717 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
718 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
722 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
723 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
727 * The NNDiary Back End:: Basic setup and usage.
728 * The Gnus Diary Library:: Utility toolkit on top of nndiary.
729 * Sending or Not Sending:: A final note on sending diary messages.
733 * Diary Messages:: What makes a message valid for nndiary.
734 * Running NNDiary:: NNDiary has two modes of operation.
735 * Customizing NNDiary:: Bells and whistles.
737 The Gnus Diary Library
739 * Diary Summary Line Format:: A nicer summary buffer line format.
740 * Diary Articles Sorting:: A nicer way to sort messages.
741 * Diary Headers Generation:: Not doing it manually.
742 * Diary Group Parameters:: Not handling them manually.
746 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
747 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
748 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
749 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
750 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
751 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
752 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
753 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
754 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
755 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
756 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
757 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
758 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
762 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
763 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
764 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
768 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
769 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
770 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
774 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
775 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
776 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
777 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
778 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
779 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
780 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
781 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
782 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
783 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
784 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
785 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
786 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
787 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
788 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
789 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
793 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
794 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
795 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
799 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
800 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
801 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
802 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
803 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
804 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
805 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
806 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
807 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
808 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
809 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
810 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
811 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
812 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
813 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
814 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
815 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
816 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
817 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
818 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
822 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
823 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
824 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
825 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
826 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
827 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
828 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
829 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
833 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
834 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
835 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
836 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
837 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
841 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
842 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
843 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
844 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
845 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
846 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
848 Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
850 * Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events::
851 * Spam ELisp Package Filtering of Incoming Mail::
852 * Spam ELisp Package Global Variables::
853 * Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples::
854 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
856 * Gmane Spam Reporting::
857 * Anti-spam Hashcash Payments::
859 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
861 * SpamAssassin back end::
862 * ifile spam filtering::
863 * spam-stat spam filtering::
865 * Extending the Spam ELisp package::
867 Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
869 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
870 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
871 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
875 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
876 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
877 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
878 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
879 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
880 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
881 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
882 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
883 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
887 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
888 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
889 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
890 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
891 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
892 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
893 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
894 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
895 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
899 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
900 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
901 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
902 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
903 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
904 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10/5.11.
905 * No Gnus:: Lars, FIXME!
909 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
910 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
911 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
912 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
916 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
917 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
918 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
919 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
920 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
921 * Group Info:: The group info format.
922 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
923 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
924 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
928 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
929 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
930 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
931 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
932 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
933 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
937 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
938 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
942 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
943 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
949 @chapter Starting Gnus
954 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
955 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
958 @findex gnus-other-frame
959 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
960 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
961 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
963 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
964 variables in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file. This file is similar to
965 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when Gnus starts.
967 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
968 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
971 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
972 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
973 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
974 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
975 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
976 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
977 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
978 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
979 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
980 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
984 @node Finding the News
985 @section Finding the News
988 @vindex gnus-select-method
990 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
991 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
992 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
993 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
996 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @acronym{NNTP} server is where
997 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
1000 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
1003 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
1006 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1009 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1010 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1011 server is running Leafnode (which is a simple, standalone private news
1012 server); in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1014 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1016 @cindex @acronym{NNTP} server
1017 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
1018 @env{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1019 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1020 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter.
1021 If that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs
1022 as an @acronym{NNTP} server. That's a long shot, though.
1024 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1025 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1026 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1027 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1029 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1030 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1031 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1032 @acronym{NNTP} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1033 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
1034 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1035 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1036 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1037 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1040 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1042 However, if you use one @acronym{NNTP} server regularly and are just
1043 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1044 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1045 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1046 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1047 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1049 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1051 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1052 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1053 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1054 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1055 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1056 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1059 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1060 you would typically set this variable to
1063 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1066 Note: the @acronym{NNTP} back end stores marks in marks files
1067 (@pxref{NNTP marks}). This feature makes it easy to share marks between
1068 several Gnus installations, but may slow down things a bit when fetching
1069 new articles. @xref{NNTP marks}, for more information.
1072 @node The First Time
1073 @section The First Time
1074 @cindex first time usage
1076 If no startup files exist (@pxref{Startup Files}), Gnus will try to
1077 determine what groups should be subscribed by default.
1079 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1080 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1081 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1082 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1085 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1086 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1087 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1089 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1090 help you with most common problems.
1092 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1093 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1097 @node The Server is Down
1098 @section The Server is Down
1099 @cindex server errors
1101 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1102 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1103 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1105 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1106 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1107 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1108 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1109 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1110 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1111 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1113 @findex gnus-no-server
1114 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1116 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1117 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1118 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1119 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1120 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1121 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1122 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1126 @section Slave Gnusae
1129 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1130 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1131 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1132 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1134 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1135 @file{.newsrc} file.
1137 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1138 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1139 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1140 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1141 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1142 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1143 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1146 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1147 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1148 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1149 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1150 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1151 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1152 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1153 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1155 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1156 information in the normal (i.e., master) @file{.newsrc} file.
1158 If the @file{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1159 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1160 file. If you answer ``yes'', the unsaved changes to the master will be
1161 incorporated into the slave. If you answer ``no'', the slave may see some
1162 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1169 @cindex subscription
1171 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1172 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1173 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1174 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1175 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1176 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1177 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1178 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1179 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1182 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1183 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1184 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1188 @node Checking New Groups
1189 @subsection Checking New Groups
1191 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1192 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1193 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1194 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1195 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1196 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1197 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1198 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1199 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1200 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1202 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1203 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1204 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1205 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1206 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1207 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1208 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1209 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1210 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1211 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1212 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1214 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1215 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1216 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1217 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1218 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1219 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1222 @node Subscription Methods
1223 @subsection Subscription Methods
1225 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1226 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1227 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1229 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1230 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1232 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1236 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1237 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1238 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1239 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1240 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1242 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1243 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1244 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1245 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1247 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1248 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1249 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1251 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1252 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1253 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1254 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1255 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1256 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1257 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1258 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1259 up. Or something like that.
1261 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1262 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1263 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1264 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1265 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1267 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1268 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1269 Kill all new groups.
1271 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1272 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1273 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1274 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1275 topic parameter that looks like
1281 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1284 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1289 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1290 A closely related variable is
1291 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1292 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1293 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1294 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1297 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1298 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1299 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1300 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1303 @node Filtering New Groups
1304 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1306 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1307 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1308 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1311 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1314 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1315 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1316 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1317 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1318 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1319 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1320 subscribing these groups.
1321 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1322 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1324 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1325 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1326 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1327 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1328 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1329 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1330 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1331 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1333 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1334 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1335 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1336 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous,
1337 but I thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is
1338 more meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is
1339 used more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new
1340 groups that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1341 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1342 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1345 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1346 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1349 @node Changing Servers
1350 @section Changing Servers
1351 @cindex changing servers
1353 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another.
1354 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1355 very flaky and you want to use another.
1357 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1358 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1362 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1363 @acronym{NNTP} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1364 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1365 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1368 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1369 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1370 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1371 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1373 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1374 @findex gnus-change-server
1375 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1376 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1377 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1378 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1379 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1381 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1382 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1383 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1384 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1385 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1387 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1388 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1389 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1390 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1391 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1392 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1394 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1395 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1396 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1397 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1399 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1400 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1401 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1402 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1403 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1404 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1405 cache for all groups).
1409 @section Startup Files
1410 @cindex startup files
1415 Most common Unix news readers use a shared startup file called
1416 @file{.newsrc}. This file contains all the information about what
1417 groups are subscribed, and which articles in these groups have been
1420 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1421 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1422 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1423 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1424 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1425 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1426 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1428 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1429 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1430 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1431 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1432 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1433 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1435 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1436 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1437 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1438 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1439 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1440 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1441 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1442 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1443 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which can be
1444 convenient if you use a different news reader occasionally, and you
1445 want to read a different subset of the available groups with that
1448 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1449 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1450 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1451 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1452 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1453 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1454 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1455 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1456 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1457 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1458 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1459 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1461 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1462 @vindex gnus-backup-startup-file
1463 @vindex version-control
1464 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1465 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1466 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1467 If you want version control for this file, set
1468 @code{gnus-backup-startup-file}. It respects the same values as the
1469 @code{version-control} variable.
1471 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1472 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1473 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1474 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1475 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1476 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1477 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1478 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1479 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1480 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1483 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1484 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1486 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1487 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1490 @vindex gnus-init-file
1491 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1492 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1493 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus-init} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1494 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1495 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1496 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1497 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1498 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1499 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1500 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order). If Emacs was invoked with
1501 the @option{-q} or @option{--no-init-file} options (@pxref{Initial
1502 Options, ,Initial Options, emacs, The Emacs Manual}), Gnus doesn't read
1503 @code{gnus-init-file}.
1508 @cindex dribble file
1511 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1512 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1513 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1514 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1515 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1518 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1519 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1522 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1523 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1524 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1526 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1527 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1528 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1529 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1530 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1531 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1533 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1534 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1535 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1538 @node The Active File
1539 @section The Active File
1541 @cindex ignored groups
1543 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1544 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1545 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1547 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1548 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1549 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1550 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1551 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1552 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1553 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1556 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1557 @c if you set it to anything else.
1559 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1561 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1562 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1563 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1565 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1566 you actually subscribe to.
1568 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1569 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1570 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1571 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1573 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1574 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1575 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1576 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1577 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1578 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1580 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1581 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1582 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1585 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1586 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1587 @acronym{NNTP} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1588 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1589 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1590 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1592 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1593 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1595 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1596 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1598 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1599 secondary select methods.
1602 @node Startup Variables
1603 @section Startup Variables
1607 @item gnus-load-hook
1608 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1609 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1610 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1611 times you start Gnus.
1613 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1614 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1615 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1617 @item gnus-startup-hook
1618 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1619 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1621 @item gnus-started-hook
1622 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1623 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1626 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1627 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1628 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1629 generating the group buffer.
1631 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1632 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1633 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1634 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1635 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1636 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1637 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1638 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1640 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1641 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1642 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1643 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1644 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1645 @file{~/.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1647 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1648 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1649 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1651 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1652 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1653 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1655 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1656 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1657 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1658 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1664 @chapter Group Buffer
1665 @cindex group buffer
1667 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1669 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1670 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1671 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1672 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1673 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1674 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1675 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1676 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1677 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1678 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1679 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1680 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1681 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1682 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1683 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1684 @c human rights at 9...
1687 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1688 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1689 long as Gnus is active.
1693 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1694 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1695 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1696 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1697 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1698 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1699 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1700 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1706 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1707 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1708 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1709 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1710 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1711 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1712 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1713 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1714 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1715 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1716 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1717 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1718 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1719 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1720 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1721 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1722 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1726 @node Group Buffer Format
1727 @section Group Buffer Format
1730 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1731 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
1732 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1736 @node Group Line Specification
1737 @subsection Group Line Specification
1738 @cindex group buffer format
1740 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1741 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1743 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1746 25: news.announce.newusers
1747 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1752 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1753 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1754 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1755 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1757 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1758 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1759 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1760 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1761 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1762 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1764 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1766 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1767 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1768 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1769 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1770 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1772 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1773 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1774 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1776 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1781 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1784 Whether the group is subscribed.
1787 Level of subscribedness.
1790 Number of unread articles.
1793 Number of dormant articles.
1796 Number of ticked articles.
1799 Number of read articles.
1802 Number of unseen articles.
1805 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1806 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1808 Gnus uses this estimation because the @acronym{NNTP} protocol provides
1809 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1810 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1811 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1812 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1813 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1814 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1815 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1818 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1821 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1830 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1831 comment element in the group parameters.
1834 Newsgroup description. You need to read the group descriptions
1835 before these will appear, and to do that, you either have to set
1836 @code{gnus-read-active-file} or use the group buffer @kbd{M-d}
1840 @samp{m} if moderated.
1843 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1849 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1855 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1859 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1862 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1863 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1864 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1865 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1866 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1869 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1871 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1875 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1878 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1882 The disk space used by the articles fetched by both the cache and
1883 agent. The value is automatically scaled to bytes(B), kilobytes(K),
1884 megabytes(M), or gigabytes(G) to minimize the column width. A format
1885 of %7F is sufficient for a fixed-width column.
1888 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1889 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1890 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1891 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1892 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1893 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1898 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1899 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1900 group, or a bogus native group.
1903 @node Group Mode Line Specification
1904 @subsection Group Mode Line Specification
1905 @cindex group mode line
1907 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1908 The mode line can be changed by setting
1909 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1910 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1914 The native news server.
1916 The native select method.
1920 @node Group Highlighting
1921 @subsection Group Highlighting
1922 @cindex highlighting
1923 @cindex group highlighting
1925 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1926 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1927 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1928 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1929 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1931 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1935 (cond (window-system
1936 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1937 (defface my-group-face-1
1938 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1939 (defface my-group-face-2
1940 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t)))
1941 "Second group face")
1942 (defface my-group-face-3
1943 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1944 (defface my-group-face-4
1945 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1946 (defface my-group-face-5
1947 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1949 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1950 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1951 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1952 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1953 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1954 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1957 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1959 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1966 The number of unread articles in the group.
1970 Whether the group is a mail group.
1972 The level of the group.
1974 The score of the group.
1976 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1978 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather,
1979 @var{max-number} minus @var{min-number} plus one.
1981 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1982 topic being inserted.
1985 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1986 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1987 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1989 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1990 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1991 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1992 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1993 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1996 @node Group Maneuvering
1997 @section Group Maneuvering
1998 @cindex group movement
2000 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
2001 expected, hopefully.
2007 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
2008 Go to the next group that has unread articles
2009 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
2015 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
2016 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
2017 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
2021 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2022 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2026 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2027 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2031 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2032 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2033 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2037 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2038 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2039 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2042 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2048 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2049 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2050 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2055 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2056 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2057 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2061 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2062 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2063 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2066 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2067 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2068 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2069 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2073 @node Selecting a Group
2074 @section Selecting a Group
2075 @cindex group selection
2080 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2081 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2082 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2083 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2084 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2085 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2086 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{n}, @var{n}
2087 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{n} is
2088 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{n} newest articles, if @var{n} is
2089 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{n})} oldest articles.
2091 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2092 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2093 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2095 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2096 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2101 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2102 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2103 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2104 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2105 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2109 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2110 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2111 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2112 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2113 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2114 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2115 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2116 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2117 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2118 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2121 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2122 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2123 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2124 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2125 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2128 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2129 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2130 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2131 doing any processing of its contents
2132 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2133 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2134 manner will have no permanent effects.
2138 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2139 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should
2140 consider to be a big group. If it is @code{nil}, no groups are
2141 considered big. The default value is 200. If the group has more
2142 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2143 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many
2144 articles should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a
2145 negative number (@var{-n}), the @var{n} oldest articles will be
2146 fetched. If it is positive, the @var{n} articles that have arrived
2147 most recently will be fetched.
2149 @vindex gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup
2150 @code{gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup} is the same as
2151 @code{gnus-large-newsgroup}, but is only used for ephemeral
2154 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2155 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2156 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2157 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2158 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2159 Which article this is is controlled by the
2160 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2166 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2169 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2172 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2174 @item unseen-or-unread
2175 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2176 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2180 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2184 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2185 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2187 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2188 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2189 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2190 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2194 @node Subscription Commands
2195 @section Subscription Commands
2196 @cindex subscription
2204 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2205 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2206 Toggle subscription to the current group
2207 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2213 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2214 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2215 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2216 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2222 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2223 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2224 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2230 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2231 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2234 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2235 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2236 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2237 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2238 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2244 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2245 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2249 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2250 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2253 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2254 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2255 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2256 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2257 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2258 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2259 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2260 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2261 @file{.newsrc} file.
2265 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2275 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2276 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2277 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2278 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2279 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2280 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2285 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2286 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2287 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2291 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2292 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2293 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2295 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2296 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2297 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2298 If you have switched from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another, all your marks
2299 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2300 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2307 @section Group Levels
2311 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2312 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2313 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2314 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2315 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2317 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2323 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2324 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2325 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2326 prompted for a level.
2329 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2330 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2331 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2332 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2333 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2334 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2335 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2336 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2337 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2338 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2339 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2340 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2341 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2342 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2343 reasons of efficiency.
2345 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2346 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2348 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2349 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2350 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2351 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2352 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2353 groups are hidden, in a way.
2355 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2356 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2357 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2358 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2359 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2360 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2362 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2363 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2364 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2365 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2366 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2367 list of killed groups.)
2369 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2370 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2371 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2373 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2374 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2375 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2376 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2377 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2378 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2379 relevant valid ranges.
2381 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2382 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2383 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2384 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2385 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2386 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2389 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2390 one with the best level.
2392 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2393 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2394 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2397 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2398 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2399 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2400 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2403 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2404 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2405 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2406 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2408 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2409 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2410 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2411 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2412 to 5. The default is 6.
2416 @section Group Score
2421 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2422 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2423 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2426 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2427 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2428 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2429 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2430 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2431 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2432 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2433 least significant part.))
2435 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2436 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2437 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2438 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2439 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2440 action after each summary exit, you can add
2441 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2442 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2443 slow things down somewhat.
2446 @node Marking Groups
2447 @section Marking Groups
2448 @cindex marking groups
2450 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2451 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2452 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2453 bidding on those groups.
2455 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2456 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2457 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2465 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2466 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2472 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2473 Remove the mark from the current group
2474 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2478 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2479 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2483 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2484 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2488 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2489 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2493 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2494 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2495 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2498 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2500 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2501 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2502 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2503 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2504 the command to be executed.
2507 @node Foreign Groups
2508 @section Foreign Groups
2509 @cindex foreign groups
2511 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2512 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2513 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2514 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2521 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2522 @cindex making groups
2523 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2524 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2525 to subscribe to @acronym{NNTP} groups (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
2529 @findex gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group
2530 Make an ephemeral group (@code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group}). Gnus
2531 will prompt you for a name, a method and an @dfn{address}.
2535 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2536 @cindex renaming groups
2537 Rename the current group to something else
2538 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2539 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2545 @findex gnus-group-customize
2546 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2550 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2551 @cindex renaming groups
2552 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2553 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2557 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2558 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2559 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2563 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2564 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2565 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2569 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2571 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2572 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2577 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2578 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2582 @cindex (ding) archive
2583 @cindex archive group
2584 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2585 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2586 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2587 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2588 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2589 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2590 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2594 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2596 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2597 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2598 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2599 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2603 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2605 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2606 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2607 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2611 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2612 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2614 Make a group based on some file or other
2615 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2616 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2617 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2618 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2619 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2620 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2621 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2622 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2623 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2627 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2628 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2629 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2630 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2634 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2638 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2639 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2640 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2641 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2642 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2643 @xref{Web Searches}.
2645 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2646 to a particular group by using a match string like
2647 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2651 @findex gnus-group-make-rss-group
2652 Make a group based on an @acronym{RSS} feed
2653 (@code{gnus-group-make-rss-group}). You will be prompted for an URL.
2657 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2658 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2659 This function will delete the current group
2660 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2661 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2662 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2663 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2664 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} groups), though.
2668 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2669 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2670 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2674 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2675 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2676 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2679 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2682 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2683 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2684 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2685 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2686 groups from different @acronym{NNTP} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2687 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2691 @node Group Parameters
2692 @section Group Parameters
2693 @cindex group parameters
2695 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2696 Here's an example group parameter list:
2699 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2703 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing before
2704 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2705 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2706 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2708 Some parameters have correspondent customizable variables, each of which
2709 is an alist of regexps and values.
2711 The following group parameters can be used:
2716 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2719 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2722 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2723 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2724 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2725 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2726 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2728 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2729 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2730 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2731 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2732 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2733 list address instead.
2735 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2739 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2742 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2745 It is totally ignored
2746 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2747 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2749 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2750 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2751 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2752 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2753 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2755 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2756 @cindex mail list groups
2757 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2758 entering summary buffer.
2760 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2765 @cindex Mail-Followup-To
2766 @findex gnus-find-subscribed-addresses
2767 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2768 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2769 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2770 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2771 headers for your posts to these lists. The second step is to put the
2772 following in your @file{.gnus.el}
2775 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
2776 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
2779 @xref{Mailing Lists, ,Mailing Lists, message, The Message Manual}, for
2780 a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2784 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2785 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2786 of whether it has any unread articles.
2788 @item broken-reply-to
2789 @cindex broken-reply-to
2790 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2791 headers in this group are to be ignored, and for the header to be hidden
2792 if @code{reply-to} is part of @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}. This
2793 can be useful if you're reading a mailing list group where the listserv
2794 has inserted @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv
2795 itself. That is broken behavior. So there!
2799 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2800 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2804 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2805 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2806 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2811 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2812 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2813 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2814 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2815 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2816 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2817 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2819 @strong{Caveat}: Adding @code{(gcc-self . t)} to the parameter list of
2820 @code{nntp} groups (or the like) isn't valid. An @code{nntp} server
2821 doesn't accept articles.
2825 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2826 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2827 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2829 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2832 @cindex total-expire
2833 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2834 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2835 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2836 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2839 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2843 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2844 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2845 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2846 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2847 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2848 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2849 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2852 @cindex expiry-target
2853 Where expired messages end up. This parameter overrides
2854 @code{nnmail-expiry-target}.
2857 @cindex score file group parameter
2858 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2859 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2860 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2863 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2864 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2865 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2866 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2869 @cindex admin-address
2870 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2871 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2872 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2873 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2877 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2878 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2882 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2885 Display the last @var{integer} articles in the group. This is the same as
2886 entering the group with @kbd{C-u @var{integer}}.
2889 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2893 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2895 Here are some examples:
2899 Display only unread articles.
2902 Display everything except expirable articles.
2904 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2905 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2909 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2910 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2911 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2912 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2913 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2917 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2918 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2919 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2923 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2924 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2925 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2929 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2930 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2931 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2933 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2935 @item ignored-charsets
2936 @cindex ignored-charset
2937 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2938 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2939 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2941 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2944 @cindex posting-style
2945 You can store additional posting style information for this group
2946 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2947 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2948 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2949 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2951 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2952 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2953 like this in the group parameters:
2958 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
2959 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2964 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2965 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2969 An item like @code{(banner . @var{regexp})} causes any part of an article
2970 that matches the regular expression @var{regexp} to be stripped. Instead of
2971 @var{regexp}, you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2972 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2973 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2977 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2978 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2979 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2980 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2982 For example, if the @samp{INBOX.list.sieve} group has the @code{(sieve
2983 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2984 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2985 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2988 if address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com" @{
2989 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
2993 To generate tests for multiple email-addresses use a group parameter
2994 like @code{(sieve address "sender" ("name@@one.org" else@@two.org"))}.
2995 When generating a sieve script (@pxref{Sieve Commands}) Sieve code
2996 like the following is generated:
2999 if address "sender" ["name@@one.org", "else@@two.org"] @{
3000 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
3004 See @pxref{Sieve Commands} for commands and variables that might be of
3005 interest in relation to the sieve parameter.
3007 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve,
3008 Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
3010 @item (agent parameters)
3011 If the agent has been enabled, you can set any of the its parameters
3012 to control the behavior of the agent in individual groups. See Agent
3013 Parameters in @ref{Category Syntax}. Most users will choose to set
3014 agent parameters in either an agent category or group topic to
3015 minimize the configuration effort.
3017 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
3018 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
3019 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
3020 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
3021 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
3022 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
3023 @code{eval}ed there.
3025 Note that this feature sets the variable locally to the summary buffer.
3026 But some variables are evaluated in the article buffer, or in the
3027 message buffer (of a reply or followup or otherwise newly created
3028 message). As a workaround, it might help to add the variable in
3029 question to @code{gnus-newsgroup-variables}. @xref{Various Summary
3030 Stuff}. So if you want to set @code{message-from-style} via the group
3031 parameters, then you may need the following statement elsewhere in your
3032 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3035 (add-to-list 'gnus-newsgroup-variables 'message-from-style)
3038 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
3039 A use for this feature is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
3040 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
3043 nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps
3046 has the tag @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this
3047 tag can be removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for
3048 the group by putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")}
3049 into the group parameters for the group.
3051 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function. If you want to
3052 hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put something like
3053 @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that group.
3054 @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the (meaningless) result of the
3057 Alternatively, since the VARIABLE becomes local to the group, this
3058 pattern can be used to temporarily change a hook. For example, if the
3059 following is added to a group parameter
3062 (gnus-summary-prepared-hook
3063 '(lambda nil (local-set-key "d" (local-key-binding "n"))))
3066 when the group is entered, the 'd' key will not mark the article as
3071 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
3072 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
3073 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
3074 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
3075 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
3077 @vindex gnus-parameters
3078 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
3079 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
3083 (setq gnus-parameters
3085 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3086 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
3087 (gnus-summary-line-format
3088 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
3092 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
3096 (gnus-use-scoring t))
3100 (broken-reply-to . t))))
3103 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
3104 the @code{to-group} example shows.
3106 @vindex gnus-parameters-case-fold-search
3107 By default, whether comparing the group name and one of those regexps
3108 specified in @code{gnus-parameters} is done in a case-sensitive manner
3109 or a case-insensitive manner depends on the value of
3110 @code{case-fold-search} at the time when the comparison is done. The
3111 value of @code{case-fold-search} is typically @code{t}; it means, for
3112 example, the element @code{("INBOX\\.FOO" (total-expire . t))} might be
3113 applied to both the @samp{INBOX.FOO} group and the @samp{INBOX.foo}
3114 group. If you want to make those regexps always case-sensitive, set the
3115 value of the @code{gnus-parameters-case-fold-search} variable to
3116 @code{nil}. Otherwise, set it to @code{t} if you want to compare them
3117 always in a case-insensitive manner.
3120 @node Listing Groups
3121 @section Listing Groups
3122 @cindex group listing
3124 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3132 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3133 List all groups that have unread articles
3134 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3135 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3136 only lists groups of level five (i.e.,
3137 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3144 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3145 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3146 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3147 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3148 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3149 unsubscribed groups).
3153 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3154 List all unread groups on a specific level
3155 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3156 with no unread articles.
3160 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3161 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3162 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3163 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3168 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3169 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3173 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3174 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3175 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3179 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3180 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3184 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3185 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3186 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3187 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3188 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3189 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3190 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3191 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3195 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3196 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3197 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3201 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3202 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3203 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3207 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3208 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3212 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3213 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3217 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3218 List groups limited within the current selection
3219 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3223 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3224 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3228 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3229 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3233 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3234 @cindex visible group parameter
3235 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3236 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3237 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3238 get the same effect.
3240 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3241 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3242 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3243 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3244 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3247 @node Sorting Groups
3248 @section Sorting Groups
3249 @cindex sorting groups
3251 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3252 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3253 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3254 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3255 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3256 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3261 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3262 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3263 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3265 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3266 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3267 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3269 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3270 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3271 Sort by group level.
3273 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3274 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3275 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3277 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3278 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3279 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3280 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3282 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3283 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3284 Sort by number of unread articles.
3286 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3287 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3288 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3290 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3291 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3292 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3297 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3298 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3302 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3303 some sorting criteria:
3307 @kindex G S a (Group)
3308 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3309 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3310 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3313 @kindex G S u (Group)
3314 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3315 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3316 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3319 @kindex G S l (Group)
3320 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3321 Sort the group buffer by group level
3322 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3325 @kindex G S v (Group)
3326 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3327 Sort the group buffer by group score
3328 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3331 @kindex G S r (Group)
3332 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3333 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3334 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3337 @kindex G S m (Group)
3338 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3339 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name@*
3340 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3343 @kindex G S n (Group)
3344 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3345 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3346 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3350 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3351 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3353 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3354 commands will sort in reverse order.
3356 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3360 @kindex G P a (Group)
3361 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3362 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3363 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3366 @kindex G P u (Group)
3367 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3368 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3369 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3372 @kindex G P l (Group)
3373 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3374 Sort the groups by group level
3375 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3378 @kindex G P v (Group)
3379 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3380 Sort the groups by group score
3381 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3384 @kindex G P r (Group)
3385 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3386 Sort the groups by group rank
3387 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3390 @kindex G P m (Group)
3391 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3392 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name@*
3393 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3396 @kindex G P n (Group)
3397 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3398 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3399 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3402 @kindex G P s (Group)
3403 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3404 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3408 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3412 @node Group Maintenance
3413 @section Group Maintenance
3414 @cindex bogus groups
3419 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3420 Find bogus groups and delete them
3421 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3425 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3426 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3427 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3428 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3429 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3433 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3434 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3435 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3436 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3437 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3438 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3441 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3442 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3443 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3444 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3449 @node Browse Foreign Server
3450 @section Browse Foreign Server
3451 @cindex foreign servers
3452 @cindex browsing servers
3457 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3458 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3459 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3460 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3463 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3464 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3465 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3466 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3468 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3473 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3474 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3478 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3479 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3482 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3483 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3484 Enter the current group and display the first article
3485 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3488 @kindex RET (Browse)
3489 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3490 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3494 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3495 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3496 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3502 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3503 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3507 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3508 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3512 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3513 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3514 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3519 @section Exiting Gnus
3520 @cindex exiting Gnus
3522 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3527 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3528 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3529 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3530 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3534 @findex gnus-group-exit
3535 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3536 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3540 @findex gnus-group-quit
3541 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3542 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3545 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3546 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3547 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3548 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3549 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3550 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3556 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3557 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3558 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3564 @section Group Topics
3567 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3568 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3569 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3570 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3571 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3572 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3576 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3577 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3588 2: alt.religion.emacs
3591 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3593 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3594 13: comp.sources.unix
3597 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3599 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3600 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3601 is a toggling command.)
3603 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3604 dum@dots{} Nice tune, that@dots{} la la la@dots{} What, you're back?
3605 Yes, and now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed
3606 under @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
3609 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3610 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3611 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3614 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3618 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3619 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3620 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3621 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3622 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3626 @node Topic Commands
3627 @subsection Topic Commands
3628 @cindex topic commands
3630 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3631 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3632 definitions slightly.
3634 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3635 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3636 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3637 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3638 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3639 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3641 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3648 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3649 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3650 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3654 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3656 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3657 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3658 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3659 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3662 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3663 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3664 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3665 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3669 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3670 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3671 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3672 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3678 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3679 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3680 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3684 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3685 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3686 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3689 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3690 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the ``cut'' part of cut and paste. Then,
3691 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the ``Gnus''
3692 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the ``paste'' part of cut and
3693 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3695 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3696 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3700 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3701 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3708 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3710 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3711 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3712 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3713 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3714 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3715 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3719 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3725 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3726 Move the current group to some other topic
3727 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3728 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3732 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3733 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3737 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3738 Copy the current group to some other topic
3739 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3740 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3744 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3745 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3746 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3750 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3751 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3752 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3756 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3757 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3758 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3759 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3760 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3761 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3762 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3765 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3766 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3770 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3771 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3772 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3776 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3777 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3778 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3782 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3783 Toggle hiding empty topics
3784 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3788 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3789 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3790 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3791 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3794 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3795 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3796 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3797 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3798 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3801 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3802 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3803 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3804 expiry process (if any)
3805 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3809 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3810 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3813 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3814 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3815 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3819 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3820 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3821 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3824 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3825 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3826 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3829 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3830 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3831 Go to the previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3835 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3836 @cindex group parameters
3837 @cindex topic parameters
3839 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3840 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3845 @node Topic Variables
3846 @subsection Topic Variables
3847 @cindex topic variables
3849 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3850 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3852 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3853 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3854 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3867 Number of groups in the topic.
3869 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3871 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3874 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3875 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3876 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3879 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3880 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3882 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3883 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3884 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3888 @subsection Topic Sorting
3889 @cindex topic sorting
3891 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3897 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3898 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3899 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3900 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3903 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3904 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3905 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3906 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3909 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3910 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3911 Sort the current topic by group level
3912 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3915 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3916 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3917 Sort the current topic by group score
3918 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3921 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3922 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3923 Sort the current topic by group rank
3924 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3927 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3928 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3929 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3930 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3933 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3934 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3935 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3936 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3939 @kindex T S s (Topic)
3940 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3941 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3942 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3943 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3947 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3948 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3952 @node Topic Topology
3953 @subsection Topic Topology
3954 @cindex topic topology
3957 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3964 2: alt.religion.emacs
3967 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3969 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3970 13: comp.sources.unix
3974 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3975 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3976 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3981 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3982 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3986 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3987 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3988 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3989 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3990 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3991 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3993 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3994 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3995 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3998 @node Topic Parameters
3999 @subsection Topic Parameters
4000 @cindex topic parameters
4002 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent
4003 (and ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid
4004 topic parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}). When the agent is
4005 enabled, all agent parameters (See Agent Parameters in @ref{Category
4006 Syntax}) are also valid topic parameters.
4008 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
4013 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
4014 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
4015 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
4018 @item subscribe-level
4019 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
4020 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
4021 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
4025 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
4026 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
4027 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
4028 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
4035 2: alt.religion.emacs
4039 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4041 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4042 13: comp.sources.unix
4047 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
4048 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
4049 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
4050 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
4051 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
4052 . "religion.SCORE")}.
4054 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
4055 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
4056 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
4057 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
4058 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
4060 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
4061 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
4062 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
4063 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
4064 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
4065 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
4066 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
4067 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
4070 @node Misc Group Stuff
4071 @section Misc Group Stuff
4074 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
4075 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
4076 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
4077 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
4078 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
4085 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
4086 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
4087 @xref{Server Buffer}.
4091 @findex gnus-group-post-news
4092 Start composing a message (a news by default)
4093 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
4094 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
4095 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
4096 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
4097 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4101 @findex gnus-group-mail
4102 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
4103 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
4104 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
4105 @xref{Composing Messages}.
4109 @findex gnus-group-news
4110 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
4111 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
4112 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4114 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
4115 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
4116 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
4117 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
4118 for this to work though.
4122 Variables for the group buffer:
4126 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
4127 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4128 is called after the group buffer has been
4131 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4132 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4133 is called after the group buffer is
4134 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4137 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4138 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4139 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4140 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4142 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4143 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4144 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4145 whether they are empty or not.
4147 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4148 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4149 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
4150 non-@acronym{ASCII} group names.
4154 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4155 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4158 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4159 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4160 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4161 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4162 is used to show non-@acronym{ASCII} group names. @code{((".*"
4163 utf-8))} is the default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the
4164 default is @code{nil}.
4168 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4169 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4174 @node Scanning New Messages
4175 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4176 @cindex new messages
4177 @cindex scanning new news
4183 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4184 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4185 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4186 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4187 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4188 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4193 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4194 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4195 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4196 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4197 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4198 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4199 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4201 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4202 @cindex activating groups
4204 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4205 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4210 @findex gnus-group-restart
4211 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4212 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4213 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
4217 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4218 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4220 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4221 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4225 @node Group Information
4226 @subsection Group Information
4227 @cindex group information
4228 @cindex information on groups
4235 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4236 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4239 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} for the current group
4240 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the @acronym{FAQ}
4241 from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on
4242 a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
4243 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4244 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be
4245 used for fetching the file.
4247 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
4248 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4252 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4253 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4255 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4256 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4259 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4260 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4261 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4265 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4266 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4267 @cindex control message
4268 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4269 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4270 group if given a prefix argument.
4272 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-@code{nil},
4273 Gnus will open the control messages in a browser using
4274 @code{browse-url}. Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp}
4275 and displayed in an ephemeral group.
4277 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4278 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed
4279 Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
4283 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4285 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4286 @cindex describing groups
4287 @cindex group description
4288 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4289 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4290 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4294 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4295 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4296 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4303 @findex gnus-version
4304 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4308 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4309 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4312 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4315 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4316 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4320 @node Group Timestamp
4321 @subsection Group Timestamp
4323 @cindex group timestamps
4325 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4326 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4327 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4330 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4333 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4335 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4336 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4339 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4340 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4343 This will result in lines looking like:
4346 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4347 0: custom 19961002T012713
4350 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4351 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4355 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4356 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4359 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4360 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4364 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4365 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4366 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4367 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4369 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4375 @subsection File Commands
4376 @cindex file commands
4382 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4383 @vindex gnus-init-file
4384 @cindex reading init file
4385 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4386 @file{~/.gnus.el}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4390 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4391 @cindex saving .newsrc
4392 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4393 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4394 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4397 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4398 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4399 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4404 @node Sieve Commands
4405 @subsection Sieve Commands
4406 @cindex group sieve commands
4408 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4409 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4410 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4411 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4412 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4414 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4415 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4416 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4417 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4418 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4419 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4420 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4421 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4422 regenerate the Sieve script.
4424 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4425 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4426 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
4427 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
4428 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
4429 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4430 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4431 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
4432 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
4433 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4436 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4437 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4442 @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve, Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4448 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4449 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4450 @cindex generating sieve script
4451 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4452 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4456 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4457 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4458 @cindex updating sieve script
4459 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4460 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4461 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4466 @node Summary Buffer
4467 @chapter Summary Buffer
4468 @cindex summary buffer
4470 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4471 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4473 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4474 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4476 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4479 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4480 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4481 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4482 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4483 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4484 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4485 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4486 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4487 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4488 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4489 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4490 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4491 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4492 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4493 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4494 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4495 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4496 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4497 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4498 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4499 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4500 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4501 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4502 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4503 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4504 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4505 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4506 or reselecting the current group.
4507 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4508 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4509 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4510 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4514 @node Summary Buffer Format
4515 @section Summary Buffer Format
4516 @cindex summary buffer format
4520 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4521 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4522 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4528 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4529 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4530 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4531 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4534 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4535 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4536 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4537 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4538 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4539 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4540 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4541 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4542 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4543 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4544 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4547 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4548 'mail-extract-address-components)
4551 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4552 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4553 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4554 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4557 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4558 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4560 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4561 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4562 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4563 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4564 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4566 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4567 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4568 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4569 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4570 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4571 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4573 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4575 The following format specification characters and extended format
4576 specification(s) are understood:
4582 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4583 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4585 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4586 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4587 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4589 Full @code{From} header.
4591 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4593 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4596 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4597 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4598 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4599 may be more thorough.
4601 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4604 Number of lines in the article.
4606 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4607 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4609 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4610 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4612 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4614 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4615 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
4628 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
4629 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
4630 replacing the default @acronym{ASCII} characters with graphic
4631 line-drawing glyphs.
4633 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4634 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4635 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
4636 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4638 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4639 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4640 Used for the false root of a thread (@pxref{Loose Threads}). If
4641 @code{nil}, use subject instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4643 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4644 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4645 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
4646 instead. The default is @samp{}.
4648 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4649 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4650 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
4652 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4653 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4654 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
4656 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4657 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4658 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
4660 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4661 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4662 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
4667 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4668 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4670 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4671 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4673 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4674 for adopted articles.
4676 One space for each thread level.
4678 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4680 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4683 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4684 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4685 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4688 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4690 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4691 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4692 default level. If the difference between
4693 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4694 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4702 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4704 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4710 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4711 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4713 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4714 article has any children.
4720 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4721 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4723 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4724 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4725 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{x}}, where @var{x} is the letter
4726 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4727 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4728 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4731 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4732 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4733 There can only be one such area.
4735 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4736 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4737 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4738 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4739 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4740 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4742 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4743 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4745 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4748 @node To From Newsgroups
4749 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4753 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4754 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4755 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4756 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4757 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4761 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4762 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4763 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4767 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4768 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4771 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4772 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4775 @findex gnus-extra-header
4776 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4777 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4778 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4781 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4785 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4786 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4787 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4788 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4789 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4790 headers are used instead.
4792 To distinguish regular articles from those where the @code{From} field
4793 has been swapped, a string is prefixed to the @code{To} or
4794 @code{Newsgroups} header in the summary line. By default the string is
4795 @samp{-> } for @code{To} and @samp{=> } for @code{Newsgroups}, you can
4796 customize these strings with @code{gnus-summary-to-prefix} and
4797 @code{gnus-summary-newsgroup-prefix}.
4801 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4802 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4803 to include extra headers when generating overview (@acronym{NOV}) files.
4804 If you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after
4805 changing this variable, by entering the server buffer using @kbd{^},
4806 and then @kbd{g} on the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause
4809 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4810 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4811 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4812 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4814 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4818 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4820 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4821 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4822 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4823 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4827 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4830 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4831 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4834 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4835 the @acronym{NOV} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4836 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4842 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4843 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4846 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4847 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4849 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4850 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4851 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4852 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4854 Here are the elements you can play with:
4860 Unprefixed group name.
4862 Current article number.
4864 Current article score.
4868 Number of unread articles in this group.
4870 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4873 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4874 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4875 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4876 and no unselected ones.
4878 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4879 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4881 Subject of the current article.
4883 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4885 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4887 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4889 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4891 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4893 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4897 @node Summary Highlighting
4898 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4902 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4903 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4904 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4905 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4906 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4908 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4909 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4910 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4911 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4913 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4914 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4915 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4916 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4918 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4919 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4920 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4921 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4922 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4923 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4926 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4927 ((> score default) . bold))
4929 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4930 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4934 @node Summary Maneuvering
4935 @section Summary Maneuvering
4936 @cindex summary movement
4938 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4939 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4941 None of these commands select articles.
4946 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4947 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4948 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4949 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4950 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4954 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4955 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4956 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4957 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4958 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4961 @kindex G g (Summary)
4962 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4963 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4964 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4967 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4968 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4969 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4970 to the group buffer.
4972 Variables related to summary movement:
4976 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4977 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4978 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4979 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4980 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4981 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4982 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4983 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
4984 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
4985 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
4986 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
4987 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
4988 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
4989 @pxref{Group Levels}.
4991 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4992 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4993 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4994 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4995 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4996 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4997 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4999 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
5001 @item gnus-summary-check-current
5002 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
5003 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
5004 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
5005 Instead, they will choose the current article.
5007 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
5008 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
5009 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
5010 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
5011 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
5012 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
5013 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
5014 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
5017 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
5018 the given number of lines from the top.
5023 @node Choosing Articles
5024 @section Choosing Articles
5025 @cindex selecting articles
5028 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
5029 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
5033 @node Choosing Commands
5034 @subsection Choosing Commands
5036 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
5037 and they all select and display an article.
5039 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
5040 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
5044 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5045 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5046 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
5047 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5049 If you have an article window open already and you press @kbd{SPACE}
5050 again, the article will be scrolled. This lets you conveniently
5051 @kbd{SPACE} through an entire newsgroup. @xref{Paging the Article}.
5056 @kindex G n (Summary)
5057 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
5058 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
5059 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
5064 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
5065 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
5066 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
5071 @kindex G N (Summary)
5072 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
5073 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
5078 @kindex G P (Summary)
5079 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
5080 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
5083 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
5084 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
5085 Go to the next article with the same subject
5086 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
5089 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
5090 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
5091 Go to the previous article with the same subject
5092 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
5096 @kindex G f (Summary)
5098 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
5099 Go to the first unread article
5100 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
5104 @kindex G b (Summary)
5106 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
5107 Go to the unread article with the highest score
5108 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
5109 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
5114 @kindex G l (Summary)
5115 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
5116 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
5119 @kindex G o (Summary)
5120 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
5122 @cindex article history
5123 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
5124 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
5125 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
5126 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
5127 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
5128 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
5133 @kindex G j (Summary)
5134 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
5135 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
5136 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
5141 @node Choosing Variables
5142 @subsection Choosing Variables
5144 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
5147 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5148 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5149 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
5150 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
5151 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
5152 the server and display it in the article buffer.
5154 @item gnus-select-article-hook
5155 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
5156 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. The default is
5157 @code{nil}. If you would like each article to be saved in the Agent as
5158 you read it, putting @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this
5161 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
5162 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
5163 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
5164 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
5165 @findex gnus-unread-mark
5166 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
5167 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
5168 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
5169 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-read-mark}. The only
5170 articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
5171 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
5172 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
5173 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
5174 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
5179 @node Paging the Article
5180 @section Scrolling the Article
5181 @cindex article scrolling
5186 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5187 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5188 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5189 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5190 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5192 @vindex gnus-article-boring-faces
5193 @vindex gnus-article-skip-boring
5194 If @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} is non-@code{nil} and the rest of
5195 the article consists only of citations and signature, then it will be
5196 skipped; the next article will be shown instead. You can customize
5197 what is considered uninteresting with
5198 @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}. You can manually view the article's
5199 pages, no matter how boring, using @kbd{C-M-v}.
5202 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5203 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5204 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5207 @kindex RET (Summary)
5208 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5209 Scroll the current article one line forward
5210 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5213 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5214 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5215 Scroll the current article one line backward
5216 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5220 @kindex A g (Summary)
5222 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5223 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5224 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5225 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
5226 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5227 the way it came from the server.
5229 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5230 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5231 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5234 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5239 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5244 @kindex A < (Summary)
5245 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5246 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5247 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5252 @kindex A > (Summary)
5253 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5254 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5258 @kindex A s (Summary)
5260 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5261 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5262 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5266 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5267 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5272 @node Reply Followup and Post
5273 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5276 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5277 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5278 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5279 * Canceling and Superseding::
5283 @node Summary Mail Commands
5284 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5286 @cindex composing mail
5288 Commands for composing a mail message:
5294 @kindex S r (Summary)
5296 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5297 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5298 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5299 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5300 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5305 @kindex S R (Summary)
5306 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5307 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5308 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5309 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5310 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5313 @kindex S w (Summary)
5314 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5315 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5316 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5317 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5318 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers. If @code{Mail-Followup-To} is
5319 present, that's used instead.
5322 @kindex S W (Summary)
5323 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5324 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5325 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5326 the process/prefix convention.
5329 @kindex S v (Summary)
5330 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5331 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5332 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5333 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5334 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5335 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5338 @kindex S V (Summary)
5339 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5340 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5341 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5342 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5345 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5346 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5347 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5348 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5349 If you need this because a mailing list incorrectly sets a
5350 @code{Reply-To} header pointing to the list, you probably want to set
5351 the @code{broken-reply-to} group parameter instead, so things will work
5352 correctly. @xref{Group Parameters}.
5355 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5356 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5357 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5358 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5359 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5363 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5364 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5365 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5366 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5367 Forward the current article to some other person
5368 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
5369 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
5370 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5371 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5372 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5373 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5374 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5375 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5376 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME}
5382 @kindex S m (Summary)
5383 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5384 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5385 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5386 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5387 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5392 @kindex S i (Summary)
5393 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5394 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5395 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5396 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5398 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5399 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
5400 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5401 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5402 for this to work though.
5405 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5406 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5407 @cindex bouncing mail
5408 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5409 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5410 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5411 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5412 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5413 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5414 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5415 very well fail, though.
5418 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5419 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5420 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5421 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5422 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5423 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5424 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5425 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5426 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5427 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5429 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5430 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5431 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5432 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5433 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5435 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5436 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5439 @kindex S D e (Summary)
5440 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message-edit
5442 Like the previous command, but will allow you to edit the message as
5443 if it were a new message before resending.
5446 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5447 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5448 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5449 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5450 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5453 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5454 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5455 @cindex crossposting
5456 @cindex excessive crossposting
5457 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5458 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5460 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5461 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5462 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5463 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5464 command understands the process/prefix convention
5465 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5469 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5470 Manual}, for more information.
5473 @node Summary Post Commands
5474 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5476 @cindex composing news
5478 Commands for posting a news article:
5484 @kindex S p (Summary)
5485 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5486 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5487 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5488 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5489 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5494 @kindex S f (Summary)
5495 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5496 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5497 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5501 @kindex S F (Summary)
5503 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5504 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5505 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5506 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5507 process/prefix convention.
5510 @kindex S n (Summary)
5511 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5512 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5513 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5516 @kindex S N (Summary)
5517 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5518 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5519 message through mail and include the original message
5520 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5521 the process/prefix convention.
5524 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5525 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5526 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5527 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5528 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5529 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5530 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5531 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5532 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5533 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5534 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5535 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5536 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section.
5539 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5540 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5542 @cindex making digests
5543 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5544 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
5545 process/prefix convention.
5548 @kindex S u (Summary)
5549 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5550 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5551 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5552 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5555 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5556 Manual}, for more information.
5559 @node Summary Message Commands
5560 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5564 @kindex S y (Summary)
5565 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5566 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5567 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5568 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5569 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5574 @node Canceling and Superseding
5575 @subsection Canceling Articles
5576 @cindex canceling articles
5577 @cindex superseding articles
5579 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5580 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5582 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5584 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5586 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5587 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5588 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5589 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5590 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5591 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5593 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5594 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5597 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5598 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5599 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5601 Gnus ensures that only you can cancel your own messages using a
5602 @code{Cancel-Lock} header (@pxref{Canceling News, Canceling News, ,
5603 message, Message Manual}).
5605 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5606 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5607 your original article.
5609 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5611 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5612 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5613 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5616 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5617 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5618 have posted almost the same article twice.
5620 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5621 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5622 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5623 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5624 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5625 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5626 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5627 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5628 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5629 canceled/superseded.
5631 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5633 @node Delayed Articles
5634 @section Delayed Articles
5635 @cindex delayed sending
5636 @cindex send delayed
5638 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5639 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5640 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5641 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5644 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5647 @findex gnus-delay-article
5648 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5649 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5650 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5651 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5655 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5656 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5657 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5658 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5661 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5662 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5663 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5666 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5667 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5668 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5669 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5670 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5671 that means a time tomorrow.
5674 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5675 couple of variables:
5678 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5679 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5680 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5681 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5683 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5684 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5685 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5686 formats described above.
5688 @item gnus-delay-group
5689 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5690 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5691 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5692 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5694 @item gnus-delay-header
5695 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5696 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5697 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5698 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5701 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5702 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5703 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5704 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5705 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5707 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
5708 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5709 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5710 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5711 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5712 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5713 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5716 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5717 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5718 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5719 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5720 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5721 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5722 argument is ignored.
5724 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5725 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5726 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5730 @node Marking Articles
5731 @section Marking Articles
5732 @cindex article marking
5733 @cindex article ticking
5736 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5738 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5739 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5740 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5742 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5745 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks.
5749 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5750 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5751 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5752 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5753 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5754 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5758 @node Unread Articles
5759 @subsection Unread Articles
5761 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5766 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5767 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5769 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5770 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5771 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5772 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5773 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5774 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5775 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5778 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5779 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5781 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5782 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5783 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5784 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5788 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5789 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5791 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5796 @subsection Read Articles
5797 @cindex expirable mark
5799 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5804 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5805 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5806 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5809 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5810 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5813 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5814 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5815 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5818 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5819 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5822 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5823 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5826 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5827 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5830 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5831 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5834 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5835 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5838 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5839 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5842 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5843 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5847 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5848 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5849 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5853 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5854 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5856 One more special mark, though:
5860 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5861 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5863 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5864 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5865 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5866 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5872 @subsection Other Marks
5873 @cindex process mark
5876 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5882 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5883 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5884 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5885 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5886 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5889 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5890 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5891 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5892 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5895 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5896 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5897 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5900 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5901 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5902 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5905 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5906 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5907 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5908 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5911 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5912 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5913 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5914 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5915 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5916 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5919 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5920 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5921 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5922 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5925 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
5926 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), articles may be
5927 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
5928 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
5929 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
5933 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
5934 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), some articles might
5935 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
5936 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
5937 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
5938 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
5941 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
5942 The Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}) downloads some articles
5943 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
5944 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
5945 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
5946 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
5950 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5951 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5952 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5953 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5954 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5957 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5958 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5959 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5960 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5961 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5962 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5966 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5967 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5968 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5970 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5971 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5972 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5976 @subsection Setting Marks
5977 @cindex setting marks
5979 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5984 @kindex M c (Summary)
5985 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5986 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5987 @cindex mark as unread
5988 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5989 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5995 @kindex M t (Summary)
5996 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5997 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5998 @xref{Article Caching}.
6003 @kindex M ? (Summary)
6004 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
6005 Mark the current article as dormant
6006 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
6010 @kindex M d (Summary)
6012 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
6013 Mark the current article as read
6014 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
6018 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
6019 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
6020 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
6025 @kindex M k (Summary)
6026 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
6027 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
6028 and then select the next unread article
6029 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
6033 @kindex M K (Summary)
6034 @kindex C-k (Summary)
6035 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
6036 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
6037 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
6040 @kindex M C (Summary)
6041 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
6042 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
6043 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
6046 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
6047 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
6048 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
6049 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
6052 @kindex M H (Summary)
6053 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
6054 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
6055 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
6058 @kindex M h (Summary)
6059 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
6060 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
6061 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
6064 @kindex C-w (Summary)
6065 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
6066 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
6067 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
6070 @kindex M V k (Summary)
6071 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
6072 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
6073 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
6077 @kindex M e (Summary)
6079 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
6080 Mark the current article as expirable
6081 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
6084 @kindex M b (Summary)
6085 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
6086 Set a bookmark in the current article
6087 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
6090 @kindex M B (Summary)
6091 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
6092 Remove the bookmark from the current article
6093 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
6096 @kindex M V c (Summary)
6097 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
6098 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
6099 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6102 @kindex M V u (Summary)
6103 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
6104 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
6105 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
6108 @kindex M V m (Summary)
6109 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
6110 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
6111 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
6112 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6115 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
6116 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
6117 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
6118 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
6119 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
6120 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
6121 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
6122 The default is @code{t}.
6125 @node Generic Marking Commands
6126 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
6128 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
6129 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
6130 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
6131 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
6132 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
6135 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
6136 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
6139 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
6140 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
6141 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
6142 to list in this manual.
6144 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
6145 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
6146 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
6147 article, you could say something like:
6151 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
6152 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6153 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
6161 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6162 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
6166 @node Setting Process Marks
6167 @subsection Setting Process Marks
6168 @cindex setting process marks
6170 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
6171 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
6172 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
6173 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
6174 commands into the cache. For more information,
6175 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6182 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6183 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6184 Mark the current article with the process mark
6185 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6186 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6190 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6191 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6192 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6193 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6196 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6197 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6198 Remove the process mark from all articles
6199 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6202 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6203 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6204 Invert the list of process marked articles
6205 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6208 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6209 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6210 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6211 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6214 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6215 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6216 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6217 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6220 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6221 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6222 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6225 @kindex M P g (Summary)
6226 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6227 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6230 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6231 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6232 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6233 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6236 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6237 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6238 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6239 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6242 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6243 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6244 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6245 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6248 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6249 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6250 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6253 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6254 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6255 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6256 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6259 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6260 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6261 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}).
6264 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6265 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6266 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6267 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6270 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6271 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6272 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6273 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6276 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6277 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6278 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6279 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6282 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6283 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6284 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6285 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6289 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @ref{Searching for Articles}, for how to
6290 set process marks based on article body contents.
6297 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6298 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6299 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6302 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6303 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6304 additional articles.
6310 @kindex / / (Summary)
6311 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6312 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6313 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6317 @kindex / a (Summary)
6318 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6319 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6320 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6324 @kindex / R (Summary)
6325 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient
6326 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some recipient
6327 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient}). If given a prefix, exclude
6331 @kindex / x (Summary)
6332 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6333 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6334 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6335 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6340 @kindex / u (Summary)
6342 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6343 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6344 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6345 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6346 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6349 @kindex / m (Summary)
6350 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6351 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6352 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6355 @kindex / t (Summary)
6356 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6357 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6358 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6359 articles younger than that number of days.
6362 @kindex / n (Summary)
6363 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6364 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6365 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6366 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6369 @kindex / w (Summary)
6370 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6371 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6372 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6376 @kindex / . (Summary)
6377 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6378 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6379 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6382 @kindex / v (Summary)
6383 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6384 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6385 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6388 @kindex / p (Summary)
6389 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6390 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6391 group parameter predicate
6392 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). @xref{Group
6393 Parameters}, for more on this predicate.
6396 @kindex / r (Summary)
6397 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-replied
6398 Limit the summary buffer to replied articles
6399 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-replied}). If given a prefix, exclude
6404 @kindex M S (Summary)
6405 @kindex / E (Summary)
6406 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6407 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6408 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6411 @kindex / D (Summary)
6412 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6413 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6414 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6417 @kindex / * (Summary)
6418 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6419 Include all cached articles in the limit
6420 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6423 @kindex / d (Summary)
6424 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6425 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6426 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6429 @kindex / M (Summary)
6430 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6431 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6434 @kindex / T (Summary)
6435 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6436 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6439 @kindex / c (Summary)
6440 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6441 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit@*
6442 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6445 @kindex / C (Summary)
6446 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6447 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6448 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6449 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6452 @kindex / N (Summary)
6453 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6454 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6455 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6458 @kindex / o (Summary)
6459 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6460 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6461 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6469 @cindex article threading
6471 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6472 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6473 hierarchical fashion.
6475 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6476 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6477 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6478 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6479 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6480 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6481 @ref{Customizing Threading}.
6483 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6487 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6490 A tree-like article structure.
6493 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6496 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6497 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6498 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6499 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6500 called loose threads.
6502 @item thread gathering
6503 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6505 @item sparse threads
6506 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6507 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6513 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6514 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6518 @node Customizing Threading
6519 @subsection Customizing Threading
6520 @cindex customizing threading
6523 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6524 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6525 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6526 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
6531 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6534 @cindex loose threads
6537 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6538 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6539 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6540 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6541 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6542 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6544 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6545 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6546 There are four possible values:
6550 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6551 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6552 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6553 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6554 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6559 @cindex adopting articles
6564 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6565 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6566 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6567 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6570 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6571 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6572 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6573 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6574 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6575 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6576 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6577 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6578 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6579 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6582 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6583 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6584 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6588 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6589 display them after one another.
6592 Don't gather loose threads.
6595 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6596 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6597 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6598 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6599 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6600 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6601 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6602 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6603 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6604 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6605 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6607 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6608 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6609 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6612 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6613 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6614 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6615 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6616 simplification is used.
6618 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6619 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6620 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6621 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6623 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6625 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6631 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6632 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6633 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6634 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6639 (mapconcat 'identity
6640 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6642 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6645 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6648 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6649 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6650 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6651 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6652 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6653 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6655 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6658 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6659 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6660 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6662 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6663 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6666 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6667 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6668 Remove excessive whitespace.
6670 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6671 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6672 Remove all whitespace.
6675 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6678 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6679 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6680 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6681 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6682 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6683 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6684 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6685 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6687 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6688 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6689 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6690 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6691 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6692 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6693 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6694 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6695 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6699 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6700 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6701 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6702 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6704 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6705 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6706 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6709 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6713 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6714 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6720 @node Filling In Threads
6721 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6724 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6725 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6726 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6727 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you would
6728 like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still connect as
6729 many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable to
6730 @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than that
6731 number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case, fetching
6732 old headers only works if the back end you are using carries overview
6733 files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6734 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6735 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can
6738 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6739 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6740 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6742 @item gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6743 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6744 Same as @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}, but only used for ephemeral
6747 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6748 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6749 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6750 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6751 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6752 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6753 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6754 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6755 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6756 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6757 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6758 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6759 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6760 @code{nil} by default.
6762 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6763 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6764 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6765 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6766 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6767 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6768 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6770 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6771 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6772 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6777 @node More Threading
6778 @subsubsection More Threading
6781 @item gnus-show-threads
6782 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6783 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6784 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6785 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6786 slower and more awkward.
6788 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6789 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6790 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6793 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6794 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6795 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}.
6800 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6801 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6802 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6805 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6806 unread, but you get my drift.)
6809 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6810 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6811 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6812 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6813 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6814 threads are expunged.
6816 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6817 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6818 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6821 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6822 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6823 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6824 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6825 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6826 result in a new thread.
6828 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6829 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6830 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6833 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6834 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6835 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6836 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6837 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6838 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6839 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6840 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6841 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6842 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6843 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6848 @node Low-Level Threading
6849 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6853 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6854 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6855 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6857 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6858 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6859 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6860 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6861 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6862 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6863 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6864 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6865 meaningful. Here's one example:
6868 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6870 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6871 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6873 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6875 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6882 @node Thread Commands
6883 @subsection Thread Commands
6884 @cindex thread commands
6890 @kindex T k (Summary)
6891 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6892 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6893 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6894 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6895 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6900 @kindex T l (Summary)
6901 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6902 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6903 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6904 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6907 @kindex T i (Summary)
6908 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6909 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6910 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6913 @kindex T # (Summary)
6914 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6915 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6916 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6919 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6920 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6921 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6922 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6925 @kindex T T (Summary)
6926 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6927 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6930 @kindex T s (Summary)
6931 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6932 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any@*
6933 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6936 @kindex T h (Summary)
6937 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6938 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6941 @kindex T S (Summary)
6942 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6943 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6946 @kindex T H (Summary)
6947 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6948 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6951 @kindex T t (Summary)
6952 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6953 Re-thread the current article's thread
6954 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6955 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6958 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6959 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6960 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6961 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6965 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6966 understand the numeric prefix.
6971 @kindex T n (Summary)
6973 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6975 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6976 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6977 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6980 @kindex T p (Summary)
6982 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6984 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6985 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6986 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6989 @kindex T d (Summary)
6990 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6991 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6994 @kindex T u (Summary)
6995 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6996 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6999 @kindex T o (Summary)
7000 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
7001 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
7004 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
7005 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
7006 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
7007 a command like @kbd{T k} (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
7008 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
7009 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
7010 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
7011 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
7012 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
7013 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
7014 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
7015 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
7019 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
7020 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
7022 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
7023 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
7024 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date-reverse
7025 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
7026 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7027 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
7028 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient
7029 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7030 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
7031 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
7032 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number
7033 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date
7034 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
7035 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
7036 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
7037 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
7039 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
7040 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
7041 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient},
7042 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
7043 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date-reverse},
7044 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
7045 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
7046 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
7047 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
7048 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
7050 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
7051 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
7052 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
7054 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
7055 last function in the list. You should probably always include
7056 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
7057 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
7058 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
7059 ascending article order.
7061 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
7062 by number, you could do something like:
7065 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7066 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7067 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7068 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
7071 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
7072 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
7073 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
7074 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
7075 which the articles arrived.
7077 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
7081 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7083 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
7084 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
7087 Yet more examples. You can define different sorting to different
7088 groups. Here is an example for where one @acronym{NNTP} group is
7089 sorted by subject and the @acronym{RSS} group is sorted by date to see
7090 the latest news at the top.
7095 (defun my-gnus-summary-mode-hook-group-select ()
7096 (flet ((lsetq (x val) ;; Local setq
7097 (set (make-local-variable x) val)))
7099 ;; In Group buffer to make Debian daily news group press: G m
7100 ;; and point it to nntp server news.gmane.org and
7101 ;; group gmane.linux.debian.user.news
7102 ((string-match "nntp.*debian.user.news" gnus-newsgroup-name)
7103 (lsetq 'gnus-show-threads nil)
7104 (lsetq 'gnus-article-sort-functions 'gnus-article-sort-by-date-reverse)
7105 (lsetq 'gnus-use-adaptive-scoring nil)
7106 (lsetq 'gnus-use-scoring nil))
7107 ;; In Group buffer to read Debian weekly news RSS feed press: G R
7108 ;; and point it to url:
7109 ;; http://packages.debian.org/unstable/newpkg_main.en.rdf
7110 ((string-match "nnrss.*debian" gnus-newsgroup-name)
7111 (lsetq 'gnus-show-threads nil)
7112 (lsetq 'gnus-article-sort-functions 'gnus-article-sort-by-subject)
7113 (lsetq 'gnus-use-adaptive-scoring nil)
7114 (lsetq 'gnus-use-scoring t)
7115 (lsetq 'gnus-score-find-score-files-function 'gnus-score-find-single)
7116 (lsetq 'gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%d %I%(%[ %s %]%)\n")))))
7118 (defun my-gnus-summary-mode-hook ()
7119 (my-gnus-summary-mode-hook-group-select))
7122 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
7123 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
7124 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
7125 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
7128 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
7129 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
7130 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
7131 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
7132 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
7133 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
7134 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
7135 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
7136 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
7137 variable. It is very similar to the
7138 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
7139 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
7140 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
7141 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
7142 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
7143 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
7144 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
7146 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
7150 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
7151 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
7152 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
7157 @node Asynchronous Fetching
7158 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
7159 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
7160 @cindex article pre-fetch
7163 If you read your news from an @acronym{NNTP} server that's far away, the
7164 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
7165 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
7166 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
7167 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
7169 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
7170 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
7172 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
7173 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
7174 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
7175 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
7176 connection is blocked.
7178 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
7179 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
7180 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
7181 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
7183 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
7184 the link between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server will become more
7185 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
7186 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
7189 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing@dots{} unless
7192 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
7193 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
7194 happen automatically.
7196 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
7197 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
7198 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
7199 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
7200 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
7201 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
7202 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
7204 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
7205 @findex gnus-async-read-p
7206 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
7207 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p}
7208 variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This
7209 function should return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is
7210 to be pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which
7211 returns @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an
7212 article data structure as the only parameter.
7214 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
7215 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
7218 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
7219 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
7220 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
7221 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
7224 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
7227 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
7228 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
7229 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
7231 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
7232 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
7233 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
7234 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7238 Remove articles when they are read.
7241 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7244 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7246 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7247 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7248 @c from the next group.
7251 @node Article Caching
7252 @section Article Caching
7253 @cindex article caching
7256 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @acronym{NNTP} connection, you may
7257 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7258 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7259 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7260 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7262 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7264 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7265 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7266 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7267 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7268 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7269 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7270 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7271 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7273 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7274 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7275 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7276 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7277 as dormant, and don't worry.
7279 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7281 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7282 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7283 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7284 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7285 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7286 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7287 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7288 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7289 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7290 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7292 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7293 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7294 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7295 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7296 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7297 command if 1) your connection to the @acronym{NNTP} server is really, really,
7298 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7299 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7300 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7301 not then be downloaded by this command.
7303 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7304 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7305 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7306 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7307 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7308 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7310 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7311 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7312 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7313 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7314 variables, the group is not cached.
7316 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7317 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7318 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7319 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7320 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7321 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
7322 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7323 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @acronym{NOV}
7324 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7327 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7328 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7329 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7330 where, isn't that cool?
7332 @node Persistent Articles
7333 @section Persistent Articles
7334 @cindex persistent articles
7336 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7337 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7338 useful in my opinion.
7340 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7341 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7342 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7343 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7344 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7345 the expiry going on at the news server.
7347 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7348 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7349 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7355 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7356 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7359 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7360 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7361 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7362 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7366 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7368 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7369 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7370 interested in persistent articles:
7373 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7377 @node Article Backlog
7378 @section Article Backlog
7380 @cindex article backlog
7382 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7383 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7384 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
7385 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7386 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7387 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7388 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
7389 increase memory usage some.
7391 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7392 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
7393 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7394 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
7395 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7396 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7397 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7399 The default value is 20.
7402 @node Saving Articles
7403 @section Saving Articles
7404 @cindex saving articles
7406 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7407 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7408 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7409 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7410 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7412 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7413 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7414 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7416 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7417 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
7418 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7420 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7421 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7422 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7423 deleted before saving.
7429 @kindex O o (Summary)
7431 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7432 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7433 Save the current article using the default article saver
7434 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7437 @kindex O m (Summary)
7438 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7439 Save the current article in mail format
7440 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7443 @kindex O r (Summary)
7444 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7445 Save the current article in Rmail format
7446 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7449 @kindex O f (Summary)
7450 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7451 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7452 Save the current article in plain file format
7453 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7456 @kindex O F (Summary)
7457 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7458 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7459 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7462 @kindex O b (Summary)
7463 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7464 Save the current article body in plain file format
7465 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7468 @kindex O h (Summary)
7469 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7470 Save the current article in mh folder format
7471 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7474 @kindex O v (Summary)
7475 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7476 Save the current article in a VM folder
7477 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7481 @kindex O p (Summary)
7483 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7484 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7485 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7486 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7487 complete headers in the piped output.
7490 @kindex O P (Summary)
7491 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7492 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7493 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7494 external program @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/,
7495 Muttprint}. The program name and options to use is controlled by the
7496 variable @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}.
7497 (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7501 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7502 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7503 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7504 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7505 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7506 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7507 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7508 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7509 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7510 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7511 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7512 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7516 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7517 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7518 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7519 functions below, or you can create your own.
7523 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7524 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7525 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7526 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7527 This is the default format, @dfn{Babyl}. Uses the function in the
7528 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7529 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7531 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7532 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7533 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7534 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7535 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7536 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7538 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7539 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7540 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7541 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7542 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7543 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7544 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7546 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7547 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7548 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7549 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7550 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7551 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7553 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7554 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7555 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7556 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7557 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7559 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7560 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7561 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7562 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7563 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7566 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7567 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7568 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7569 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7570 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7572 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7573 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7574 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7575 reader to use this setting.
7578 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7579 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7580 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7581 @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7584 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7585 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7586 available functions that generate names:
7590 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7591 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7592 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7594 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7595 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7596 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7598 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7599 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7600 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7602 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7603 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7604 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7606 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7607 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7608 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7611 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7612 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7613 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7614 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7615 related to VM in @file{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7619 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7620 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7621 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7622 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7625 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7626 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7627 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7628 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7629 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7630 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7631 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7632 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7633 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7635 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7636 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7637 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7638 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7640 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7641 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7642 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7645 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7646 lots of mail groups called things like
7647 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7648 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7649 following will do just that:
7652 (defun my-save-name (group)
7653 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7654 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7656 (setq gnus-split-methods
7657 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7662 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7663 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7664 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7665 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7666 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7667 all the files in the top level directory
7668 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7669 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7670 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7671 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7673 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7674 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7675 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7676 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7677 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7680 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7684 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; @r{to get a hierarchy}
7685 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7686 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; @r{no encoding}
7689 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7690 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7691 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7692 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7695 @node Decoding Articles
7696 @section Decoding Articles
7697 @cindex decoding articles
7699 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7700 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7703 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7704 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7705 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7706 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7707 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7708 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7712 @cindex article series
7713 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7714 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7715 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7716 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7717 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7719 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7720 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7721 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7723 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
7724 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7725 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7727 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7728 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7729 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7732 @node Uuencoded Articles
7733 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7735 @cindex uuencoded articles
7740 @kindex X u (Summary)
7741 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7742 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7743 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7746 @kindex X U (Summary)
7747 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7748 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7749 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7752 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7753 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7754 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7757 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7758 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7759 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7760 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7764 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7765 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7766 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7767 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7768 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7770 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7771 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7772 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7773 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7776 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7777 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7778 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7779 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7780 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7781 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7785 @node Shell Archives
7786 @subsection Shell Archives
7788 @cindex shell archives
7789 @cindex shared articles
7791 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7792 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7793 some commands to deal with these:
7798 @kindex X s (Summary)
7799 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7800 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7803 @kindex X S (Summary)
7804 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7805 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7808 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7809 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7810 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7813 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7814 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7815 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7816 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7820 @node PostScript Files
7821 @subsection PostScript Files
7827 @kindex X p (Summary)
7828 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7829 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7832 @kindex X P (Summary)
7833 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7834 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7835 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7838 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7839 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7840 View the current PostScript series
7841 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7844 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7845 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7846 View and save the current PostScript series
7847 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7852 @subsection Other Files
7856 @kindex X o (Summary)
7857 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7858 Save the current series
7859 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7862 @kindex X b (Summary)
7863 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7864 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7865 doesn't really work yet.
7869 @node Decoding Variables
7870 @subsection Decoding Variables
7872 Adjective, not verb.
7875 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7876 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7877 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7881 @node Rule Variables
7882 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7883 @cindex rule variables
7885 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7886 variables are of the form
7889 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7896 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7897 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7899 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7900 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @file{.au} sound file, you could
7903 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7904 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7907 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7908 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7909 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7910 user and default view rules.
7912 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7913 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7914 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7919 @node Other Decode Variables
7920 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7923 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7925 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7926 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7927 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7928 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7929 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7933 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7934 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7937 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7938 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7939 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7942 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7943 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7944 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7945 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7946 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7949 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7950 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7951 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7953 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7954 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7955 Files with a @acronym{MIME} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7956 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7957 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @acronym{MIME} package (yet), so this is slightly
7960 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7961 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7962 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7964 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7965 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7966 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7967 looking for files to display.
7969 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7970 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7971 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7974 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7975 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7976 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7979 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7980 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7981 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7984 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7985 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7986 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7989 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7990 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7991 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7992 decoded articles as unread.
7994 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7995 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7996 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7997 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7999 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
8000 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
8001 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
8003 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
8004 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
8006 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
8007 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @acronym{MIME}
8008 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
8009 @code{metamail} for viewing.
8011 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
8012 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
8013 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
8014 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
8015 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
8016 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
8017 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
8018 simply dropped them.
8023 @node Uuencoding and Posting
8024 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
8028 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
8029 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
8030 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
8031 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
8032 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
8033 for you when you post the article.
8035 @item gnus-uu-post-length
8036 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
8037 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
8038 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
8040 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
8041 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
8042 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
8043 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
8044 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
8045 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
8046 think that counts@dots{}) Default is @code{nil}.
8048 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
8049 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
8050 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
8051 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
8052 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
8053 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
8054 Default is @code{t}.
8060 @subsection Viewing Files
8061 @cindex viewing files
8062 @cindex pseudo-articles
8064 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
8065 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
8066 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
8067 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
8068 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
8069 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
8070 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
8072 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
8073 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
8074 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
8075 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
8077 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
8078 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
8079 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
8081 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
8082 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
8083 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
8084 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
8085 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
8087 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
8088 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
8089 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
8090 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
8091 a list of parameters to that command.
8093 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
8094 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
8095 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
8097 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
8098 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
8099 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
8102 @node Article Treatment
8103 @section Article Treatment
8105 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
8106 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
8107 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
8108 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
8109 these articles easier.
8112 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
8113 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
8114 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
8115 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
8116 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
8117 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
8118 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
8119 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
8120 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
8121 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
8122 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
8126 @node Article Highlighting
8127 @subsection Article Highlighting
8128 @cindex highlighting
8130 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
8131 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
8136 @kindex W H a (Summary)
8137 @findex gnus-article-highlight
8138 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
8139 Do much highlighting of the current article
8140 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
8141 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
8144 @kindex W H h (Summary)
8145 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
8146 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
8147 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
8148 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
8149 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
8150 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
8151 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
8152 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
8153 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
8154 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
8155 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
8158 @kindex W H c (Summary)
8159 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
8160 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
8162 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
8165 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8167 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8168 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
8169 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
8171 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
8172 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
8173 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
8175 @item gnus-cite-face-list
8176 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
8177 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
8178 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
8179 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
8180 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
8182 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
8183 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
8184 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
8186 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8187 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8188 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
8190 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8191 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8192 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
8193 that it's a citation.
8195 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8196 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8197 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
8199 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8200 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8201 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
8203 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
8204 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
8205 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
8206 cited text belonging to the attribution.
8208 @item gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
8209 @vindex gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
8210 If non-@code{nil}, no citation highlighting will be performed on lines
8211 beginning with @samp{>From }. Those lines may have been quoted by MTAs
8212 in order not to mix up with the envelope From line. The default value
8219 @kindex W H s (Summary)
8220 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8221 @vindex gnus-signature-face
8222 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
8223 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
8224 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
8225 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
8226 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
8231 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
8234 @node Article Fontisizing
8235 @subsection Article Fontisizing
8237 @cindex article emphasis
8239 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
8240 @kindex W e (Summary)
8241 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
8242 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
8243 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
8244 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
8246 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
8247 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
8248 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
8249 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
8250 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
8251 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
8252 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
8253 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
8257 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
8258 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
8259 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
8268 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
8269 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
8270 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
8271 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
8272 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
8273 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
8274 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
8275 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
8276 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
8277 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
8278 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
8279 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
8280 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
8282 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
8283 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
8284 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
8288 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
8291 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
8293 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
8294 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8295 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8296 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8298 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8301 @node Article Hiding
8302 @subsection Article Hiding
8303 @cindex article hiding
8305 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8306 too much cruft in most articles.
8311 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8312 @findex gnus-article-hide
8313 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8314 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8315 headers, @acronym{PGP}, cited text and the signature.
8318 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8319 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8320 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8324 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8325 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8326 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8327 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8330 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8331 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8332 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8336 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8337 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8338 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8339 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8340 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8341 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8342 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8343 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8347 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8348 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8349 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8350 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8355 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8356 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8357 Hide @acronym{PEM} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8358 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8361 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8362 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8363 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8364 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8367 @cindex stripping advertisements
8368 @cindex advertisements
8369 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8370 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8371 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8372 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8373 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8374 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8375 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8376 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8377 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8378 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8381 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8382 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8383 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8387 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8388 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8389 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8390 @code{(@var{address} . @var{banner})}, where @var{address} is a regexp
8391 matching a mail address in the From header, @var{banner} is one of a
8392 symbol @code{signature}, an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist},
8393 a regexp and @code{nil}. If @var{address} matches author's mail
8394 address, it will remove things like advertisements. For example, if a
8395 sender has the mail address @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a
8396 banner something like @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he
8397 sends, you can use the following element to remove them:
8400 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" .
8401 "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8407 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8408 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8409 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8410 customizing the hiding:
8414 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8415 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8416 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8417 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8418 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8419 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8420 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8425 Starting point of the hidden text.
8427 Ending point of the hidden text.
8429 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8431 Number of lines of hidden text.
8434 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8435 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8436 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8437 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8438 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8443 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8444 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8446 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8447 following two variables:
8450 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8451 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8452 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8453 50), hide the cited text.
8455 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8456 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8457 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8462 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8463 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8464 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8465 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8466 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8467 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8471 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8472 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8473 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8475 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8476 citation customization.
8478 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8482 @node Article Washing
8483 @subsection Article Washing
8485 @cindex article washing
8487 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8488 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8490 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8491 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8494 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8495 articles by default.
8500 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8501 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8505 Force redisplaying of the current article
8506 (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). This is also not really washing.
8507 If you type this, you see the article without any previously applied
8508 interactive Washing functions but with all default treatments
8509 (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8512 @kindex W l (Summary)
8513 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8514 Remove page breaks from the current article
8515 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8519 @kindex W r (Summary)
8520 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8521 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8522 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8523 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8524 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8525 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8527 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8528 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8529 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8530 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8533 @kindex W m (Summary)
8534 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8535 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8538 @kindex W i (Summary)
8539 @findex gnus-summary-idna-message
8540 Decode IDNA encoded domain names in the current articles. IDNA
8541 encoded domain names looks like @samp{xn--bar}. If a string remain
8542 unencoded after running invoking this, it is likely an invalid IDNA
8543 string (@samp{xn--bar} is invalid). You must have GNU Libidn
8544 (@url{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/}) installed for this command
8549 @kindex W t (Summary)
8551 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8552 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8553 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8556 @kindex W v (Summary)
8557 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8558 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8559 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8562 @kindex W o (Summary)
8563 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8564 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8567 @kindex W d (Summary)
8568 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8569 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8571 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8573 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8574 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8575 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8576 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8579 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8580 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8581 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8582 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8585 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
8586 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8587 @cindex Outlook Express
8588 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
8589 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
8590 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8593 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
8594 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
8595 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min
8596 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max
8597 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
8598 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
8599 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
8600 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the minimum and
8601 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
8602 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines}).
8605 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
8606 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
8607 Repair a broken attribution line.@*
8608 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
8611 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
8612 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
8613 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
8614 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
8617 @kindex W w (Summary)
8618 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8619 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8621 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8625 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8626 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8627 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8630 @kindex W C (Summary)
8631 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8632 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8633 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8636 @kindex W c (Summary)
8637 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8638 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8639 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8640 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8641 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8644 @kindex W q (Summary)
8645 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8646 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8647 Quoted-Printable is one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when
8648 sending non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. It typically
8649 makes strings like @samp{d@'ej@`a vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu},
8650 which doesn't look very readable to me. Note that this is usually
8651 done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8652 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8653 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8656 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8657 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8658 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}). Base64 is
8659 one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when sending
8660 non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is
8661 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8662 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8663 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8666 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8667 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8668 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8669 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8670 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8673 @kindex W A (Summary)
8674 @findex gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences
8675 @cindex @acronym{ANSI} control sequences
8676 Translate @acronym{ANSI} SGR control sequences into overlays or
8677 extents (@code{gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences}). @acronym{ANSI}
8678 sequences are used in some Chinese hierarchies for highlighting.
8681 @kindex W u (Summary)
8682 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8683 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8684 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8685 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8686 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8689 @kindex W h (Summary)
8690 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8691 Treat @acronym{HTML} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8692 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8693 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @acronym{HTML}.
8695 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8697 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8698 The default is to use the function specified by
8699 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display
8700 Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) to convert the
8701 @acronym{HTML}, but this is controlled by the
8702 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
8710 Use @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/, emacs-w3m}.
8713 Use @uref{http://links.sf.net/, Links}.
8716 Use @uref{http://lynx.isc.org/, Lynx}.
8719 Use html2text---a simple @acronym{HTML} converter included with Gnus.
8724 @kindex W b (Summary)
8725 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8726 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8727 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8730 @kindex W B (Summary)
8731 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8732 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8733 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8736 @kindex W p (Summary)
8737 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8738 Verify a signed control message
8739 (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}). Control messages such as
8740 @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are usually signed by the
8741 hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the @acronym{PGP} public key of
8742 the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8743 message.@footnote{@acronym{PGP} keys for many hierarchies are
8744 available at @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8747 @kindex W s (Summary)
8748 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8749 Verify a signed (@acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME} or
8750 @acronym{S/MIME}) message
8751 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8754 @kindex W a (Summary)
8755 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8756 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8757 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8760 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8761 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8762 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8763 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8766 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8767 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8768 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8769 lines with a single empty line.
8770 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8773 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8774 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8775 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8776 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8779 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8780 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8781 Do all the three commands above
8782 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8785 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8786 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8787 Remove all blank lines
8788 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8791 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8792 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8793 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8794 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8797 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8798 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8799 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8800 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8804 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8807 @node Article Header
8808 @subsection Article Header
8810 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8815 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8816 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8817 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8820 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8821 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8822 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8823 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8826 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8827 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8828 Fold all the message headers
8829 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8832 @kindex W E w (Summary)
8833 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8834 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8835 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8840 @node Article Buttons
8841 @subsection Article Buttons
8844 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8845 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8846 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8847 button on these references.
8849 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8850 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8851 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man pages and
8852 Emacs or Gnus related references. This is controlled by two variables,
8853 one that handles article bodies and one that handles article heads:
8857 @item gnus-button-alist
8858 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8859 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8862 (@var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
8868 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
8869 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
8870 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
8871 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
8872 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp} and @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp}.
8875 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8876 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8877 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8880 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8881 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8882 avoid false matches. Often variables named
8883 @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} are used here, @xref{Article Button
8884 Levels}, but any other form may be used too.
8886 @c @code{use-p} is @code{eval}ed only if @code{regexp} matches.
8889 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8892 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8893 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8897 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8900 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8903 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8904 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8905 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8906 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8907 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8910 (@var{header} @var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
8913 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8916 @subsubsection Related variables and functions
8919 @item gnus-button-@var{*}-level
8920 @xref{Article Button Levels}.
8922 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-browse-level
8924 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8925 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8926 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8927 default values of the variables above.
8929 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-man-level
8931 @item gnus-button-man-handler
8932 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8933 The function to use for displaying man pages. It must take at least one
8934 argument with a string naming the man page.
8936 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-message-level
8938 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
8939 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
8940 Regular expression that matches a message ID or a mail address.
8942 @item gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
8943 @vindex gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
8944 This variable determines what to do when the button on a string as
8945 @samp{foo123@@bar.invalid} is pushed. Strings like this can be either a
8946 message ID or a mail address. If it is one of the symbols @code{mid} or
8947 @code{mail}, Gnus will always assume that the string is a message ID or
8948 a mail address, respectively. If this variable is set to the symbol
8949 @code{ask}, always query the user what do do. If it is a function, this
8950 function will be called with the string as its only argument. The
8951 function must return @code{mid}, @code{mail}, @code{invalid} or
8952 @code{ask}. The default value is the function
8953 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
8955 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
8956 @findex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
8957 Function that guesses whether its argument is a message ID or a mail
8958 address. Returns @code{mid} if it's a message IDs, @code{mail} if
8959 it's a mail address, @code{ask} if unsure and @code{invalid} if the
8962 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
8963 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
8964 An alist of @code{(RATE . REGEXP)} pairs used by the function
8965 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
8967 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-tex-level
8969 @item gnus-button-ctan-handler
8970 @findex gnus-button-ctan-handler
8971 The function to use for displaying CTAN links. It must take one
8972 argument, the string naming the URL.
8975 @vindex gnus-ctan-url
8976 Top directory of a CTAN (Comprehensive TeX Archive Network) archive used
8977 by @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler}.
8981 @item gnus-article-button-face
8982 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8983 Face used on buttons.
8985 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8986 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8987 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8991 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8994 @node Article Button Levels
8995 @subsection Article button levels
8996 @cindex button levels
8997 The higher the value of the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level},
8998 the more buttons will appear. If the level is zero, no corresponding
8999 buttons are displayed. With the default value (which is 5) you should
9000 already see quite a lot of buttons. With higher levels, you will see
9001 more buttons, but you may also get more false positives. To avoid them,
9002 you can set the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} local to
9003 specific groups (@pxref{Group Parameters}). Here's an example for the
9004 variable @code{gnus-parameters}:
9007 ;; @r{increase @code{gnus-button-*-level} in some groups:}
9008 (setq gnus-parameters
9009 '(("\\<\\(emacs\\|gnus\\)\\>" (gnus-button-emacs-level 10))
9010 ("\\<unix\\>" (gnus-button-man-level 10))
9011 ("\\<tex\\>" (gnus-button-tex-level 10))))
9016 @item gnus-button-browse-level
9017 @vindex gnus-button-browse-level
9018 Controls the display of references to message IDs, mail addresses and
9019 news URLs. Related variables and functions include
9020 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}, @code{browse-url}, and
9021 @code{browse-url-browser-function}.
9023 @item gnus-button-emacs-level
9024 @vindex gnus-button-emacs-level
9025 Controls the display of Emacs or Gnus references. Related functions are
9026 @code{gnus-button-handle-custom},
9027 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-function},
9028 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-variable},
9029 @code{gnus-button-handle-symbol},
9030 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-key},
9031 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos},
9032 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-command},
9033 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-variable},
9034 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-documentation}, and
9035 @code{gnus-button-handle-library}.
9037 @item gnus-button-man-level
9038 @vindex gnus-button-man-level
9039 Controls the display of references to (Unix) man pages.
9040 See @code{gnus-button-man-handler}.
9042 @item gnus-button-message-level
9043 @vindex gnus-button-message-level
9044 Controls the display of message IDs, mail addresses and news URLs.
9045 Related variables and functions include
9046 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp},
9047 @code{gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail},
9048 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}, and
9049 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist}.
9051 @item gnus-button-tex-level
9052 @vindex gnus-button-tex-level
9053 Controls the display of references to @TeX{} or LaTeX stuff, e.g. for CTAN
9054 URLs. See the variables @code{gnus-ctan-url},
9055 @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler},
9056 @code{gnus-button-ctan-directory-regexp}, and
9057 @code{gnus-button-handle-ctan-bogus-regexp}.
9063 @subsection Article Date
9065 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
9066 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
9067 when the article was sent.
9072 @kindex W T u (Summary)
9073 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
9074 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
9075 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
9078 @kindex W T i (Summary)
9079 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
9081 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
9082 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
9085 @kindex W T l (Summary)
9086 @findex gnus-article-date-local
9087 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
9090 @kindex W T p (Summary)
9091 @findex gnus-article-date-english
9092 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
9093 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
9096 @kindex W T s (Summary)
9097 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
9098 @findex gnus-article-date-user
9099 @findex format-time-string
9100 Display the date using a user-defined format
9101 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
9102 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
9103 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
9104 for a list of possible format specs.
9107 @kindex W T e (Summary)
9108 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
9109 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
9110 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
9111 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
9112 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
9115 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
9118 @vindex gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header
9119 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
9120 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
9123 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
9124 into wonderful absurdities.
9126 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
9129 (gnus-start-date-timer)
9132 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
9133 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
9137 @kindex W T o (Summary)
9138 @findex gnus-article-date-original
9139 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
9140 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
9141 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
9142 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
9143 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
9147 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
9148 preferred format automatically.
9151 @node Article Display
9152 @subsection Article Display
9157 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
9158 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
9160 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
9161 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
9163 @code{Face} headers are small colored images supplied by the message
9164 headers (@pxref{Face}).
9166 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
9167 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
9169 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
9170 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
9172 All these functions are toggles---if the elements already exist,
9177 @kindex W D x (Summary)
9178 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
9179 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
9180 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
9183 @kindex W D d (Summary)
9184 @findex gnus-article-display-face
9185 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
9186 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
9189 @kindex W D s (Summary)
9190 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
9191 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
9194 @kindex W D f (Summary)
9195 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
9196 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
9199 @kindex W D m (Summary)
9200 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
9201 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
9202 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
9205 @kindex W D n (Summary)
9206 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
9207 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
9208 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
9211 @kindex W D D (Summary)
9212 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
9213 Remove all images from the article buffer
9214 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
9220 @node Article Signature
9221 @subsection Article Signature
9223 @cindex article signature
9225 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
9226 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
9227 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
9228 that says what is to be considered a signature is
9229 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
9230 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
9231 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
9232 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
9233 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
9236 (setq gnus-signature-separator
9237 '("^-- $" ; @r{The standard}
9238 "^-- *$" ; @r{A common mangling}
9239 "^-------*$" ; @r{Many people just use a looong}
9240 ; @r{line of dashes. Shame!}
9241 "^ *--------*$" ; @r{Double-shame!}
9242 "^________*$" ; @r{Underscores are also popular}
9243 "^========*$")) ; @r{Pervert!}
9246 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
9249 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
9250 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
9251 signature when displaying articles.
9255 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
9258 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
9261 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
9262 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
9264 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
9265 in question is not a signature.
9268 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
9269 listed above. Here's an example:
9272 (setq gnus-signature-limit
9273 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
9276 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
9277 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
9278 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
9279 signature after all.
9282 @node Article Miscellanea
9283 @subsection Article Miscellanea
9287 @kindex A t (Summary)
9288 @findex gnus-article-babel
9289 Translate the article from one language to another
9290 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
9296 @section MIME Commands
9297 @cindex MIME decoding
9299 @cindex viewing attachments
9301 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
9302 instance, @kbd{3 K v} means ``view the third @acronym{MIME} part''.
9308 @kindex K v (Summary)
9309 View the @acronym{MIME} part.
9312 @kindex K o (Summary)
9313 Save the @acronym{MIME} part.
9316 @kindex K O (Summary)
9317 Prompt for a file name, then save the @acronym{MIME} part and strip it
9318 from the article. The stripped @acronym{MIME} object will be referred
9319 via the message/external-body @acronym{MIME} type.
9322 @kindex K r (Summary)
9323 Replace the @acronym{MIME} part with an external body.
9326 @kindex K d (Summary)
9327 Delete the @acronym{MIME} part and add some information about the
9331 @kindex K c (Summary)
9332 Copy the @acronym{MIME} part.
9335 @kindex K e (Summary)
9336 View the @acronym{MIME} part externally.
9339 @kindex K i (Summary)
9340 View the @acronym{MIME} part internally.
9343 @kindex K | (Summary)
9344 Pipe the @acronym{MIME} part to an external command.
9347 The rest of these @acronym{MIME} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
9352 @kindex K b (Summary)
9353 Make all the @acronym{MIME} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
9354 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
9358 @kindex K m (Summary)
9359 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
9360 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
9361 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
9362 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
9363 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
9366 @kindex X m (Summary)
9367 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
9368 Save all parts matching a @acronym{MIME} type to a directory
9369 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
9370 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9373 @kindex M-t (Summary)
9374 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
9375 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
9376 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
9379 @kindex W M w (Summary)
9380 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
9381 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
9382 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
9385 @kindex W M c (Summary)
9386 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
9387 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
9388 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
9390 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
9391 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
9392 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
9393 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
9394 include @acronym{MIME} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
9395 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9398 @kindex W M v (Summary)
9399 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
9400 View all the @acronym{MIME} parts in the current article
9401 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
9408 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
9409 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
9410 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9411 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
9414 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
9417 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
9421 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
9422 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
9423 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't require the @samp{MIME-Version} header
9424 before interpreting the message as a @acronym{MIME} message. This helps
9425 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
9426 default is @code{nil}.
9428 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
9429 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
9430 There are other, non-@acronym{MIME} encoding methods used. The most common
9431 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
9432 this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
9433 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
9434 Gnus @acronym{MIME} machinery. The default is @code{t}.
9436 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9437 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9438 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9439 this list won't have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9440 displayed or this variable is overridden by
9441 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
9442 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
9443 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is @code{nil}.
9445 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9446 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9447 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9448 this list will have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9449 displayed. This variable overrides
9450 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
9451 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
9454 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
9455 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
9456 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
9458 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9459 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9460 If this is non-@code{nil}, then all @acronym{MIME} parts get buttons. The
9461 default value is @code{nil}.
9463 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
9464 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
9465 For each @acronym{MIME} part, this function will be called with the @acronym{MIME}
9466 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
9467 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
9468 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
9469 save all jpegs into some directory).
9471 Here's an example function the does the latter:
9474 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
9475 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
9477 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
9478 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
9479 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
9480 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
9481 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
9484 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9485 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9486 Alist of @acronym{MIME} multipart types and functions to handle them.
9488 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
9489 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
9490 Display "multipart/alternative" parts as "multipart/mixed".
9492 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
9493 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
9494 Display "multipart/related" parts as "multipart/mixed".
9496 If displaying "text/html" is discouraged, see
9497 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives} in @ref{Display Customization,
9498 Display Customization, , emacs-mime, Emacs-Mime Manual}. Images or
9499 other material inside a "multipart/related" part might be overlooked
9500 when this variable is @code{nil}.
9502 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
9503 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
9504 Display "multipart" parts as "multipart/mixed". If @code{t}, it
9505 overrides @code{nil} values of
9506 @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed} and
9507 @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed}.
9509 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9510 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9511 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @acronym{MIME} parts.
9512 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
9514 Ready-made functions include@*
9515 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
9516 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
9517 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
9518 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
9519 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
9520 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
9521 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
9522 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9523 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9524 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9525 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9526 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9528 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9529 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9531 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9532 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9533 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9536 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9537 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9538 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9539 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
9543 to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
9552 People use different charsets, and we have @acronym{MIME} to let us know what
9553 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
9554 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @acronym{MIME}, and
9555 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
9556 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
9557 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
9558 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp}.
9560 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
9561 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
9562 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
9563 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
9565 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets
9566 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @acronym{MIME}-aware agents that
9567 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
9568 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
9569 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
9570 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
9571 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
9572 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
9573 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
9575 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
9576 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9577 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @acronym{MIME}
9578 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9579 quoted-printable header encoding.
9581 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9582 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9583 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9587 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9590 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9591 means encode all charsets),
9593 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9594 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9595 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9602 @cindex coding system aliases
9603 @cindex preferred charset
9605 @xref{Encoding Customization, , Encoding Customization, emacs-mime,
9606 The Emacs MIME Manual}, for additional variables that control which
9607 MIME charsets are used when sending messages.
9609 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9611 If there are several @acronym{MIME} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9612 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9615 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9616 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9619 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9620 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @acronym{MIME} charset.
9622 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9625 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9628 This will almost do the right thing.
9630 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9634 (codepage-setup 1251)
9635 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9639 @node Article Commands
9640 @section Article Commands
9647 @kindex A P (Summary)
9648 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9649 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9650 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9651 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9652 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9653 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9658 @node Summary Sorting
9659 @section Summary Sorting
9660 @cindex summary sorting
9662 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9663 can't really see why you'd want that.
9668 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9669 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9670 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9673 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9674 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9675 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9678 @kindex C-c C-s C-t (Summary)
9679 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-recipient
9680 Sort by recipient (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-recipient}).
9683 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9684 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9685 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9688 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9689 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9690 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9693 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9694 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9695 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9698 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9699 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9700 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9703 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9704 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9705 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9708 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9709 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9710 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9713 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9714 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9715 Sort using the default sorting method
9716 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9719 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9720 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9721 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9722 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9723 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9727 @node Finding the Parent
9728 @section Finding the Parent
9729 @cindex parent articles
9730 @cindex referring articles
9735 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9736 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9737 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9738 if the current group is fetched by @acronym{NNTP}, the parent hasn't expired
9739 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9740 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9741 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9742 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9743 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9745 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9746 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9747 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
9748 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9749 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9753 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9754 @kindex A R (Summary)
9755 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9756 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9759 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9760 @kindex A T (Summary)
9761 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9762 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9763 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9764 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9765 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9766 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9767 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9769 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9770 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9771 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9772 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9773 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9774 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9777 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9778 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9780 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9781 You can also ask Gnus for an arbitrary article, no matter what group it
9782 belongs to. @kbd{M-^} (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you
9783 for a @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read
9784 thingies that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}.
9785 You have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9787 Gnus looks for the @code{Message-ID} in the headers that have already
9788 been fetched, but also tries all the select methods specified by
9789 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} if it is not found.
9792 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9793 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9794 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9795 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @acronym{NNTP} method. It
9796 would, perhaps, be best if the @acronym{NNTP} server you consult is the one
9797 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9800 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9801 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9802 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9805 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9806 then ask Google if that fails:
9809 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9811 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
9814 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9815 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9816 @code{nnbabyl}, @code{nnmaildir}, @code{nnml}, are able to locate
9817 articles from any groups, while @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9818 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current
9819 group. (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does
9820 not support this at all.
9823 @node Alternative Approaches
9824 @section Alternative Approaches
9826 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9827 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9830 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9831 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9836 @subsection Pick and Read
9837 @cindex pick and read
9839 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9840 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9841 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9842 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9844 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9845 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9846 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9847 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9848 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9849 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9851 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9856 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9857 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9858 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9859 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9860 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9861 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9862 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9863 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9866 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9867 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9868 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9869 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9873 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9874 Unpick the thread or article
9875 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9876 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9877 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9878 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9879 the thread or article at that line.
9883 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9884 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9885 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9886 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9887 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9888 will still be visible when you are reading.
9892 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9893 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9894 which is mapped to the same function
9895 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9897 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9900 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9903 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9904 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9906 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9907 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9908 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9910 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9911 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9912 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9913 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9914 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9915 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9916 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9920 @subsection Binary Groups
9921 @cindex binary groups
9923 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9924 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9925 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9926 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9927 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9928 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9929 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9932 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9933 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9934 command, when you have turned on this mode
9935 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9937 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9938 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9942 @section Tree Display
9945 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9946 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
9947 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9948 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9951 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9954 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9955 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9956 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9958 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9959 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9960 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9961 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9962 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9964 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9965 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9966 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9967 default is @code{modeline}.
9969 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9970 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9971 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9972 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9973 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9974 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9975 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9981 The name of the poster.
9983 The @code{From} header.
9985 The number of the article.
9987 The opening bracket.
9989 The closing bracket.
9994 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9996 Variables related to the display are:
9999 @item gnus-tree-brackets
10000 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
10001 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
10002 ``sparse'' articles. The format is
10004 ((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
10005 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close})
10006 (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))
10008 and the default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
10010 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
10011 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
10012 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
10013 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
10017 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
10018 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
10019 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
10020 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
10021 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
10022 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
10023 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
10024 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
10025 other windows displayed next to it.
10027 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
10031 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
10032 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
10035 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
10036 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
10037 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
10038 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
10039 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
10040 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
10041 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
10045 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
10048 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
10058 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
10063 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
10064 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
10066 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
10068 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
10074 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
10075 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
10076 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
10079 (setq gnus-use-trees t
10080 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
10081 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
10082 (gnus-add-configuration
10086 (summary 0.75 point)
10091 @xref{Window Layout}.
10094 @node Mail Group Commands
10095 @section Mail Group Commands
10096 @cindex mail group commands
10098 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
10099 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
10101 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
10102 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10107 @kindex B e (Summary)
10108 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
10109 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
10110 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
10111 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
10112 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
10115 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
10116 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
10117 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
10118 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
10119 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
10120 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
10123 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
10124 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
10125 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
10126 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
10127 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
10128 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
10131 @kindex B m (Summary)
10133 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
10134 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
10135 Move the article from one mail group to another
10136 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
10137 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
10140 @kindex B c (Summary)
10142 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
10143 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
10144 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
10145 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
10146 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
10149 @kindex B B (Summary)
10150 @cindex crosspost mail
10151 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
10152 Crosspost the current article to some other group
10153 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
10154 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
10155 be properly updated.
10158 @kindex B i (Summary)
10159 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
10160 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
10161 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
10162 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10165 @kindex B I (Summary)
10166 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
10167 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
10168 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
10169 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10172 @kindex B r (Summary)
10173 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
10174 @vindex gnus-summary-respool-default-method
10175 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
10176 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
10177 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
10178 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
10179 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
10180 (which is the default).
10184 @kindex B w (Summary)
10185 @kindex e (Summary)
10186 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
10187 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
10188 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
10189 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
10190 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
10191 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
10192 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
10195 @kindex B q (Summary)
10196 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
10197 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
10198 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
10199 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
10202 @kindex B t (Summary)
10203 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
10204 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
10205 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
10208 @kindex B p (Summary)
10209 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
10210 Some people have a tendency to send you ``courtesy'' copies when they
10211 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
10212 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
10213 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
10214 article from your news server (or rather, from
10215 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
10216 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
10217 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
10218 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
10219 just not have arrived yet.
10222 @kindex K E (Summary)
10223 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
10224 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
10225 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
10226 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
10227 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
10231 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
10232 @cindex moving articles
10233 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
10234 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
10235 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
10236 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
10237 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
10238 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
10239 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
10242 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
10243 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
10244 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
10245 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
10249 @node Various Summary Stuff
10250 @section Various Summary Stuff
10253 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
10254 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
10255 * Summary Generation Commands::
10256 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
10260 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
10261 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
10262 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
10263 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
10264 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
10265 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
10267 @vindex gnus-summary-display-arrow
10268 @item gnus-summary-display-arrow
10269 If non-@code{nil}, display an arrow in the fringe to indicate the
10272 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
10273 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
10274 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
10276 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
10277 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
10278 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
10279 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
10280 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
10281 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
10284 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10285 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10286 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
10287 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
10288 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
10290 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10291 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10292 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
10295 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10296 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10297 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
10298 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
10299 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
10300 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
10301 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
10302 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
10303 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
10304 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
10306 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10307 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10308 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
10309 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
10310 list of articles to be selected.
10312 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
10313 the list in one particular group:
10316 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
10317 (if (string= group "some.group")
10318 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
10322 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
10323 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
10324 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
10325 variables and their default expressions to be evalled (when the default
10326 values are not @code{nil}), that should be made global while the summary
10329 Note: The default expressions will be evaluated (using function
10330 @code{eval}) before assignment to the local variable rather than just
10331 assigned to it. If the default expression is the symbol @code{global},
10332 that symbol will not be evaluated but the global value of the local
10333 variable will be used instead.
10335 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
10336 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
10337 buffers. For example:
10340 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
10341 '(message-use-followup-to
10342 (gnus-visible-headers .
10343 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
10346 Also @pxref{Group Parameters}.
10350 @node Summary Group Information
10351 @subsection Summary Group Information
10356 @kindex H f (Summary)
10357 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
10358 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
10359 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} (list of frequently asked questions)
10360 for the current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try
10361 to get the @acronym{FAQ} from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which
10362 is usually a directory on a remote machine. This variable can also be
10363 a list of directories. In that case, giving a prefix to this command
10364 will allow you to choose between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp}
10365 or @code{efs} will probably be used for fetching the file.
10368 @kindex H d (Summary)
10369 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
10370 Give a brief description of the current group
10371 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
10372 rereading the description from the server.
10375 @kindex H h (Summary)
10376 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
10377 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
10378 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
10381 @kindex H i (Summary)
10382 @findex gnus-info-find-node
10383 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
10387 @node Searching for Articles
10388 @subsection Searching for Articles
10393 @kindex M-s (Summary)
10394 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
10395 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
10396 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
10399 @kindex M-r (Summary)
10400 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
10401 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
10402 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
10405 @kindex & (Summary)
10406 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
10407 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
10408 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
10409 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
10410 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
10411 search backward instead.
10413 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string RET #} will put the process mark on
10414 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
10417 @kindex M-& (Summary)
10418 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
10419 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
10420 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
10423 @node Summary Generation Commands
10424 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
10429 @kindex Y g (Summary)
10430 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
10431 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
10434 @kindex Y c (Summary)
10435 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
10436 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10437 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
10440 @kindex Y d (Summary)
10441 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
10442 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10443 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
10448 @node Really Various Summary Commands
10449 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
10455 @kindex C-d (Summary)
10456 @kindex A D (Summary)
10457 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
10458 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
10459 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
10460 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
10461 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
10462 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
10463 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
10464 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
10468 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
10469 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
10470 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
10471 several documents into one biiig group
10472 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
10473 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
10474 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
10475 command understands the process/prefix convention
10476 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10479 @kindex C-t (Summary)
10480 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
10481 Toggle truncation of summary lines
10482 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
10483 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
10484 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
10487 @kindex = (Summary)
10488 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
10489 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
10490 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
10493 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
10494 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
10495 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10496 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
10499 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
10500 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
10501 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10502 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
10507 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
10508 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
10509 @cindex summary exit
10510 @cindex exiting groups
10512 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
10513 group and return you to the group buffer.
10520 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
10521 @kindex Z Q (Summary)
10522 @kindex q (Summary)
10523 @findex gnus-summary-exit
10524 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
10525 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
10526 @vindex gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook
10527 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
10528 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
10529 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
10530 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
10531 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
10532 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
10533 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
10534 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
10538 @kindex Z E (Summary)
10539 @kindex Q (Summary)
10540 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
10541 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
10542 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
10546 @kindex Z c (Summary)
10547 @kindex c (Summary)
10548 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
10549 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
10550 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
10551 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
10554 @kindex Z C (Summary)
10555 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
10556 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
10557 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
10560 @kindex Z n (Summary)
10561 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
10562 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
10563 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
10566 @kindex Z p (Summary)
10567 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-prev-group
10568 Mark all articles as read and go to the previous group
10569 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-prev-group}).
10573 @kindex Z R (Summary)
10574 @kindex C-x C-s (Summary)
10575 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
10576 Exit this group, and then enter it again
10577 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
10578 all articles, both read and unread.
10582 @kindex Z G (Summary)
10583 @kindex M-g (Summary)
10584 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
10585 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
10586 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
10587 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
10588 articles, both read and unread.
10591 @kindex Z N (Summary)
10592 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
10593 Exit the group and go to the next group
10594 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
10597 @kindex Z P (Summary)
10598 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
10599 Exit the group and go to the previous group
10600 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
10603 @kindex Z s (Summary)
10604 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
10605 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
10606 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
10607 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
10608 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
10611 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
10612 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
10613 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
10614 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
10616 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
10617 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
10618 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
10619 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
10620 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
10621 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
10622 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
10623 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
10624 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
10625 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
10626 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
10627 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
10629 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10631 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10632 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10633 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10634 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10635 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10636 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10637 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10638 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10639 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10642 @node Crosspost Handling
10643 @section Crosspost Handling
10647 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10648 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10649 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10650 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10651 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10652 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10655 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10656 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10657 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10658 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10659 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10661 @cindex cross-posting
10663 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
10664 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10665 correctly is if you use an @acronym{NNTP} server that supports @sc{xover}
10666 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10667 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @acronym{NOV} lines. This is
10668 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10669 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10670 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10671 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10672 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10673 the cross reference mechanism.
10675 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10676 @cindex overview.fmt
10677 To check whether your @acronym{NNTP} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10678 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10679 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10680 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10681 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10682 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10685 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10686 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10687 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10692 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10695 @node Duplicate Suppression
10696 @section Duplicate Suppression
10698 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10699 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10700 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10701 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10706 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10707 is evil and not very common.
10710 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10711 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10714 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10715 different @acronym{NNTP} servers.
10718 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10721 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10722 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10724 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10725 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10726 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10727 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10728 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10729 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10730 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10733 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10734 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10735 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10736 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10737 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10738 saw the article in.
10741 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10742 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10743 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10745 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10746 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10747 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10748 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10749 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
10750 session are suppressed.
10752 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10753 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10754 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10755 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10757 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10758 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10759 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10760 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10763 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
10764 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10765 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10766 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10767 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
10768 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10769 to you to figure out, I think.
10774 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10775 The formats that are supported are @acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME}
10776 and @acronym{S/MIME}, however you need some external programs to get
10781 To handle @acronym{PGP} and @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages, you have to
10782 install an OpenPGP implementation such as GnuPG. The Lisp interface
10783 to GnuPG included with Gnus is called PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg, PGG
10784 Manual}), but Mailcrypt and gpg.el are also supported.
10787 To handle @acronym{S/MIME} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10788 or newer is recommended.
10792 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10793 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10796 @item mm-verify-option
10797 @vindex mm-verify-option
10798 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10799 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10800 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10802 @item mm-decrypt-option
10803 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10804 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10805 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10806 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10809 @vindex mml1991-use
10810 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10811 @acronym{PGP} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
10812 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
10816 @vindex mml2015-use
10817 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10818 @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
10819 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
10824 @cindex snarfing keys
10825 @cindex importing PGP keys
10826 @cindex PGP key ring import
10827 Snarfing OpenPGP keys (i.e., importing keys from articles into your
10828 key ring) is not supported explicitly through a menu item or command,
10829 rather Gnus do detect and label keys as @samp{application/pgp-keys},
10830 allowing you to specify whatever action you think is appropriate
10831 through the usual @acronym{MIME} infrastructure. You can use a
10832 @file{~/.mailcap} entry (@pxref{mailcap, , mailcap, emacs-mime, The
10833 Emacs MIME Manual}) such as the following to import keys using GNU
10834 Privacy Guard when you click on the @acronym{MIME} button
10835 (@pxref{Using MIME}).
10838 application/pgp-keys; gpg --import --interactive --verbose; needsterminal
10841 This happens to also be the default action defined in
10842 @code{mailcap-mime-data}.
10845 @section Mailing List
10846 @cindex mailing list
10849 @kindex A M (summary)
10850 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10851 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10852 add a @code{to-list} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10853 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10856 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10861 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10862 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10863 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10866 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10867 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10868 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10871 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10872 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10873 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10877 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10878 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10879 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10882 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10883 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10884 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10887 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10888 @findex gnus-mailing-list-archive
10889 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10894 @node Article Buffer
10895 @chapter Article Buffer
10896 @cindex article buffer
10898 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10899 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10900 tell Gnus otherwise.
10903 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10904 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
10905 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10906 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10907 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10911 @node Hiding Headers
10912 @section Hiding Headers
10913 @cindex hiding headers
10914 @cindex deleting headers
10916 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10917 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10919 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10920 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10921 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10922 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10923 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10924 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10925 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseam---and you'll probably want to get rid
10926 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10927 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10929 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10933 @item gnus-visible-headers
10934 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10935 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10936 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10937 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10939 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10940 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10943 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10946 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10949 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10950 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10951 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10952 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10953 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10954 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10956 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
10957 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
10960 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10963 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10966 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10967 variable will have no effect.
10971 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10972 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10973 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10974 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10975 the headers are to be displayed.
10977 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10978 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10981 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10984 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10985 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10987 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10988 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10989 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10990 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10991 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10992 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead it
10993 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10996 These conditions are:
10999 Remove all empty headers.
11001 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
11002 @code{Newsgroups} header.
11004 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same addresses as
11005 the @code{From} header, or if the @code{broken-reply-to} group
11008 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
11011 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
11012 the current group's @code{to-address} parameter.
11014 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
11015 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
11017 Remove the @code{CC} header if it only contains the address identical to
11018 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
11020 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
11023 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
11025 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
11028 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
11031 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
11032 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
11035 This is also the default value for this variable.
11039 @section Using MIME
11040 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
11042 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
11043 while people stand around yawning.
11045 @acronym{MIME}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
11046 while all newsreaders die of fear.
11048 @acronym{MIME} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
11049 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
11050 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
11052 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
11053 @findex gnus-display-mime
11054 Gnus pushes @acronym{MIME} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
11055 to display the @acronym{MIME} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
11056 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
11057 display, save and manipulate the @acronym{MIME} objects.
11059 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
11060 @acronym{MIME} button:
11063 @findex gnus-article-press-button
11064 @item RET (Article)
11065 @kindex RET (Article)
11066 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
11067 Toggle displaying of the @acronym{MIME} object
11068 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}). If built-in viewers can not display
11069 the object, Gnus resorts to external viewers in the @file{mailcap}
11070 files. If a viewer has the @samp{copiousoutput} specification, the
11071 object is displayed inline.
11073 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
11074 @item M-RET (Article)
11075 @kindex M-RET (Article)
11077 Prompt for a method, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
11078 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
11080 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
11082 @kindex t (Article)
11083 View the @acronym{MIME} object as if it were a different @acronym{MIME} media type
11084 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
11086 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
11088 @kindex C (Article)
11089 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
11090 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
11092 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
11094 @kindex o (Article)
11095 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @acronym{MIME} object
11096 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
11098 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
11099 @item C-o (Article)
11100 @kindex C-o (Article)
11101 Prompt for a file name, then save the @acronym{MIME} object and strip it from
11102 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
11103 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
11104 like. The stripped @acronym{MIME} object will be referred via the
11105 message/external-body @acronym{MIME} type.
11106 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
11108 @findex gnus-mime-replace-part
11110 @kindex r (Article)
11111 Prompt for a file name, replace the @acronym{MIME} object with an
11112 external body refering to the file via the message/external-body
11113 @acronym{MIME} type. (@code{gnus-mime-replace-part}).
11115 @findex gnus-mime-delete-part
11117 @kindex d (Article)
11118 Delete the @acronym{MIME} object from the article and replace it with some
11119 information about the removed @acronym{MIME} object
11120 (@code{gnus-mime-delete-part}).
11122 @c FIXME: gnus-auto-select-part should be documented here
11124 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
11126 @kindex c (Article)
11127 Copy the @acronym{MIME} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
11128 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}). If given a prefix, copy the raw contents
11129 without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual
11130 charset stuff (see @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in
11131 @ref{Paging the Article}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and
11132 @file{.bz2} are automatically decompressed if
11133 @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled (@pxref{Compressed Files,,
11134 Accessing Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
11136 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
11138 @kindex p (Article)
11139 Print the @acronym{MIME} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
11140 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
11141 @file{.mailcap} file.
11143 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
11145 @kindex i (Article)
11146 Insert the contents of the @acronym{MIME} object into the buffer
11147 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
11148 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
11149 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
11150 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @ref{Paging the
11151 Article}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and @file{.bz2} are
11152 automatically decompressed depending on @code{jka-compr} regardless of
11153 @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed Files,, Accessing
11154 Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
11156 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-internally
11158 @kindex E (Article)
11159 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
11160 viewer is available, use an external viewer
11161 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-internally}).
11163 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-externally
11165 @kindex e (Article)
11166 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an external viewer.
11167 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-externally}).
11169 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
11171 @kindex | (Article)
11172 Output the @acronym{MIME} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
11174 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
11176 @kindex . (Article)
11177 Interactively run an action on the @acronym{MIME} object
11178 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
11182 Gnus will display some @acronym{MIME} objects automatically. The way Gnus
11183 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs
11184 @acronym{MIME} manual.
11186 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
11187 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
11188 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @acronym{MIME} has
11189 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
11190 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
11191 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
11192 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
11193 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
11194 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
11196 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
11198 Also @pxref{MIME Commands}.
11201 @node Customizing Articles
11202 @section Customizing Articles
11203 @cindex article customization
11205 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
11206 exist. You can call these functions interactively
11207 (@pxref{Article Washing}), or you can have them
11208 called automatically when you select the articles.
11210 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
11211 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
11212 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
11213 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
11215 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
11216 for sensible values.
11220 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
11223 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
11226 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
11229 @code{first}: Do this treatment on the first body part.
11232 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last body part.
11235 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
11239 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
11240 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
11241 regexps in the list.
11244 A list where the first element is not a string:
11246 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
11247 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
11248 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
11252 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
11257 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
11258 to the fact that some messages are @acronym{MIME} multipart articles that may
11259 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
11260 considered to contain just a single part.
11262 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
11263 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
11264 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
11265 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
11266 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
11267 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
11268 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
11270 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
11271 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
11272 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
11273 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
11276 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
11277 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
11279 @xref{Article Buttons}.
11281 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
11282 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
11283 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
11284 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
11285 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, first, integer)
11286 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
11287 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
11288 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
11289 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
11290 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
11292 @xref{Article Washing}.
11294 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
11295 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
11296 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
11297 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
11298 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
11299 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
11300 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
11302 @xref{Article Date}.
11304 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
11305 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
11306 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
11310 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
11312 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
11314 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
11315 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
11316 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
11320 @item gnus-treat-display-x-face (head)
11324 @item gnus-treat-display-face (head)
11328 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
11329 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
11330 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
11331 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
11332 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
11333 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
11334 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
11335 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
11336 @item gnus-treat-strip-banner (t, last)
11337 @item gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers (head)
11339 @xref{Article Hiding}.
11341 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
11342 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
11343 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
11345 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
11347 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
11348 @item gnus-treat-translate
11349 @item gnus-treat-ansi-sequences (t)
11350 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
11352 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
11353 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
11354 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
11355 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
11357 @xref{Article Header}.
11362 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
11363 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
11364 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
11365 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
11366 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
11370 @node Article Keymap
11371 @section Article Keymap
11373 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
11374 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
11375 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
11376 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
11379 A few additional keystrokes are available:
11384 @kindex SPACE (Article)
11385 @findex gnus-article-next-page
11386 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
11387 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h SPACE h}.
11390 @kindex DEL (Article)
11391 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
11392 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
11393 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h DEL h}.
11396 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
11397 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
11398 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
11399 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
11400 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
11403 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
11404 @findex gnus-article-mail
11405 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
11406 given a prefix, include the mail.
11409 @kindex s (Article)
11410 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
11411 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
11412 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
11415 @kindex ? (Article)
11416 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
11417 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
11418 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
11421 @kindex TAB (Article)
11422 @findex gnus-article-next-button
11423 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
11424 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
11427 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
11428 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
11429 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
11432 @kindex R (Article)
11433 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
11434 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
11435 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
11436 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11440 @kindex F (Article)
11441 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
11442 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
11443 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
11444 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11452 @section Misc Article
11456 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
11457 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
11458 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
11459 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
11462 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
11463 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
11464 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
11465 Hook used to decode @acronym{MIME} articles. The default value is
11466 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
11468 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
11469 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
11470 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
11471 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
11472 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
11473 the contents of the article buffer.
11475 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
11476 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
11477 Hook called in article mode buffers.
11479 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11480 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11481 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
11482 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
11484 @vindex gnus-article-over-scroll
11485 @item gnus-article-over-scroll
11486 If non-@code{nil}, allow scrolling the article buffer even when there
11487 no more new text to scroll in. The default is @code{nil}.
11489 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
11490 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
11491 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
11492 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Summary Buffer Mode
11493 Line}). It accepts the same format specifications as that variable,
11494 with two extensions:
11499 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
11500 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
11501 performed. The characters and their meaning:
11506 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
11509 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
11512 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
11513 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
11514 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
11517 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
11520 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
11523 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
11528 The number of @acronym{MIME} parts in the article.
11532 @vindex gnus-break-pages
11534 @item gnus-break-pages
11535 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
11536 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
11537 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
11538 paging will not be done.
11540 @item gnus-page-delimiter
11541 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
11542 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
11546 @cindex internationalized domain names
11547 @vindex gnus-use-idna
11548 @item gnus-use-idna
11549 This variable controls whether Gnus performs IDNA decoding of
11550 internationalized domain names inside @samp{From}, @samp{To} and
11551 @samp{Cc} headers. @xref{IDNA, ,IDNA,message, The Message Manual},
11552 for how to compose such messages. This requires
11553 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU Libidn}, and this
11554 variable is only enabled if you have installed it.
11559 @node Composing Messages
11560 @chapter Composing Messages
11561 @cindex composing messages
11564 @cindex sending mail
11569 @cindex using s/mime
11570 @cindex using smime
11572 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
11573 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
11574 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
11575 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
11576 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
11577 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
11580 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
11581 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
11582 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
11583 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
11584 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
11585 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
11586 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
11587 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
11588 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
11591 Also @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
11592 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
11598 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
11601 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
11602 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
11603 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
11604 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
11605 @code{nil} include all headers.
11607 @item gnus-add-to-list
11608 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
11609 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
11610 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
11612 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11613 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11614 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you for a confirmation when you are
11615 about to reply to news articles by mail. If it is @code{nil}, nothing
11616 interferes in what you want to do. This can also be a function
11617 receiving the group name as the only parameter which should return
11618 non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is needed, or a regular expression
11619 matching group names, where confirmation should be asked for.
11621 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
11622 press @kbd{R} anyway, this variable might be for you.
11624 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11625 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11626 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
11627 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
11628 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
11633 @node Posting Server
11634 @section Posting Server
11636 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
11637 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
11639 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
11641 It can be quite complicated.
11643 @vindex gnus-post-method
11644 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
11645 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
11646 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
11647 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
11648 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
11649 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
11650 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
11651 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
11652 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
11655 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
11658 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
11659 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
11660 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
11661 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
11663 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
11664 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
11666 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
11667 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
11670 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
11671 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
11673 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
11674 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
11675 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
11676 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
11677 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @acronym{SMTP}
11678 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
11679 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
11680 package correctly. An example:
11683 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
11684 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11687 To the thing similar to this, there is
11688 @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}. It is useful if your @acronym{ISP}
11689 requires the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication.
11690 @xref{POP before SMTP}.
11692 Other possible choices for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
11693 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
11694 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
11696 @node POP before SMTP
11697 @section POP before SMTP
11698 @cindex pop before smtp
11699 @findex message-smtpmail-send-it
11700 @findex mail-source-touch-pop
11702 Does your @acronym{ISP} require the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP}
11703 authentication? It is whether you need to connect to the @acronym{POP}
11704 mail server within a certain time before sending mails. If so, there is
11705 a convenient way. To do that, put the following lines in your
11706 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
11709 (setq message-send-mail-function 'message-smtpmail-send-it)
11710 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook 'mail-source-touch-pop)
11714 It means to let Gnus connect to the @acronym{POP} mail server in advance
11715 whenever you send a mail. The @code{mail-source-touch-pop} function
11716 does only a @acronym{POP} authentication according to the value of
11717 @code{mail-sources} without fetching mails, just before sending a mail.
11718 Note that you have to use @code{message-smtpmail-send-it} which runs
11719 @code{message-send-mail-hook} rather than @code{smtpmail-send-it} and
11720 set the value of @code{mail-sources} for a @acronym{POP} connection
11721 correctly. @xref{Mail Sources}.
11723 If you have two or more @acronym{POP} mail servers set in
11724 @code{mail-sources}, you may want to specify one of them to
11725 @code{mail-source-primary-source} as the @acronym{POP} mail server to be
11726 used for the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication. If it
11727 is your primary @acronym{POP} mail server (i.e., you are fetching mails
11728 mainly from that server), you can set it permanently as follows:
11731 (setq mail-source-primary-source
11732 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11733 :password "secret"))
11737 Otherwise, bind it dynamically only when performing the
11738 @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication as follows:
11741 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook
11743 (let ((mail-source-primary-source
11744 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11745 :password "secret")))
11746 (mail-source-touch-pop))))
11749 @node Mail and Post
11750 @section Mail and Post
11752 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
11756 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
11757 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
11758 @cindex mailing lists
11760 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
11761 gatewayed to the @acronym{NNTP} server, you can read those groups without
11762 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
11763 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
11764 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
11765 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
11766 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
11767 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
11768 still a pain, though.
11770 @item gnus-user-agent
11771 @vindex gnus-user-agent
11774 This variable controls which information should be exposed in the
11775 User-Agent header. It can be one of the symbols @code{gnus} (show only
11776 Gnus version), @code{emacs-gnus} (show only Emacs and Gnus versions),
11777 @code{emacs-gnus-config} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus system
11778 configuration), @code{emacs-gnus-type} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus
11779 system type) or a custom string. If you set it to a string, be sure to
11780 use a valid format, see RFC 2616.
11784 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
11785 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
11786 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
11789 @findex ispell-message
11791 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
11794 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
11795 you're in, you could say something like the following:
11798 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
11802 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
11803 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
11805 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
11808 Modify to suit your needs.
11811 @node Archived Messages
11812 @section Archived Messages
11813 @cindex archived messages
11814 @cindex sent messages
11816 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
11817 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
11818 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
11819 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
11822 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
11823 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
11826 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
11827 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
11828 use to store sent messages. The default is:
11831 (nnfolder "archive"
11832 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
11833 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
11834 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
11835 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
11838 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
11839 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
11840 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
11841 directory chosen, you could say something like:
11844 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
11845 '(nnfolder "archive"
11846 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
11847 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
11848 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
11851 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
11853 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
11854 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
11855 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
11857 This variable can be used to do the following:
11861 Messages will be saved in that group.
11863 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
11864 message will not be stored in the select method given by
11865 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
11866 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
11867 has the default value shown above. Then setting
11868 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
11869 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
11870 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
11873 @item a list of strings
11874 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
11876 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
11877 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
11880 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
11885 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
11887 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11890 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11892 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11895 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11897 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11898 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11899 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11900 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11903 More complex stuff:
11905 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11906 '((if (message-news-p)
11911 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11912 messages in one file per month:
11915 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11916 '((if (message-news-p)
11918 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11921 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11922 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11924 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11925 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11926 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11927 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11928 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11929 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11930 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11931 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11932 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11933 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11935 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11936 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11937 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11938 this will disable archiving.
11941 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11942 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11943 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11944 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11945 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11948 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11949 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11950 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11953 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11954 but the latter is the preferred method.
11956 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11957 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11958 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11960 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11961 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11962 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11963 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11964 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11965 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11966 changed in the future.
11971 @node Posting Styles
11972 @section Posting Styles
11973 @cindex posting styles
11976 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11978 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11979 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11980 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11983 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11984 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11985 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11986 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11987 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11992 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11993 (organization "What me?"))
11995 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11996 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11997 (organization "Emacs is it")))
12000 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
12001 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
12002 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
12003 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
12004 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
12005 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
12006 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
12007 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
12009 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
12010 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
12011 If it is the form @code{(header @var{match} @var{regexp})}, then Gnus
12012 will look in the original article for a header whose name is
12013 @var{match} and compare that @var{regexp}. @var{match} and
12014 @var{regexp} are strings. (The original article is the one you are
12015 replying or following up to. If you are not composing a reply or a
12016 followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
12017 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with
12018 no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
12019 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
12020 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is
12021 said to @dfn{match}.
12023 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
12024 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. In
12025 addition, you can also use the @code{(@var{name} :file @var{value})}
12026 form or the @code{(@var{name} :value @var{value})} form. Where
12027 @code{:file} signifies @var{value} represents a file name and its
12028 contents should be used as the attribute value, @code{:value} signifies
12029 @var{value} does not represent a file name explicitly. The attribute
12030 name can be one of:
12033 @item @code{signature}
12034 @item @code{signature-file}
12035 @item @code{x-face-file}
12036 @item @code{address}, overriding @code{user-mail-address}
12037 @item @code{name}, overriding @code{(user-full-name)}
12041 The attribute name can also be a string or a symbol. In that case,
12042 this will be used as a header name, and the value will be inserted in
12043 the headers of the article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header
12044 name will be removed. If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form
12045 is evaluated, and the result is thrown away.
12047 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
12048 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
12049 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
12050 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
12051 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
12052 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
12053 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
12054 references chars lines xref extra.
12056 @vindex message-reply-headers
12058 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
12059 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
12060 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
12062 @findex message-mail-p
12063 @findex message-news-p
12065 So here's a new example:
12068 (setq gnus-posting-styles
12070 (signature-file "~/.signature")
12072 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
12073 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
12075 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
12076 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; @r{A form}
12077 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
12078 (message-news-p ;; @r{A function symbol}
12079 (signature my-news-signature))
12080 (window-system ;; @r{A value symbol}
12081 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
12082 ;; @r{If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.}
12083 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
12084 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
12085 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; @r{A user defined function}
12086 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
12087 (address "user@@bar.foo")
12088 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
12089 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
12091 (From (save-excursion
12092 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
12093 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
12095 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
12098 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
12099 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
12100 if you fill many roles.
12107 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
12108 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
12109 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
12110 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
12111 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
12113 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
12114 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
12115 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
12116 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
12117 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
12121 @vindex nndraft-directory
12122 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
12123 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
12124 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
12125 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
12126 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
12127 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
12129 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
12130 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
12131 unsubscribe it. The special properties of the draft group comes from
12132 a group property (@pxref{Group Parameters}), and if lost the group
12133 behaves like any other group. This means the commands below will not
12134 be available. To restore the special properties of the group, the
12135 simplest way is to kill the group, using @kbd{C-k}, and restart
12136 Gnus. The group is automatically created again with the
12137 correct parameters. The content of the group is not lost.
12139 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
12140 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
12141 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
12142 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
12143 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
12144 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
12145 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
12146 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
12147 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
12148 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
12149 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
12150 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
12151 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
12152 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
12154 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
12155 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
12156 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
12158 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
12159 @kindex D e (Draft)
12160 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
12161 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
12162 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
12164 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
12167 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
12168 @kindex D s (Draft)
12169 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
12170 @kindex D S (Draft)
12171 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
12172 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
12173 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
12174 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
12175 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
12178 @findex gnus-draft-toggle-sending
12179 @kindex D t (Draft)
12180 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
12181 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
12182 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
12185 @node Rejected Articles
12186 @section Rejected Articles
12187 @cindex rejected articles
12189 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
12190 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
12191 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
12192 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
12194 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
12195 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
12196 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
12197 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
12198 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
12200 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
12201 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
12202 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
12204 @node Signing and encrypting
12205 @section Signing and encrypting
12207 @cindex using s/mime
12208 @cindex using smime
12210 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla
12211 @acronym{PGP} format or @acronym{PGP/MIME} or @acronym{S/MIME}. For
12212 decoding such messages, see the @code{mm-verify-option} and
12213 @code{mm-decrypt-option} options (@pxref{Security}).
12215 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
12216 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
12217 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
12218 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
12219 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
12220 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
12221 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
12222 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
12223 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
12224 automatically encrypted messages.
12226 Instructing @acronym{MML} to perform security operations on a
12227 @acronym{MIME} part is done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for
12228 signing and the @kbd{C-c C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
12233 @kindex C-c C-m s s (Message)
12234 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
12236 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
12239 @kindex C-c C-m s o (Message)
12240 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
12242 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
12245 @kindex C-c C-m s p (Message)
12246 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
12248 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
12251 @kindex C-c C-m c s (Message)
12252 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
12254 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
12257 @kindex C-c C-m c o (Message)
12258 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
12260 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
12263 @kindex C-c C-m c p (Message)
12264 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
12266 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
12269 @kindex C-c C-m C-n (Message)
12270 @findex mml-unsecure-message
12271 Remove security related @acronym{MML} tags from message.
12275 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
12277 @node Select Methods
12278 @chapter Select Methods
12279 @cindex foreign groups
12280 @cindex select methods
12282 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
12283 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
12284 @acronym{NNTP} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
12285 personal mail group.
12287 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
12288 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
12289 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
12290 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
12291 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
12292 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
12294 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
12295 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
12297 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
12300 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @acronym{NNTP} server
12301 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
12302 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
12303 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
12304 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
12306 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
12309 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
12310 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
12311 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
12312 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
12313 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
12314 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
12315 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
12316 * Email Based Diary:: Using mails to manage diary events in Gnus.
12317 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
12321 @node Server Buffer
12322 @section Server Buffer
12324 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
12325 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
12326 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
12327 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
12328 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
12329 back end represents a virtual server.
12331 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
12332 different actual @acronym{NNTP} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
12333 on the same actual @acronym{NNTP} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
12334 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
12336 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
12337 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
12338 @acronym{NNTP} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
12339 hangs if queried for @acronym{NOV} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
12340 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
12341 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
12342 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
12344 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
12345 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
12348 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
12349 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
12350 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
12351 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
12352 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
12353 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
12354 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
12357 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
12358 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
12361 @node Server Buffer Format
12362 @subsection Server Buffer Format
12363 @cindex server buffer format
12365 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
12366 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
12367 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
12368 variable, with some simple extensions:
12373 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
12376 The name of this server.
12379 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
12382 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
12385 Whether this server is agentized.
12388 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
12389 The mode line can also be customized by using the
12390 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
12391 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
12401 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
12404 @node Server Commands
12405 @subsection Server Commands
12406 @cindex server commands
12412 @findex gnus-server-add-server
12413 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
12417 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
12418 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
12421 @kindex SPACE (Server)
12422 @findex gnus-server-read-server
12423 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
12427 @findex gnus-server-exit
12428 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
12432 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
12433 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
12437 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
12438 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
12442 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
12443 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
12447 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
12448 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
12452 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
12453 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
12454 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
12459 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
12460 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
12461 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
12462 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
12467 @node Example Methods
12468 @subsection Example Methods
12470 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
12473 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
12476 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
12482 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
12483 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
12486 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
12487 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
12489 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
12490 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
12494 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
12497 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
12498 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
12500 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
12501 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
12502 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
12506 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
12509 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
12512 Here's the method for a public spool:
12516 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
12517 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
12523 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @acronym{NNTP}
12524 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
12525 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12526 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
12527 should probably look something like this:
12531 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
12532 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
12533 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
12534 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12537 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
12538 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
12539 configuration to the example above:
12542 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
12545 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
12547 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
12548 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
12549 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
12553 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12554 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
12555 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
12556 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12559 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
12560 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
12561 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
12562 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
12565 @node Creating a Virtual Server
12566 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
12568 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
12569 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
12571 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
12572 would probably be best to use @code{nnml} to read the cache. You
12573 could also use @code{nnspool} or @code{nnmh}, though.
12575 Type @kbd{a nnml RET cache RET}.
12577 You should now have a brand new @code{nnml} virtual server called
12578 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
12579 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
12580 will contain the following:
12590 (nnml-directory "~/News/cache/")
12591 (nnml-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
12594 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
12595 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
12596 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
12599 @node Server Variables
12600 @subsection Server Variables
12601 @cindex server variables
12602 @cindex server parameters
12604 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
12605 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
12606 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
12607 change the ``base'' variable after the variables have been loaded, you
12608 won't change the ``derived'' variables.
12610 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
12611 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
12612 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
12613 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
12614 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
12615 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
12616 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
12617 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
12618 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
12622 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
12623 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
12624 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
12627 Server variables are often called @dfn{server parameters}.
12629 @node Servers and Methods
12630 @subsection Servers and Methods
12632 Wherever you would normally use a select method
12633 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
12634 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
12635 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
12639 @node Unavailable Servers
12640 @subsection Unavailable Servers
12642 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
12643 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
12644 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
12645 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
12646 actually the case or not.
12648 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
12649 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
12650 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
12651 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
12652 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
12653 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
12654 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
12655 it will regard that server as ``down''.
12657 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
12658 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
12660 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
12661 with the following commands:
12667 @findex gnus-server-open-server
12668 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
12669 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
12673 @findex gnus-server-close-server
12674 Close the connection (if any) to the server
12675 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
12679 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
12680 Mark the current server as unreachable
12681 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
12684 @kindex M-o (Server)
12685 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
12686 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
12687 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
12690 @kindex M-c (Server)
12691 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
12692 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
12693 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
12697 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
12698 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
12699 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
12703 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
12704 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
12710 @section Getting News
12711 @cindex reading news
12712 @cindex news back ends
12714 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
12715 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @acronym{NNTP} server,
12716 or it can read from a local spool.
12719 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
12720 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
12728 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @acronym{NNTP} server is rather easy.
12729 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @acronym{NNTP}
12730 server as the, uhm, address.
12732 If the @acronym{NNTP} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
12733 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
12734 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
12735 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12737 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
12738 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
12739 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
12741 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
12746 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
12747 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
12748 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
12750 @cindex authentification
12751 @cindex nntp authentification
12752 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12753 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
12754 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
12755 commands to the @acronym{NNTP} server after it has been contacted. By
12756 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
12757 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
12758 present in this hook.
12760 @item nntp-authinfo-function
12761 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
12762 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12763 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
12764 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @acronym{NNTP}
12765 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
12766 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
12767 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
12768 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
12769 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
12770 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
12771 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
12775 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
12778 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
12780 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
12781 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
12782 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
12783 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
12784 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
12785 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
12786 @samp{force} is explained below.
12790 Here's an example file:
12793 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
12794 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
12797 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
12798 have to be first, for instance.
12800 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
12801 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
12802 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
12803 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
12804 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
12805 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
12806 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
12808 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
12809 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
12815 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
12816 previously mentioned.
12818 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
12820 @item nntp-server-action-alist
12821 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
12822 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
12823 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
12824 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
12827 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
12828 '(("innd" (ding))))
12831 You probably don't want to do that, though.
12833 The default value is
12836 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
12837 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
12838 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
12841 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
12842 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
12844 @item nntp-maximum-request
12845 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
12846 If the @acronym{NNTP} server doesn't support @acronym{NOV} headers, this back end
12847 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
12848 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
12849 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
12850 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
12851 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
12853 @item nntp-connection-timeout
12854 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
12855 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
12856 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @acronym{NNTP} servers not
12857 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
12858 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
12859 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
12860 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
12861 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
12862 no timeouts are done.
12864 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
12865 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12866 If the @acronym{NNTP} server does not support @acronym{NOV}, you could set this
12867 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @acronym{NOV}
12870 @item nntp-xover-commands
12871 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12872 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
12874 List of strings used as commands to fetch @acronym{NOV} lines from a
12875 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12879 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12880 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @acronym{NOV} lines to
12881 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12882 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12883 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @acronym{NOV}
12884 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12885 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12886 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12887 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12888 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12889 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12891 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12892 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12893 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @acronym{NNTP} server.
12895 @item nntp-record-commands
12896 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12897 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12898 @acronym{NNTP} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12899 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@acronym{NNTP} connection
12900 that doesn't seem to work.
12902 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12903 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12904 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12905 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12906 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12907 Seven pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped
12908 in two categories: direct connection functions (four pre-made), and
12909 indirect ones (three pre-made).
12911 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12912 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12913 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12914 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12915 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12916 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12917 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12920 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12923 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12924 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12929 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12930 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12931 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12932 * NNTP marks:: Storing marks for @acronym{NNTP} servers.
12936 @node Direct Functions
12937 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12938 @cindex direct connection functions
12940 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12941 between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server. The behavior of these
12942 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12943 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12946 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12947 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12948 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12951 @findex nntp-open-tls-stream
12952 @item nntp-open-tls-stream
12953 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12954 this you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/, GNUTLS}
12955 installed. You then define a server as follows:
12958 ;; @r{"nntps" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
12959 ;; @r{however, @samp{gnutls-cli -p} doesn't like named ports.}
12961 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12962 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-tls-stream)
12963 (nntp-port-number )
12964 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12967 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12968 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12969 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12970 this you must have @uref{http://www.openssl.org, OpenSSL} or
12971 @uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL, SSLeay} installed. You
12972 then define a server as follows:
12975 ;; @r{"snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
12976 ;; @r{however, @samp{openssl s_client -port} doesn't like named ports.}
12978 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12979 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12980 (nntp-port-number 563)
12981 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12984 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12985 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12986 Opens a connection to an @acronym{NNTP} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12987 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12988 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12989 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12990 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12991 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12995 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12996 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12997 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
13000 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
13001 session, which is not a good idea.
13005 @node Indirect Functions
13006 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
13007 @cindex indirect connection functions
13009 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
13010 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
13011 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
13012 the ``via'' family of connection: they're all prefixed with ``via'' to make
13013 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
13014 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13017 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
13018 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
13019 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
13020 to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from there. This is useful for instance if
13021 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
13023 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
13026 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
13027 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
13028 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
13029 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
13031 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13032 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13033 List of strings to be used as the switches to
13034 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
13035 @samp{ssh} for @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}, you may set this to
13036 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
13037 this to @samp{("-t" "-e" "none")} or @samp{("-C" "-t" "-e" "none")} if
13038 the telnet command requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate
13042 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
13043 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13045 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
13046 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
13047 Does essentially the same, but uses
13048 @uref{http://netcat.sourceforge.net/, netcat} instead of @samp{telnet}
13049 to connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the intermediate host.
13051 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat}-specific variables:
13054 @item nntp-via-netcat-command
13055 @vindex nntp-via-netcat-command
13056 Command used to connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the
13057 intermediate host. The default is @samp{nc}. You can also use other
13058 programs like @uref{http://www.imasy.or.jp/~gotoh/ssh/connect.html,
13061 @item nntp-via-netcat-switches
13062 @vindex nntp-via-netcat-switches
13063 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
13064 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @code{nil}.
13066 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
13067 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
13068 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
13069 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
13071 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13072 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13073 List of strings to be used as the switches to
13074 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}.
13077 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
13078 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
13079 Does essentially also the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
13080 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
13082 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
13085 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
13086 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
13087 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
13090 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
13091 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
13092 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
13093 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
13095 @item nntp-via-user-password
13096 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
13097 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
13099 @item nntp-via-envuser
13100 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
13101 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
13102 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
13103 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
13105 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
13106 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
13107 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
13108 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
13112 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
13113 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13117 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
13122 @item nntp-via-user-name
13123 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
13124 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
13126 @item nntp-via-address
13127 @vindex nntp-via-address
13128 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
13133 @node Common Variables
13134 @subsubsection Common Variables
13136 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
13137 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
13138 affected (the values of the following variables will be used as the
13139 default if each virtual @code{nntp} server doesn't specify those server
13140 variables individually).
13144 @item nntp-pre-command
13145 @vindex nntp-pre-command
13146 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native
13147 connection function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream},
13148 @code{nntp-open-tls-stream}, and @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}). This is
13149 where you would put a @samp{SOCKS} wrapper for instance.
13152 @vindex nntp-address
13153 The address of the @acronym{NNTP} server.
13155 @item nntp-port-number
13156 @vindex nntp-port-number
13157 Port number to connect to the @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
13158 @samp{nntp}. If you use @acronym{NNTP} over
13159 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you may want to use integer ports rather
13160 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews} or
13161 @samp{nntps}), because external @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} tools may
13162 not work with named ports.
13164 @item nntp-end-of-line
13165 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
13166 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @acronym{NNTP}
13167 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
13168 using a non native telnet connection function.
13170 @item nntp-telnet-command
13171 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
13172 Command to use when connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server through
13173 @samp{telnet}. This is @emph{not} for an intermediate host. This is
13174 just for the real @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
13177 @item nntp-telnet-switches
13178 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
13179 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
13185 @subsubsection NNTP marks
13186 @cindex storing NNTP marks
13188 Gnus stores marks (@pxref{Marking Articles}) for @acronym{NNTP}
13189 servers in marks files. A marks file records what marks you have set
13190 in a group and each file is specific to the corresponding server.
13191 Marks files are stored in @file{~/News/marks}
13192 (@code{nntp-marks-directory}) under a classic hierarchy resembling
13193 that of a news server, for example marks for the group
13194 @samp{gmane.discuss} on the news.gmane.org server will be stored in
13195 the file @file{~/News/marks/news.gmane.org/gmane/discuss/.marks}.
13197 Marks files are useful because you can copy the @file{~/News/marks}
13198 directory (using rsync, scp or whatever) to another Gnus installation,
13199 and it will realize what articles you have read and marked. The data
13200 in @file{~/News/marks} has priority over the same data in
13201 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
13203 Note that marks files are very much server-specific: Gnus remembers
13204 the article numbers so if you don't use the same servers on both
13205 installations things are most likely to break (most @acronym{NNTP}
13206 servers do not use the same article numbers as any other server).
13207 However, if you use servers A, B, C on one installation and servers A,
13208 D, E on the other, you can sync the marks files for A and then you'll
13209 get synchronization for that server between the two installations.
13211 Using @acronym{NNTP} marks can possibly incur a performance penalty so
13212 if Gnus feels sluggish, try setting the @code{nntp-marks-is-evil}
13213 variable to @code{t}. Marks will then be stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
13219 @item nntp-marks-is-evil
13220 @vindex nntp-marks-is-evil
13221 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any marks files. The
13222 default is @code{nil}.
13224 @item nntp-marks-directory
13225 @vindex nntp-marks-directory
13226 The directory where marks for nntp groups will be stored.
13232 @subsection News Spool
13236 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
13237 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
13238 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
13241 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
13242 anything else) as the address.
13244 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
13245 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
13246 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
13247 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
13251 @item nnspool-inews-program
13252 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
13253 Program used to post an article.
13255 @item nnspool-inews-switches
13256 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
13257 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
13259 @item nnspool-spool-directory
13260 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
13261 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
13262 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
13264 @item nnspool-nov-directory
13265 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
13266 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @acronym{NOV} files. This is normally@*
13267 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
13269 @item nnspool-lib-dir
13270 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
13271 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
13273 @item nnspool-active-file
13274 @vindex nnspool-active-file
13275 The name of the active file.
13277 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
13278 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
13279 The name of the group descriptions file.
13281 @item nnspool-history-file
13282 @vindex nnspool-history-file
13283 The name of the news history file.
13285 @item nnspool-active-times-file
13286 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
13287 The name of the active date file.
13289 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
13290 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
13291 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @acronym{NOV} files
13294 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
13295 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
13297 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
13298 relevant portion from the overview file. If @code{nil},
13299 @code{nnspool} will load the entire file into a buffer and process it
13306 @section Getting Mail
13307 @cindex reading mail
13310 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
13314 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
13315 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
13316 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
13317 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
13318 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
13319 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
13320 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
13321 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
13322 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
13323 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
13324 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
13325 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
13326 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
13330 @node Mail in a Newsreader
13331 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
13333 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
13334 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
13335 of a culture shock.
13337 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
13338 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
13340 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
13341 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
13342 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
13343 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
13345 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
13347 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
13348 deleted? How awful!
13350 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
13351 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
13352 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
13353 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @ref{Expiring
13356 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
13357 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
13358 they want to treat a message.
13360 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
13361 via @acronym{SMTP}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
13362 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
13363 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
13364 archived somewhere else.
13366 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
13367 These are transported via @acronym{NNTP}, and are therefore news. But we may need
13368 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
13369 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
13370 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
13372 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
13373 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
13374 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
13376 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
13377 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
13380 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
13381 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
13382 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
13383 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
13384 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
13386 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
13387 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
13388 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
13389 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
13390 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
13391 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
13395 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
13396 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
13398 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
13399 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
13400 and things will happen automatically.
13402 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a ``one file per
13403 mail'' back end), you could put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
13406 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
13409 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
13410 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
13411 directory, which is @file{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
13412 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
13413 like any other group.
13415 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
13418 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13419 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13420 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
13424 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
13425 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
13426 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
13429 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
13430 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
13431 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
13434 @node Splitting Mail
13435 @subsection Splitting Mail
13436 @cindex splitting mail
13437 @cindex mail splitting
13438 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
13440 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
13441 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
13442 to be split into groups.
13445 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13446 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13447 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
13448 ("mail.other" "")))
13451 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
13452 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
13453 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
13454 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
13455 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
13456 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
13457 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
13460 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
13464 In that case, @code{nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded} controls whether
13465 the inserted text should be made lowercase. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
13467 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
13468 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
13469 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
13470 mail belongs in that group.
13472 @cindex @samp{bogus} group
13473 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
13474 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{""} so that it matches any mails
13475 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
13476 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first rule
13477 to make a match will ``win'', unless you have crossposting enabled. In
13478 that case, all matching rules will ``win''.) If no rule matched, the mail
13479 will end up in the @samp{bogus} group. When new groups are created by
13480 splitting mail, you may want to run @code{gnus-group-find-new-groups} to
13481 see the new groups. This also applies to the @samp{bogus} group.
13483 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
13484 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
13485 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
13486 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
13487 thinks should carry this mail message.
13489 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
13490 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
13491 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
13492 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
13494 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
13495 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
13496 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
13497 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
13498 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{""}) group.
13500 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
13503 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
13504 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
13505 links. If that's the case for you, set
13506 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
13507 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
13509 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
13510 @findex nnmail-split-history
13511 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
13512 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
13513 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
13514 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
13517 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
13518 Header lines longer than the value of
13519 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
13522 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
13523 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
13524 By default the splitting codes @acronym{MIME} decodes headers so you
13525 can match on non-@acronym{ASCII} strings. The
13526 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset} variable specifies the default
13527 charset for decoding. The behavior can be turned off completely by
13528 binding @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to @code{nil}, which is
13529 useful if you want to match articles based on the raw header data.
13531 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13532 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If you
13533 specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable @code{mail-sources}
13534 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}), however, then splitting does
13535 @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
13536 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-@code{nil} value to make
13537 splitting happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on
13538 other kinds of entries.)
13540 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
13541 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
13542 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
13543 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
13544 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
13545 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
13546 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
13547 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
13548 month's rent money.
13552 @subsection Mail Sources
13554 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from
13555 a @acronym{POP} mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a
13556 maildir, for instance.
13559 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
13560 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
13561 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
13565 @node Mail Source Specifiers
13566 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
13568 @cindex mail server
13571 @cindex mail source
13573 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
13574 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
13579 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
13582 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
13583 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
13584 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
13587 The following mail source types are available:
13591 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
13597 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @env{MAIL}
13598 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
13599 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
13603 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13606 An example file mail source:
13609 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
13612 Or using the default file name:
13618 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best
13619 to use @acronym{POP} or @acronym{IMAP} or the like to fetch the mail.
13620 You can not use ange-ftp file names here---it has no way to lock the
13621 mail spool while moving the mail.
13623 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
13627 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
13630 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
13634 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
13637 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
13639 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
13642 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
13646 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
13647 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used
13648 when you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
13649 That is, there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that
13650 directory and groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool}
13651 will be put in the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix
13652 to be used instead of @code{.spool}.) Setting
13653 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-@code{nil} forces
13654 Gnus to scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful
13655 if you want to scan mail groups at a specified level.
13657 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13658 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
13659 that to a non-@code{nil} value, then the normal splitting process is
13660 applied to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
13666 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
13670 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
13674 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
13675 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
13676 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
13677 predicate are considered.
13681 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13685 An example directory mail source:
13688 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
13693 Get mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
13699 The name of the @acronym{POP} server. The default is taken from the
13700 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13703 The port number of the @acronym{POP} server. This can be a number (eg,
13704 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
13705 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
13706 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
13707 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
13710 The user name to give to the @acronym{POP} server. The default is the login
13714 The password to give to the @acronym{POP} server. If not specified,
13715 the user is prompted.
13718 The program to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. This
13719 should be a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
13722 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
13725 The valid format specifier characters are:
13729 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
13730 included in this string.
13733 The name of the server.
13736 The port number of the server.
13739 The user name to use.
13742 The password to use.
13745 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13746 corresponding keywords.
13749 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13750 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13753 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13754 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13757 The function to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. The
13758 function is called with one parameter---the name of the file where the
13759 mail should be moved to.
13761 @item :authentication
13762 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
13763 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
13768 @vindex pop3-movemail
13769 @vindex pop3-leave-mail-on-server
13770 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
13771 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used. If the
13772 @code{pop3-leave-mail-on-server} is non-@code{nil} the mail is to be
13773 left on the @acronym{POP} server after fetching when using
13774 @code{pop3-movemail}. Note that POP servers maintain no state
13775 information between sessions, so what the client believes is there and
13776 what is actually there may not match up. If they do not, then the whole
13777 thing can fall apart and leave you with a corrupt mailbox.
13779 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default @acronym{POP} server,
13780 using the default user name, and default fetcher:
13786 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
13789 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
13790 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
13793 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
13796 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
13800 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
13801 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
13802 contains exactly one mail.
13808 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
13809 taken from the @env{MAILDIR} environment variable or
13812 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
13813 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
13815 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
13816 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
13817 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
13820 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
13821 from locking problems).
13825 Two example maildir mail sources:
13828 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
13829 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
13833 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
13838 Get mail from a @acronym{IMAP} server. If you don't want to use
13839 @acronym{IMAP} as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie
13840 with nnimap), for some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar
13841 to a @acronym{POP} server and fetches articles from a given
13842 @acronym{IMAP} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for more information.
13844 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} and STARTTLS support you
13845 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
13851 The name of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is taken from the
13852 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13855 The port number of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
13856 @samp{993} for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} connections.
13859 The user name to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is the login
13863 The password to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. If not specified, the user is
13867 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
13868 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
13869 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{tls},
13870 @samp{ssl}, @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
13872 @item :authentication
13873 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
13874 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
13875 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
13876 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
13879 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
13880 mapped into the @code{imap-shell-program} variable. This should be a
13881 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
13887 The valid format specifier characters are:
13891 The name of the server.
13894 User name from @code{imap-default-user}.
13897 The port number of the server.
13900 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13901 corresponding keywords.
13904 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
13905 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
13908 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
13909 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
13910 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @acronym{IMAP} client and mark some
13911 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
13912 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
13913 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
13916 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
13917 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
13918 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
13919 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
13922 If non-@code{nil}, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the
13923 mailbox after finishing the fetch.
13927 An example @acronym{IMAP} mail source:
13930 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
13932 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
13936 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{http://www.hotmail.com/},
13937 @uref{http://webmail.netscape.com/}, @uref{http://www.netaddress.com/},
13938 @uref{http://mail.yahoo.com/}.
13940 NOTE: Webmail largely depends on cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
13941 required for url "4.0pre.46".
13943 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
13949 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
13950 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13953 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13957 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13961 If non-@code{nil}, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to
13962 trash folder after finishing the fetch.
13966 An example webmail source:
13969 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13971 :password "secret")
13976 @item Common Keywords
13977 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13983 If non-@code{nil}, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you
13984 use directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this
13989 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13994 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13995 useful when you use local mail and news.
14000 @subsubsection Function Interface
14002 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
14003 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
14004 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
14005 consider the following mail-source setting:
14008 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
14009 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
14012 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
14013 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
14014 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
14015 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
14016 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
14018 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
14021 @node Mail Source Customization
14022 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
14024 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
14025 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
14029 @item mail-source-crash-box
14030 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
14031 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is@*
14032 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
14034 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
14035 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
14036 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them. If
14037 @code{t}, delete the files immediately, if @code{nil}, never delete any
14038 files. If a positive number, delete files older than number of days
14039 (This will only happen, when receiving new mail). You may also set
14040 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} to @code{nil} and call
14041 @code{mail-source-delete-old-incoming} from a hook or interactively.
14043 @item mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
14044 @vindex mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
14045 If non-@code{nil}, ask for for confirmation before deleting old incoming
14046 files. This variable only applies when
14047 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is a positive number.
14049 @item mail-source-ignore-errors
14050 @vindex mail-source-ignore-errors
14051 If non-@code{nil}, ignore errors when reading mail from a mail source.
14053 @item mail-source-directory
14054 @vindex mail-source-directory
14055 Directory where incoming mail source files (if any) will be stored. The
14056 default is @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for
14057 is to say where the incoming files will be stored if the variable
14058 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil} or a number.
14060 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
14061 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
14062 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
14063 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
14064 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
14065 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil} or a
14068 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
14069 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
14070 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
14072 @item mail-source-movemail-program
14073 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
14074 If non-@code{nil}, name of program for fetching new mail. If
14075 @code{nil}, @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
14080 @node Fetching Mail
14081 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
14083 @vindex mail-sources
14084 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
14085 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
14086 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
14087 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
14089 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
14090 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
14093 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a
14094 @acronym{POP} mail server, you'd say something like:
14099 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
14100 :password "secret")))
14103 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
14107 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
14108 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
14111 :password "secret")))
14115 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
14116 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
14117 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
14118 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
14119 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
14120 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
14124 @node Mail Back End Variables
14125 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
14127 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
14131 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
14132 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
14133 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
14134 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
14136 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
14137 @item nnmail-split-hook
14138 @findex gnus-article-decode-encoded-words
14139 @cindex RFC 1522 decoding
14140 @cindex RFC 2047 decoding
14141 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
14142 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
14143 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
14144 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
14145 in the buffer will show up in any files.
14146 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
14149 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
14150 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
14151 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
14152 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
14153 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
14154 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
14155 starting to handle the new mail) and
14156 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
14157 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
14158 default file modes the new mail files get:
14161 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
14162 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
14164 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
14165 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
14168 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
14169 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
14170 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
14171 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
14172 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
14173 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
14174 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
14176 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
14177 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
14178 @findex delete-file
14179 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
14181 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
14182 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
14183 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
14184 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
14185 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
14187 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
14188 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
14189 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
14190 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
14191 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
14193 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
14194 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
14195 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
14200 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
14201 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
14202 @cindex mail splitting
14203 @cindex fancy mail splitting
14205 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
14206 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
14207 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
14208 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
14209 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
14210 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
14212 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
14215 ;; @r{Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of}
14216 ;; @r{the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group}
14217 ;; @r{from real errors.}
14218 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
14220 ;; @r{Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant}
14221 ;; @r{groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the}
14222 ;; @r{(ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.}
14223 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
14224 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
14225 ;; @r{Other mailing lists@dots{}}
14226 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
14227 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
14228 ;; @r{Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent}
14229 ;; @r{cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to}
14230 ;; @r{the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the}
14231 ;; @r{message was really cross-posted.}
14232 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
14233 (any "mypackage@@somewhere" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
14234 ;; @r{People@dots{}}
14235 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
14236 ;; @r{Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.}
14240 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a
14241 (possibly) recursive structure where each split may contain other
14242 splits. Here are the possible split syntaxes:
14247 If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name. Normal
14248 regexp match expansion will be done. See below for examples.
14250 @item (@var{field} @var{value} [- @var{restrict} [@dots{}] ] @var{split})
14251 If the split is a list, the first element of which is a string, then
14252 store the message as specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field}
14253 (a regexp) contains @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict}
14254 (yet another regexp) matches some string after @var{field} and before
14255 the end of the matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If
14256 none of the @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
14258 @item (| @var{split} @dots{})
14259 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{|} (vertical
14260 bar), then process each @var{split} until one of them matches. A
14261 @var{split} is said to match if it will cause the mail message to be
14262 stored in one or more groups.
14264 @item (& @var{split} @dots{})
14265 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{&}, then
14266 process all @var{split}s in the list.
14269 If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save (i.e., delete)
14270 this message. Use with extreme caution.
14272 @item (: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})
14273 If the split is a list, and the first element is @samp{:}, then the
14274 second element will be called as a function with @var{args} given as
14275 arguments. The function should return a @var{split}.
14278 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
14279 body of the messages:
14282 (defun split-on-body ()
14286 (goto-char (point-min))
14287 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
14291 The buffer is narrowed to the message in question when @var{function}
14292 is run. That's why @code{(widen)} needs to be called after
14293 @code{save-excursion} and @code{save-restriction} in the example
14294 above. Also note that with the nnimap back end, message bodies will
14295 not be downloaded by default. You need to set
14296 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
14297 (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}).
14299 @item (! @var{func} @var{split})
14300 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{!}, then
14301 @var{split} will be processed, and @var{func} will be called as a
14302 function with the result of @var{split} as argument. @var{func}
14303 should return a split.
14306 If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
14310 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
14311 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
14312 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
14313 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
14314 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
14316 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
14317 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be Lisp symbols, in that case
14318 they are expanded as specified by the variable
14319 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells,
14320 where the @sc{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @sc{cdr}
14321 contains the associated value. Predefined entries in
14322 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist} include:
14326 Matches the @samp{From}, @samp{Sender} and @samp{Resent-From} fields.
14328 Matches the @samp{To}, @samp{Cc}, @samp{Apparently-To},
14329 @samp{Resent-To} and @samp{Resent-Cc} fields.
14331 Is the union of the @code{from} and @code{to} entries.
14334 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
14335 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
14336 when all this splitting is performed.
14338 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
14339 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
14340 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
14343 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
14346 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
14347 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
14349 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
14350 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
14351 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
14352 groupings 1 through 9.
14354 @vindex nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded
14355 Where @code{nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded} controls whether the
14356 lowercase of the matched string should be used for the substitution.
14357 Setting it as non-@code{nil} is useful to avoid the creation of multiple
14358 groups when users send to an address using different case
14359 (i.e. mailing-list@@domain vs Mailing-List@@Domain). The default value
14362 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words
14363 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} controls whether partial
14364 words are matched during fancy splitting.
14366 Normally, regular expressions given in @code{nnmail-split-fancy} are
14367 implicitly surrounded by @code{\<...\>} markers, which are word
14368 delimiters. If this variable is true, they are not implicitly
14369 surrounded by anything.
14372 (any "joe" "joemail")
14375 In this example, messages sent from @samp{joedavis@@foo.org} will
14376 normally not be filed in @samp{joemail}. With
14377 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} set to @code{t},
14378 however, the match will happen. In effect, the requirement of a word
14379 boundary is removed and instead the match becomes more like a grep.
14381 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
14382 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
14383 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
14384 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
14385 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
14386 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
14387 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
14388 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
14389 it once per thread.
14391 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates}
14392 and @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-@code{nil}
14393 value. And then you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}
14394 using the colon feature, like so:
14396 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; @r{or @code{delete}}
14397 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
14399 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
14400 ;; @r{other splits go here}
14404 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
14405 non-@code{nil}, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees
14406 in the file specified by the variable
14407 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, together with the group it is in
14408 (the group is omitted for non-mail messages). When mail splitting is
14409 invoked, the function @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks
14410 at the References (and In-Reply-To) header of each message to split
14411 and searches the file specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}
14412 for the message ids. When it has found a parent, it returns the
14413 corresponding group name unless the group name matches the regexp
14414 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is
14415 recommended that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a
14416 somewhat higher number than the default so that the message ids are
14417 still in the cache. (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some
14418 300 kBytes in size.)
14419 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
14420 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
14421 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
14422 messages goes into the new group.
14424 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
14425 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
14426 outgoing messages are written to an ``outgoing'' group, you could set
14427 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
14428 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
14429 ``outgoing'' group.
14432 @node Group Mail Splitting
14433 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
14434 @cindex mail splitting
14435 @cindex group mail splitting
14437 @findex gnus-group-split
14438 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
14439 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
14440 You just have to set @code{to-list} and/or @code{to-address} in group
14441 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
14442 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
14443 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
14444 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @code{to-list} or
14445 @code{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
14447 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
14448 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @code{extra-aliases} group
14449 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
14450 rather use a regular expression, set @code{split-regexp}.
14452 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
14453 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
14454 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
14455 @code{to-list}, @code{to-address}, all of @code{extra-aliases} and all
14456 matches of @code{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
14457 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
14458 @code{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
14460 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
14461 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
14462 parameter @code{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
14463 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
14464 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @code{split-spec} may be set to
14465 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
14466 @code{gnus-group-split}.
14468 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
14469 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
14470 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
14471 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
14472 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
14473 some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
14474 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
14475 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
14476 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
14477 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
14478 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
14479 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
14480 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
14482 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
14487 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
14488 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
14490 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
14491 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
14492 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
14493 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
14495 ((split-spec . catch-all))
14498 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
14499 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
14500 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
14503 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
14504 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
14505 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
14509 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
14510 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
14511 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
14515 (: gnus-group-split-fancy @var{groups} @var{no-crosspost} @var{catch-all})
14518 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
14519 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
14520 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
14521 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fall back
14522 fancy split, used like @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
14523 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @code{split-regexp} matches the
14524 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
14525 Otherwise, if some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
14526 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
14528 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
14529 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
14530 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
14531 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
14532 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
14533 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
14534 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
14535 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
14536 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
14538 @findex gnus-group-split-update
14539 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
14540 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
14541 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
14542 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
14543 you. For example, add to your @file{~/.gnus.el}:
14546 (gnus-group-split-setup @var{auto-update} @var{catch-all})
14549 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
14550 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
14551 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
14552 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
14553 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
14556 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
14557 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
14558 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
14559 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
14561 @node Incorporating Old Mail
14562 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
14563 @cindex incorporating old mail
14564 @cindex import old mail
14566 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
14567 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
14568 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
14571 Doing so can be quite easy.
14573 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
14574 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
14575 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
14576 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
14577 your @code{nnml} groups.
14583 Go to the group buffer.
14586 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
14587 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14590 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
14593 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
14594 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
14597 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
14598 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
14601 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
14602 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
14603 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
14604 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
14605 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
14607 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
14608 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
14609 using the new mail back end.
14612 @node Expiring Mail
14613 @subsection Expiring Mail
14614 @cindex article expiry
14616 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
14617 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
14618 different approach to mail reading.
14620 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
14621 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
14622 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
14623 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
14624 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
14625 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
14628 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
14629 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default key bindings, this means
14630 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
14631 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
14632 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
14633 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
14634 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
14635 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
14636 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
14638 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
14639 two features, called ``auto-expire'' and ``total-expire'', that can help you
14640 with this. In a nutshell, ``auto-expire'' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
14641 for you when you select an article. And ``total-expire'' means that Gnus
14642 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
14643 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
14644 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
14647 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
14648 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
14649 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
14650 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
14651 into its own group.)
14653 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
14654 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
14655 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
14656 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
14657 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
14658 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
14659 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive
14660 Scoring}). Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
14663 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
14664 Groups that match the regular expression
14665 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
14666 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
14667 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
14669 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
14670 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
14671 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
14672 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
14673 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
14675 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
14677 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
14678 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
14679 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
14682 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
14683 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
14684 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
14685 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
14686 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
14688 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
14689 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
14692 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
14693 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
14696 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
14697 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
14699 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
14700 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
14701 don't really mix very well.
14703 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
14704 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
14705 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
14706 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
14709 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
14710 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
14711 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
14712 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
14715 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
14717 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
14719 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
14721 ((string= group "mail.junk")
14723 ((string= group "important")
14729 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
14730 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
14732 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
14733 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
14734 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
14737 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
14738 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
14740 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
14741 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
14742 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
14743 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
14744 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
14745 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
14746 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
14747 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
14748 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
14749 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
14750 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
14751 from as its parameter) which should return a target---either a group
14752 name or @code{delete}.
14754 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
14756 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
14759 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14760 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14761 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
14762 expire mail to groups according to the variable
14763 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
14766 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14767 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14768 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
14769 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
14770 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
14773 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
14774 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
14775 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
14776 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
14777 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
14778 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
14780 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
14781 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
14782 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
14783 easier for procmail users.
14785 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
14786 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
14787 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
14788 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
14789 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
14790 caution. Even more dangerous is the
14791 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
14792 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
14793 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
14794 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
14795 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
14796 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
14797 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
14800 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
14802 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
14803 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
14804 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
14805 auto-expire turned on.
14809 @subsection Washing Mail
14810 @cindex mail washing
14811 @cindex list server brain damage
14812 @cindex incoming mail treatment
14814 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
14815 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
14816 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
14817 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
14818 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
14819 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
14821 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
14822 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
14823 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
14826 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
14827 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
14828 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
14829 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
14832 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14833 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14834 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
14835 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
14836 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
14839 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14840 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14841 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
14842 Emacs running on MS machines.
14846 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14847 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14848 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
14849 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
14852 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14853 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14854 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
14855 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
14857 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
14858 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
14859 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
14860 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
14861 into a feature by documenting it.)
14863 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14864 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14865 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
14866 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
14867 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
14868 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
14869 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
14872 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
14873 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
14876 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
14877 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
14880 This can also be done non-destructively with
14881 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
14883 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
14884 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
14885 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
14887 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14888 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14890 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
14891 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
14892 @code{References} headers.
14896 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14897 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14898 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
14902 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
14903 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
14904 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
14911 @subsection Duplicates
14913 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
14914 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
14915 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
14916 @cindex duplicate mails
14917 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
14918 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
14919 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
14920 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
14921 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
14922 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
14923 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
14924 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
14925 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
14926 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
14927 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
14928 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
14929 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
14931 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
14932 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
14933 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
14934 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
14936 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
14939 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
14940 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
14944 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
14945 '(| ;; @r{Messages duplicates go to a separate group.}
14946 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
14947 ;; @r{Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.}
14948 (any mail "mail.misc")
14949 ;; @r{Other rules.}
14955 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14956 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
14957 ;; @r{Other rules.}
14961 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
14962 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
14963 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
14964 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
14965 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
14968 @node Not Reading Mail
14969 @subsection Not Reading Mail
14971 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
14972 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
14973 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
14975 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
14976 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
14977 mail, which should help.
14979 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14980 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14981 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14982 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14983 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14984 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
14985 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old Rmail
14986 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
14987 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
14988 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
14989 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
14991 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
14992 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
14996 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
14997 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
14999 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
15000 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
15001 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
15003 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
15004 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
15005 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
15009 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
15010 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
15011 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
15012 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
15013 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
15014 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
15015 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
15019 @node Unix Mail Box
15020 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
15022 @cindex unix mail box
15024 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
15025 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
15026 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
15027 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
15028 which group it belongs in.
15030 Virtual server settings:
15033 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
15034 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
15035 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
15038 @item nnmbox-active-file
15039 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
15040 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
15041 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
15043 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
15044 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
15045 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
15046 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
15051 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
15055 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
15056 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
15057 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a Babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{Rmail
15058 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
15059 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
15061 Virtual server settings:
15064 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
15065 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
15066 The name of the Rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
15068 @item nnbabyl-active-file
15069 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
15070 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
15071 @file{~/.rmail-active}
15073 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
15074 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
15075 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
15081 @subsubsection Mail Spool
15083 @cindex mail @acronym{NOV} spool
15085 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
15086 format. It should be used with some caution.
15088 @vindex nnml-directory
15089 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
15090 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
15091 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
15092 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
15094 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
15097 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
15098 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
15099 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
15100 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
15101 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
15102 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
15103 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
15104 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
15106 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
15107 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
15108 @acronym{NOV} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
15109 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
15111 @cindex self contained nnml servers
15113 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
15114 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
15115 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
15116 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
15117 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
15118 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
15119 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
15120 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
15123 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
15124 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
15125 them next time it starts.
15127 Virtual server settings:
15130 @item nnml-directory
15131 @vindex nnml-directory
15132 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory. The
15133 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default value
15136 @item nnml-active-file
15137 @vindex nnml-active-file
15138 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
15139 @file{~/Mail/active}.
15141 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
15142 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
15143 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
15144 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}.
15146 @item nnml-get-new-mail
15147 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
15148 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
15151 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
15152 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
15153 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
15154 default is @code{nil}.
15156 @item nnml-nov-file-name
15157 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
15158 The name of the @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
15160 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
15161 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
15162 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
15164 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
15165 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
15166 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
15167 default is @code{nil}.
15169 @item nnml-marks-file-name
15170 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
15171 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
15173 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
15174 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
15175 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
15176 files. This variable requires @code{auto-compression-mode} to be
15177 enabled (@pxref{Compressed Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs
15180 @item nnml-compressed-files-size-threshold
15181 @vindex nnml-compressed-files-size-threshold
15182 Default size threshold for compressed message files. Message files with
15183 bodies larger than that many characters will be automatically compressed
15184 if @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-nil.
15188 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
15189 If your @code{nnml} groups and @acronym{NOV} files get totally out of
15190 whack, you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
15191 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
15192 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
15193 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
15194 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
15199 @subsubsection MH Spool
15201 @cindex mh-e mail spool
15203 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
15204 @acronym{NOV} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks
15205 file. This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than
15206 @code{nnml}, but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts
15209 Virtual server settings:
15212 @item nnmh-directory
15213 @vindex nnmh-directory
15214 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
15215 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
15218 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
15219 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
15220 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
15224 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
15225 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
15226 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks
15227 they are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
15228 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
15229 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not
15230 have to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
15235 @subsubsection Maildir
15239 @code{nnmaildir} stores mail in the maildir format, with each maildir
15240 corresponding to a group in Gnus. This format is documented here:
15241 @uref{http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html} and here:
15242 @uref{http://www.qmail.org/man/man5/maildir.html}. @code{nnmaildir}
15243 also stores extra information in the @file{.nnmaildir/} directory
15246 Maildir format was designed to allow concurrent deliveries and
15247 reading, without needing locks. With other back ends, you would have
15248 your mail delivered to a spool of some kind, and then you would
15249 configure Gnus to split mail from that spool into your groups. You
15250 can still do that with @code{nnmaildir}, but the more common
15251 configuration is to have your mail delivered directly to the maildirs
15252 that appear as group in Gnus.
15254 @code{nnmaildir} is designed to be perfectly reliable: @kbd{C-g} will
15255 never corrupt its data in memory, and @code{SIGKILL} will never
15256 corrupt its data in the filesystem.
15258 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks and @acronym{NOV} data in each
15259 maildir. So you can copy a whole maildir from one Gnus setup to
15260 another, and you will keep your marks.
15262 Virtual server settings:
15266 For each of your @code{nnmaildir} servers (it's very unlikely that
15267 you'd need more than one), you need to create a directory and populate
15268 it with maildirs or symlinks to maildirs (and nothing else; do not
15269 choose a directory already used for other purposes). Each maildir
15270 will be represented in Gnus as a newsgroup on that server; the
15271 filename of the symlink will be the name of the group. Any filenames
15272 in the directory starting with @samp{.} are ignored. The directory is
15273 scanned when you first start Gnus, and each time you type @kbd{g} in
15274 the group buffer; if any maildirs have been removed or added,
15275 @code{nnmaildir} notices at these times.
15277 The value of the @code{directory} parameter should be a Lisp form
15278 which is processed by @code{eval} and @code{expand-file-name} to get
15279 the path of the directory for this server. The form is @code{eval}ed
15280 only when the server is opened; the resulting string is used until the
15281 server is closed. (If you don't know about forms and @code{eval},
15282 don't worry---a simple string will work.) This parameter is not
15283 optional; you must specify it. I don't recommend using
15284 @code{"~/Mail"} or a subdirectory of it; several other parts of Gnus
15285 use that directory by default for various things, and may get confused
15286 if @code{nnmaildir} uses it too. @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} is a typical
15289 @item target-prefix
15290 This should be a Lisp form which is processed by @code{eval} and
15291 @code{expand-file-name}. The form is @code{eval}ed only when the
15292 server is opened; the resulting string is used until the server is
15295 When you create a group on an @code{nnmaildir} server, the maildir is
15296 created with @code{target-prefix} prepended to its name, and a symlink
15297 pointing to that maildir is created, named with the plain group name.
15298 So if @code{directory} is @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} and
15299 @code{target-prefix} is @code{"../maildirs/"}, then when you create
15300 the group @code{foo}, @code{nnmaildir} will create
15301 @file{~/.nnmaildir/../maildirs/foo} as a maildir, and will create
15302 @file{~/.nnmaildir/foo} as a symlink pointing to
15303 @file{../maildirs/foo}.
15305 You can set @code{target-prefix} to a string without any slashes to
15306 create both maildirs and symlinks in the same @code{directory}; in
15307 this case, any maildirs found in @code{directory} whose names start
15308 with @code{target-prefix} will not be listed as groups (but the
15309 symlinks pointing to them will be).
15311 As a special case, if @code{target-prefix} is @code{""} (the default),
15312 then when you create a group, the maildir will be created in
15313 @code{directory} without a corresponding symlink. Beware that you
15314 cannot use @code{gnus-group-delete-group} on such groups without the
15315 @code{force} argument.
15317 @item directory-files
15318 This should be a function with the same interface as
15319 @code{directory-files} (such as @code{directory-files} itself). It is
15320 used to scan the server's @code{directory} for maildirs. This
15321 parameter is optional; the default is
15322 @code{nnheader-directory-files-safe} if
15323 @code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is @code{nil}, and
15324 @code{directory-files} otherwise.
15325 (@code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is checked only once when the
15326 server is opened; if you want to check it each time the directory is
15327 scanned, you'll have to provide your own function that does that.)
15330 If non-@code{nil}, then after scanning for new mail in the group
15331 maildirs themselves as usual, this server will also incorporate mail
15332 the conventional Gnus way, from @code{mail-sources} according to
15333 @code{nnmail-split-methods} or @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. The default
15334 value is @code{nil}.
15336 Do @emph{not} use the same maildir both in @code{mail-sources} and as
15337 an @code{nnmaildir} group. The results might happen to be useful, but
15338 that would be by chance, not by design, and the results might be
15339 different in the future. If your split rules create new groups,
15340 remember to supply a @code{create-directory} server parameter.
15343 @subsubsection Group parameters
15345 @code{nnmaildir} uses several group parameters. It's safe to ignore
15346 all this; the default behavior for @code{nnmaildir} is the same as the
15347 default behavior for other mail back ends: articles are deleted after
15348 one week, etc. Except for the expiry parameters, all this
15349 functionality is unique to @code{nnmaildir}, so you can ignore it if
15350 you're just trying to duplicate the behavior you already have with
15353 If the value of any of these parameters is a vector, the first element
15354 is evaluated as a Lisp form and the result is used, rather than the
15355 original value. If the value is not a vector, the value itself is
15356 evaluated as a Lisp form. (This is why these parameters use names
15357 different from those of other, similar parameters supported by other
15358 back ends: they have different, though similar, meanings.) (For
15359 numbers, strings, @code{nil}, and @code{t}, you can ignore the
15360 @code{eval} business again; for other values, remember to use an extra
15361 quote and wrap the value in a vector when appropriate.)
15365 An integer specifying the minimum age, in seconds, of an article
15366 before it will be expired, or the symbol @code{never} to specify that
15367 articles should never be expired. If this parameter is not set,
15368 @code{nnmaildir} falls back to the usual
15369 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) variables (the
15370 @code{expiry-wait} group parameter overrides @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}
15371 and makes @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} ineffective). If you
15372 wanted a value of 3 days, you could use something like @code{[(* 3 24
15373 60 60)]}; @code{nnmaildir} will evaluate the form and use the result.
15374 An article's age is measured starting from the article file's
15375 modification time. Normally, this is the same as the article's
15376 delivery time, but editing an article makes it younger. Moving an
15377 article (other than via expiry) may also make an article younger.
15380 If this is set to a string such as a full Gnus group name, like
15382 "backend+server.address.string:group.name"
15384 and if it is not the name of the same group that the parameter belongs
15385 to, then articles will be moved to the specified group during expiry
15386 before being deleted. @emph{If this is set to an @code{nnmaildir}
15387 group, the article will be just as old in the destination group as it
15388 was in the source group.} So be careful with @code{expire-age} in the
15389 destination group. If this is set to the name of the same group that
15390 the parameter belongs to, then the article is not expired at all. If
15391 you use the vector form, the first element is evaluated once for each
15392 article. So that form can refer to
15393 @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name}, etc., to decide where to put the
15394 article. @emph{Even if this parameter is not set, @code{nnmaildir}
15395 does not fall back to the @code{expiry-target} group parameter or the
15396 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} variable.}
15399 If this is set to @code{t}, @code{nnmaildir} will treat the articles
15400 in this maildir as read-only. This means: articles are not renamed
15401 from @file{new/} into @file{cur/}; articles are only found in
15402 @file{new/}, not @file{cur/}; articles are never deleted; articles
15403 cannot be edited. @file{new/} is expected to be a symlink to the
15404 @file{new/} directory of another maildir---e.g., a system-wide mailbox
15405 containing a mailing list of common interest. Everything in the
15406 maildir outside @file{new/} is @emph{not} treated as read-only, so for
15407 a shared mailbox, you do still need to set up your own maildir (or
15408 have write permission to the shared mailbox); your maildir just won't
15409 contain extra copies of the articles.
15411 @item directory-files
15412 A function with the same interface as @code{directory-files}. It is
15413 used to scan the directories in the maildir corresponding to this
15414 group to find articles. The default is the function specified by the
15415 server's @code{directory-files} parameter.
15417 @item distrust-Lines:
15418 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmaildir} will always count the lines of an
15419 article, rather than use the @code{Lines:} header field. If
15420 @code{nil}, the header field will be used if present.
15423 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(read expire)]}. Whenever
15424 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
15425 say that all articles have these marks, regardless of whether the
15426 marks stored in the filesystem say so. This is a proof-of-concept
15427 feature that will probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done
15428 in Gnus proper, or abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
15431 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(tick expire)]}. Whenever
15432 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
15433 say that no articles have these marks, regardless of whether the marks
15434 stored in the filesystem say so. @code{never-marks} overrides
15435 @code{always-marks}. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will
15436 probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
15437 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
15439 @item nov-cache-size
15440 An integer specifying the size of the @acronym{NOV} memory cache. To
15441 speed things up, @code{nnmaildir} keeps @acronym{NOV} data in memory
15442 for a limited number of articles in each group. (This is probably not
15443 worthwhile, and will probably be removed in the future.) This
15444 parameter's value is noticed only the first time a group is seen after
15445 the server is opened---i.e., when you first start Gnus, typically.
15446 The @acronym{NOV} cache is never resized until the server is closed
15447 and reopened. The default is an estimate of the number of articles
15448 that would be displayed in the summary buffer: a count of articles
15449 that are either marked with @code{tick} or not marked with
15450 @code{read}, plus a little extra.
15453 @subsubsection Article identification
15454 Articles are stored in the @file{cur/} subdirectory of each maildir.
15455 Each article file is named like @code{uniq:info}, where @code{uniq}
15456 contains no colons. @code{nnmaildir} ignores, but preserves, the
15457 @code{:info} part. (Other maildir readers typically use this part of
15458 the filename to store marks.) The @code{uniq} part uniquely
15459 identifies the article, and is used in various places in the
15460 @file{.nnmaildir/} subdirectory of the maildir to store information
15461 about the corresponding article. The full pathname of an article is
15462 available in the variable @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name} after you
15463 request the article in the summary buffer.
15465 @subsubsection NOV data
15466 An article identified by @code{uniq} has its @acronym{NOV} data (used
15467 to generate lines in the summary buffer) stored in
15468 @code{.nnmaildir/nov/uniq}. There is no
15469 @code{nnmaildir-generate-nov-databases} function. (There isn't much
15470 need for it---an article's @acronym{NOV} data is updated automatically
15471 when the article or @code{nnmail-extra-headers} has changed.) You can
15472 force @code{nnmaildir} to regenerate the @acronym{NOV} data for a
15473 single article simply by deleting the corresponding @acronym{NOV}
15474 file, but @emph{beware}: this will also cause @code{nnmaildir} to
15475 assign a new article number for this article, which may cause trouble
15476 with @code{seen} marks, the Agent, and the cache.
15478 @subsubsection Article marks
15479 An article identified by @code{uniq} is considered to have the mark
15480 @code{flag} when the file @file{.nnmaildir/marks/flag/uniq} exists.
15481 When Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for a group's marks, @code{nnmaildir}
15482 looks for such files and reports the set of marks it finds. When Gnus
15483 asks @code{nnmaildir} to store a new set of marks, @code{nnmaildir}
15484 creates and deletes the corresponding files as needed. (Actually,
15485 rather than create a new file for each mark, it just creates hard
15486 links to @file{.nnmaildir/markfile}, to save inodes.)
15488 You can invent new marks by creating a new directory in
15489 @file{.nnmaildir/marks/}. You can tar up a maildir and remove it from
15490 your server, untar it later, and keep your marks. You can add and
15491 remove marks yourself by creating and deleting mark files. If you do
15492 this while Gnus is running and your @code{nnmaildir} server is open,
15493 it's best to exit all summary buffers for @code{nnmaildir} groups and
15494 type @kbd{s} in the group buffer first, and to type @kbd{g} or
15495 @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer afterwards. Otherwise, Gnus might not
15496 pick up the changes, and might undo them.
15500 @subsubsection Mail Folders
15502 @cindex mbox folders
15503 @cindex mail folders
15505 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a
15506 separate file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format.
15507 @code{nnfolder} will add extra headers to keep track of article
15508 numbers and arrival dates.
15510 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
15512 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
15513 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
15514 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
15515 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
15516 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
15517 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
15518 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder}
15519 directory. Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to
15520 backup, use @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup
15521 into the @code{nnfolder} directory).
15523 Virtual server settings:
15526 @item nnfolder-directory
15527 @vindex nnfolder-directory
15528 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this
15529 directory. The default is the value of @code{message-directory}
15530 (whose default is @file{~/Mail})
15532 @item nnfolder-active-file
15533 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
15534 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
15536 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
15537 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
15538 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
15539 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}
15541 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
15542 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
15543 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The
15544 default is @code{t}
15546 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15547 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15548 @cindex backup files
15549 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
15550 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If
15551 you wish to switch this off, you could say something like the
15552 following in your @file{.emacs} file:
15555 (defun turn-off-backup ()
15556 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
15558 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
15561 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15562 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15563 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
15564 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
15565 extract some information from it before removing it.
15567 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15568 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15569 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
15570 default is @code{nil}.
15572 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15573 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15574 The extension for @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
15576 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
15577 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
15578 The directory where the @acronym{NOV} files should be stored. If
15579 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15581 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15582 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15583 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
15584 default is @code{nil}.
15586 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15587 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15588 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
15590 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
15591 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
15592 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If
15593 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15598 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
15599 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
15600 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
15601 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
15602 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
15603 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
15606 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
15607 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
15609 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
15610 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
15611 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
15612 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
15613 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
15615 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
15616 typically done by @acronym{NNTP} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
15617 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
15618 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @acronym{NNTP} server), and
15619 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
15620 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
15621 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
15622 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
15625 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
15626 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
15627 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
15628 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
15633 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
15634 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
15635 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
15636 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
15637 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
15638 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
15639 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
15640 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
15641 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
15642 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
15643 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
15644 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
15645 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
15650 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
15651 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
15652 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
15653 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
15654 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
15655 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
15656 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
15657 Rmail was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
15658 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote Rmail
15659 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
15660 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
15661 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
15662 headers/status bits stuff. Rmail itself still exists as well, of
15663 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
15665 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
15666 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
15671 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
15672 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
15673 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
15674 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
15675 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
15676 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
15677 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
15678 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
15679 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
15680 @acronym{NNTP} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
15681 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
15682 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
15683 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
15684 provided by the active file and overviews.
15686 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
15687 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
15688 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
15689 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
15690 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
15693 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
15694 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
15699 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
15700 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
15701 individual files, but with little or no indexing support---@code{nnmh}
15702 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
15703 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
15704 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
15705 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
15709 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
15710 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
15711 itself puts @emph{all} one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
15712 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
15713 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
15714 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
15715 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
15716 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
15717 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
15719 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
15720 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
15721 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
15722 friendly mail back end all over.
15726 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses
15727 incompatible group parameters, slightly different from those of other
15730 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
15731 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
15732 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
15733 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
15734 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
15735 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
15736 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to
15737 @uref{http://www.namesys.com/, ReiserFS} or another non-block-structured
15740 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
15741 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
15742 This means you can skip Gnus' mail splitting if your mail is already
15743 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
15744 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
15745 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
15746 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
15747 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
15748 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
15749 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will not
15750 undergo treatment such as duplicate checking.
15752 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
15753 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
15754 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
15755 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
15756 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
15759 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
15760 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
15761 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
15762 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
15763 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
15764 would) to make it use less memory. This caching will probably be
15765 removed in the future.
15767 Startup is likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than with other
15768 back ends. Everything else is likely to be faster, depending in part
15769 on your file system.
15771 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
15772 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
15777 @node Browsing the Web
15778 @section Browsing the Web
15780 @cindex browsing the web
15784 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
15785 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
15786 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
15787 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
15788 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
15789 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
15790 even know what a news group is.
15792 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
15793 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
15794 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
15795 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
15796 you mad in the end.
15798 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
15801 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
15802 interfaces to these sources.
15806 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
15807 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
15808 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
15809 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
15810 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
15811 * Customizing W3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/W3 from Gnus.
15814 All the web sources require Emacs/W3 and the url library or those
15815 alternatives to work.
15817 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
15818 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @acronym{HTML} data
15819 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
15820 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
15821 though, you should be ok.
15823 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
15824 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
15825 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
15826 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
15827 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
15829 @node Archiving Mail
15830 @subsection Archiving Mail
15831 @cindex archiving mail
15832 @cindex backup of mail
15834 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
15835 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
15836 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
15837 marks is fairly simple.
15839 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
15840 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
15843 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
15844 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
15845 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
15846 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
15847 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
15848 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
15849 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
15850 before you restore the data.
15852 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
15853 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
15854 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
15855 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
15856 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
15857 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
15858 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
15859 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
15860 is unnecessary in that case.
15863 @subsection Web Searches
15868 @cindex Usenet searches
15869 @cindex searching the Usenet
15871 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
15872 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
15873 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
15874 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
15875 searches without having to use a browser.
15877 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
15878 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
15879 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
15880 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
15881 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
15883 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
15884 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
15885 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
15886 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
15887 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
15888 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
15889 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
15890 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
15891 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
15892 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
15895 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
15896 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
15897 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'@^etre} is to
15898 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
15899 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
15900 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
15902 You must have the @code{url} and @code{W3} package or those alternatives
15903 (try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{mm-url} variable group)
15904 installed to be able to use @code{nnweb}.
15906 Virtual server variables:
15911 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
15912 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
15913 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
15916 @vindex nnweb-search
15917 The search string to feed to the search engine.
15919 @item nnweb-max-hits
15920 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
15921 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
15924 @item nnweb-type-definition
15925 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
15926 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
15927 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
15932 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
15936 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
15939 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
15942 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
15946 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
15953 @subsection Slashdot
15957 @uref{http://slashdot.org/, Slashdot} is a popular news site, with
15958 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
15959 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
15961 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
15962 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
15965 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15966 '((nnslashdot "")))
15969 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
15970 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
15971 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
15972 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
15973 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
15976 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
15977 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
15979 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
15980 comments), some light @acronym{HTML}izations will be performed. In
15981 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
15982 @samp{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @samp{br} added to
15983 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @acronym{HTML}
15984 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
15985 @acronym{HTML} forms.
15987 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
15990 @item nnslashdot-threaded
15991 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
15992 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
15993 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
15994 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
15995 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
15996 but much, much slower than unthreaded.
15998 @item nnslashdot-login-name
15999 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
16000 The login name to use when posting.
16002 @item nnslashdot-password
16003 @vindex nnslashdot-password
16004 The password to use when posting.
16006 @item nnslashdot-directory
16007 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
16008 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
16009 @file{~/News/slashdot/}.
16011 @item nnslashdot-active-url
16012 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
16013 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch the
16014 information on news articles and comments. The default is@*
16015 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
16017 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
16018 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
16019 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch comments.
16021 @item nnslashdot-article-url
16022 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
16023 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch the news
16024 article. The default is
16025 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
16027 @item nnslashdot-threshold
16028 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
16029 The score threshold. The default is -1.
16031 @item nnslashdot-group-number
16032 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
16033 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
16034 updated. The default is 0.
16041 @subsection Ultimate
16043 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
16045 @uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/, The Ultimate Bulletin Board} is
16046 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
16047 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
16048 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
16050 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
16051 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
16052 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @acronym{URL}
16053 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
16054 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
16055 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
16056 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
16058 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
16061 @item nnultimate-directory
16062 @vindex nnultimate-directory
16063 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is@*
16064 @file{~/News/ultimate/}.
16069 @subsection Web Archive
16071 @cindex Web Archive
16073 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
16074 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
16075 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
16076 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
16079 @findex gnus-group-make-warchive-group
16080 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
16081 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
16082 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET @var{an_egroup} RET egroups RET
16083 www.egroups.com RET @var{your@@email.address} RET}. (Substitute the
16084 @var{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
16085 @var{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
16086 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
16088 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
16091 @item nnwarchive-directory
16092 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
16093 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is@*
16094 @file{~/News/warchive/}.
16096 @item nnwarchive-login
16097 @vindex nnwarchive-login
16098 The account name on the web server.
16100 @item nnwarchive-passwd
16101 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
16102 The password for your account on the web server.
16110 Some web sites have an RDF Site Summary (@acronym{RSS}).
16111 @acronym{RSS} is a format for summarizing headlines from news related
16112 sites (such as BBC or CNN). But basically anything list-like can be
16113 presented as an @acronym{RSS} feed: weblogs, changelogs or recent
16114 changes to a wiki (e.g. @url{http://cliki.net/recent-changes.rdf}).
16116 @acronym{RSS} has a quite regular and nice interface, and it's
16117 possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
16119 Note: you had better use Emacs which supports the @code{utf-8} coding
16120 system because @acronym{RSS} uses UTF-8 for encoding non-@acronym{ASCII}
16121 text by default. It is also used by default for non-@acronym{ASCII}
16124 @kindex G R (Group)
16125 Use @kbd{G R} from the group buffer to subscribe to a feed---you will be
16126 prompted for the location, the title and the description of the feed.
16127 The title, which allows any characters, will be used for the group name
16128 and the name of the group data file. The description can be omitted.
16130 An easy way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something like
16131 the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET y}, then
16132 subscribe to groups.
16134 The @code{nnrss} back end saves the group data file in
16135 @code{nnrss-directory} (see below) for each @code{nnrss} group. File
16136 names containing non-@acronym{ASCII} characters will be encoded by the
16137 coding system specified with the @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system}
16138 variable. If it is @code{nil}, in Emacs the coding system defaults to
16139 the value of @code{default-file-name-coding-system}. If you are using
16140 XEmacs and want to use non-@acronym{ASCII} group names, you should set
16141 the value for the @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system} variable properly.
16144 You can also use the following commands to import and export your
16145 subscriptions from a file in @acronym{OPML} format (Outline Processor
16148 @defun nnrss-opml-import file
16149 Prompt for an @acronym{OPML} file, and subscribe to each feed in the
16153 @defun nnrss-opml-export
16154 Write your current @acronym{RSS} subscriptions to a buffer in
16155 @acronym{OPML} format.
16158 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
16161 @item nnrss-directory
16162 @vindex nnrss-directory
16163 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
16164 @file{~/News/rss/}.
16166 @item nnrss-file-coding-system
16167 @vindex nnrss-file-coding-system
16168 The coding system used when reading and writing the @code{nnrss} groups
16169 data files. The default is the value of
16170 @code{mm-universal-coding-system} (which defaults to @code{emacs-mule}
16171 in Emacs or @code{escape-quoted} in XEmacs).
16173 @item nnrss-use-local
16174 @vindex nnrss-use-local
16175 @findex nnrss-generate-download-script
16176 If you set @code{nnrss-use-local} to @code{t}, @code{nnrss} will read
16177 the feeds from local files in @code{nnrss-directory}. You can use
16178 the command @code{nnrss-generate-download-script} to generate a
16179 download script using @command{wget}.
16182 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
16183 the summary buffer.
16186 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
16187 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
16189 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
16191 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
16192 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
16195 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
16198 (require 'browse-url)
16200 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
16202 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
16205 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
16206 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
16209 (browse-url (cdr url))
16210 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
16211 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
16213 (eval-after-load "gnus"
16214 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
16215 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
16216 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
16219 @node Customizing W3
16220 @subsection Customizing W3
16226 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/W3 (or those
16227 alternatives) to display web pages. Emacs/W3 is documented in its own
16228 manual, but there are some things that may be more relevant for Gnus
16231 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/W3 follow links
16232 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
16233 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
16236 (eval-after-load "w3"
16238 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
16239 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
16240 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
16241 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
16243 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
16246 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in W3-rendered
16247 @acronym{HTML} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
16254 @cindex @acronym{IMAP}
16256 @acronym{IMAP} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or @dots{}),
16257 think of it as a modernized @acronym{NNTP}. Connecting to a @acronym{IMAP}
16258 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
16259 specify the network address of the server.
16261 @acronym{IMAP} has two properties. First, @acronym{IMAP} can do
16262 everything that @acronym{POP} can, it can hence be viewed as a
16263 @acronym{POP++}. Secondly, @acronym{IMAP} is a mail storage protocol,
16264 similar to @acronym{NNTP} being a news storage protocol---however,
16265 @acronym{IMAP} offers more features than @acronym{NNTP} because news
16266 is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
16268 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a @acronym{POP++}, use an imap
16269 entry in @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from
16270 the @acronym{IMAP} server and store them on the local disk. This is
16271 not the usage described in this section---@xref{Mail Sources}.
16273 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
16274 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
16275 manipulate mails stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server. This is the kind of
16276 usage explained in this section.
16278 A server configuration in @file{~/.gnus.el} with a few @acronym{IMAP}
16279 servers might look something like the following. (Note that for
16280 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you need external programs and libraries,
16284 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
16285 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; @r{no special configuration}
16286 ; @r{perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:}
16288 (nnimap-address "localhost")
16289 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
16290 ; @r{a UW server running on localhost}
16292 (nnimap-server-port 143)
16293 (nnimap-address "localhost")
16294 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
16295 ; @r{anonymous public cyrus server:}
16296 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
16297 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
16298 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
16299 (nnimap-stream network))
16300 ; @r{a ssl server on a non-standard port:}
16302 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
16303 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
16304 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
16307 After defining the new server, you can subscribe to groups on the
16308 server using normal Gnus commands such as @kbd{U} in the Group Buffer
16309 (@pxref{Subscription Commands}) or via the Server Buffer
16310 (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
16312 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
16317 @item nnimap-address
16318 @vindex nnimap-address
16320 The address of the remote @acronym{IMAP} server. Defaults to the virtual
16321 server name if not specified.
16323 @item nnimap-server-port
16324 @vindex nnimap-server-port
16325 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}.
16327 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
16330 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16331 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
16334 @item nnimap-list-pattern
16335 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
16336 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
16337 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
16338 interested in a few---some servers export your home directory via
16339 @acronym{IMAP}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
16340 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
16342 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
16343 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
16344 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
16347 Example server specification:
16350 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16351 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
16352 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
16355 @item nnimap-stream
16356 @vindex nnimap-stream
16357 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
16358 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
16359 of @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}. (@acronym{IMAP} over
16360 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can
16361 be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
16363 Example server specification:
16366 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16367 (nnimap-stream ssl))
16370 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
16374 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
16375 @samp{gsasl} or @samp{imtest} program.
16377 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
16379 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
16380 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
16383 @dfn{tls:} Connect through @acronym{TLS}. Requires GNUTLS (the program
16384 @samp{gnutls-cli}).
16386 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through @acronym{SSL}. Requires OpenSSL (the program
16387 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
16389 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @acronym{IMAP} connection.
16391 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
16394 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
16395 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
16396 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
16397 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
16398 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
16399 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
16400 restrictions on @acronym{IMAP} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
16401 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
16402 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
16405 For @acronym{TLS} connection, the @code{gnutls-cli} program from GNUTLS is
16406 needed. It is available from
16407 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/}.
16409 @vindex imap-gssapi-program
16410 This parameter specifies a list of command lines that invoke a GSSAPI
16411 authenticated @acronym{IMAP} stream in a subshell. They are tried
16412 sequentially until a connection is made, or the list has been
16413 exhausted. By default, @samp{gsasl} from GNU SASL, available from
16414 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gsasl/}, and the @samp{imtest}
16415 program from Cyrus IMAPD (see @code{imap-kerberos4-program}), are
16418 @vindex imap-ssl-program
16419 For @acronym{SSL} connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
16420 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
16421 and nnimap support it too---although the most recent versions of
16422 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
16423 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
16424 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
16427 @vindex imap-shell-program
16428 @vindex imap-shell-host
16429 For @acronym{IMAP} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
16430 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
16432 @item nnimap-authenticator
16433 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
16435 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
16436 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
16438 Example server specification:
16441 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16442 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
16445 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
16449 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
16450 external program @code{gsasl} or @code{imtest}.
16452 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
16455 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
16456 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
16458 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
16460 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
16462 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as ``anonymous'', supplying your email address as password.
16465 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
16467 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
16468 Unlike Parmenides the @acronym{IMAP} designers have decided things that
16469 don't exist actually do exist. More specifically, @acronym{IMAP} has
16470 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
16471 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
16472 nnimap does when you delete an article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
16475 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
16476 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
16477 running in circles yet?
16479 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
16480 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
16483 The possible options are:
16488 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as ``Deleted'' when
16491 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
16492 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @acronym{IMAP} clients
16493 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
16494 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
16496 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
16501 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
16502 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
16504 If non-@code{nil} (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as
16505 well), for other @acronym{IMAP} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
16506 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
16507 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @acronym{IMAP}
16508 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @acronym{IMAP}
16511 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
16512 enable per-user persistent dormant flags, using something like:
16515 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
16516 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
16517 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
16518 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
16521 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
16522 as ticked for other users.
16524 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
16526 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
16528 This variable contain the @acronym{IMAP} search command sent to server when
16529 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
16530 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
16531 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
16533 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
16534 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
16535 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
16536 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
16538 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
16539 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
16541 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
16542 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
16543 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
16544 @ref{NNTP}. An example of an .authinfo line for an IMAP server, is:
16547 machine students.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis port imap
16550 Note that it should be @code{port imap}, or @code{port 143}, if you
16551 use a @code{nnimap-stream} of @code{tls} or @code{ssl}, even if the
16552 actual port number used is port 993 for secured IMAP. For
16553 convenience, Gnus will accept @code{port imaps} as a synonym of
16556 @item nnimap-need-unselect-to-notice-new-mail
16557 @vindex nnimap-need-unselect-to-notice-new-mail
16559 Unselect mailboxes before looking for new mail in them. Some servers
16560 seem to need this under some circumstances; it was reported that
16566 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
16567 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
16568 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
16569 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
16570 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
16571 * Debugging IMAP:: What to do when things don't work.
16576 @node Splitting in IMAP
16577 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
16578 @cindex splitting imap mail
16580 Splitting is something Gnus users have loved and used for years, and now
16581 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
16582 @acronym{IMAP} servers have server side splitting and those that have
16583 splitting seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that
16584 @acronym{IMAP} support for Gnus has to do its own splitting.
16588 (Incidentally, people seem to have been dreaming on, and Sieve has
16589 gaining a market share and is supported by several IMAP servers.
16590 Fortunately, Gnus support it too, @xref{Sieve Commands}.)
16592 Here are the variables of interest:
16596 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
16597 @cindex splitting, crosspost
16599 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
16601 If non-@code{nil}, do crossposting if several split methods match the
16602 mail. If @code{nil}, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule}
16603 found will be used.
16605 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
16607 @item nnimap-split-inbox
16608 @cindex splitting, inbox
16610 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
16612 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @acronym{IMAP}
16613 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to @code{nil}, which means that
16614 splitting is disabled!
16617 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
16618 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
16621 No nnmail equivalent.
16623 @item nnimap-split-rule
16624 @cindex splitting, rules
16625 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
16627 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
16630 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
16631 sublist gives the name of the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox to move articles
16632 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
16633 Neither did I, we need examples.
16636 (setq nnimap-split-rule
16638 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
16639 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
16640 ("INBOX.private" "")))
16643 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
16644 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
16645 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
16647 The first string may contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by
16648 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
16652 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
16655 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
16656 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
16658 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
16659 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
16660 containing the headers of the article. It should return a
16661 non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
16663 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
16664 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
16665 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
16666 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
16667 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
16668 them every time you fetch new mail.)
16670 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
16671 end. The first rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have
16672 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.
16674 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
16675 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
16676 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
16678 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
16680 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
16681 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
16682 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
16685 (setq nnimap-split-rule
16686 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
16687 ("junk" "From:.*Simon"))))
16688 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
16689 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
16690 ("junk" my-junk-func))))))
16693 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
16694 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
16695 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
16696 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
16697 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
16698 group/function elements.
16700 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
16702 @item nnimap-split-predicate
16704 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
16706 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
16707 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
16709 This might be useful if you use another @acronym{IMAP} client to read mail in
16710 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
16711 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
16714 @item nnimap-split-fancy
16715 @cindex splitting, fancy
16716 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
16717 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
16719 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
16720 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
16721 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
16723 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
16724 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
16725 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
16726 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
16731 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
16732 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
16735 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
16737 @item nnimap-split-download-body
16738 @findex nnimap-split-download-body
16739 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
16741 Set to non-@code{nil} to download entire articles during splitting.
16742 This is generally not required, and will slow things down
16743 considerably. You may need it if you want to use an advanced
16744 splitting function that analyzes the body to split the article.
16748 @node Expiring in IMAP
16749 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
16750 @cindex expiring imap mail
16752 Even though @code{nnimap} is not a proper @code{nnmail} derived back
16753 end, it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring
16754 Mail}). Unlike splitting in @acronym{IMAP} (@pxref{Splitting in
16755 IMAP}) it does not clone the @code{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating
16756 @var{nnimap-expiry-wait}) but reuse the @code{nnmail} variables. What
16757 follows below are the variables used by the @code{nnimap} expiry
16760 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server is
16761 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
16762 @code{imap} client specific mark, @code{gnus-expire}, and stored on the
16763 message. This means that likely only Gnus will understand and treat
16764 the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may allow
16765 you to view client specific flags on the message. It also means that
16766 your server must support permanent storage of client specific flags on
16767 messages. Most do, fortunately.
16771 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
16772 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
16774 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
16775 number, the symbol @code{immediate} or @code{never}.
16777 @item nnmail-expiry-target
16779 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
16780 @code{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
16781 that if the destination is a @acronym{IMAP} group on the same server, the
16782 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
16786 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
16787 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
16788 @cindex editing imap acls
16789 @cindex Access Control Lists
16790 @cindex Editing @acronym{IMAP} ACLs
16791 @kindex G l (Group)
16792 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
16794 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @acronym{IMAP} for
16795 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
16796 @acronym{IMAP} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
16799 To edit an ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
16800 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with an ACL
16801 editing window with detailed instructions.
16803 Some possible uses:
16807 Giving ``anyone'' the ``lrs'' rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
16808 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
16809 follow the list without subscribing to it.
16811 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
16812 ``anyone'' posting ("p") capabilities to have ``plussing'' work (that is,
16813 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox
16817 @node Expunging mailboxes
16818 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
16822 @cindex manual expunging
16823 @kindex G x (Group)
16824 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
16826 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
16827 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
16828 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
16830 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
16833 @node A note on namespaces
16834 @subsection A note on namespaces
16835 @cindex IMAP namespace
16838 The @acronym{IMAP} protocol has a concept called namespaces, described
16839 by the following text in the RFC2060:
16842 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
16844 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
16845 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
16846 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
16847 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
16849 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
16850 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
16851 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
16852 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
16853 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
16854 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
16857 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the
16858 @acronym{IMAP} implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace
16859 prefixes in a way that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
16861 Specifically, University of Washington's @acronym{IMAP} server uses
16862 mailbox names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only
16863 in the @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is
16864 created (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed
16865 without the namespace prefix, i.e. @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do
16866 not make it possible for the user to guarantee that user entered
16867 mailbox names will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands,
16868 you should simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in
16871 See the UoW IMAPD documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
16872 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
16873 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
16875 @node Debugging IMAP
16876 @subsection Debugging IMAP
16877 @cindex IMAP debugging
16878 @cindex protocol dump (IMAP)
16880 @acronym{IMAP} is a complex protocol, more so than @acronym{NNTP} or
16881 @acronym{POP3}. Implementation bugs are not unlikely, and we do our
16882 best to fix them right away. If you encounter odd behavior, chances
16883 are that either the server or Gnus is buggy.
16885 If you are familiar with network protocols in general, you will
16886 probably be able to extract some clues from the protocol dump of the
16887 exchanges between Gnus and the server. Even if you are not familiar
16888 with network protocols, when you include the protocol dump in
16889 @acronym{IMAP}-related bug reports you are helping us with data
16890 critical to solving the problem. Therefore, we strongly encourage you
16891 to include the protocol dump when reporting IMAP bugs in Gnus.
16895 Because the protocol dump, when enabled, generates lots of data, it is
16896 disabled by default. You can enable it by setting @code{imap-log} as
16903 This instructs the @code{imap.el} package to log any exchanges with
16904 the server. The log is stored in the buffer @samp{*imap-log*}. Look
16905 for error messages, which sometimes are tagged with the keyword
16906 @code{BAD}---but when submitting a bug, make sure to include all the
16909 @node Other Sources
16910 @section Other Sources
16912 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
16913 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
16917 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
16918 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
16919 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
16920 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
16921 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
16925 @node Directory Groups
16926 @subsection Directory Groups
16928 @cindex directory groups
16930 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
16931 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
16934 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
16935 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
16936 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
16937 back end to read directories. Big deal.
16939 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
16940 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
16941 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
16942 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
16943 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
16945 @code{nndir} will use @acronym{NOV} files if they are present.
16947 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
16948 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
16949 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
16950 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
16953 @node Anything Groups
16954 @subsection Anything Groups
16957 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
16958 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
16959 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
16962 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
16963 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
16964 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
16965 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
16966 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
16967 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
16968 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
16969 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
16970 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
16971 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
16974 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
16975 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
16976 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
16977 in the article buffer, just as usual.
16979 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
16980 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
16981 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
16982 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
16984 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
16985 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
16986 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
16987 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
16988 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
16989 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
16990 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
16991 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
16996 @item nneething-map-file-directory
16997 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
16998 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
16999 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
17001 @item nneething-exclude-files
17002 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
17003 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
17004 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
17006 @item nneething-include-files
17007 @vindex nneething-include-files
17008 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
17009 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
17011 @item nneething-map-file
17012 @vindex nneething-map-file
17013 Name of the map files.
17017 @node Document Groups
17018 @subsection Document Groups
17020 @cindex documentation group
17023 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
17024 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
17030 The Babyl (Rmail) mail box.
17035 The standard Unix mbox file.
17037 @cindex MMDF mail box
17039 The MMDF mail box format.
17042 Several news articles appended into a file.
17044 @cindex rnews batch files
17046 The rnews batch transport format.
17049 Netscape mail boxes.
17052 @acronym{MIME} multipart messages.
17054 @item standard-digest
17055 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
17058 A @acronym{MIME} digest of messages.
17060 @item lanl-gov-announce
17061 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
17063 @cindex forwarded messages
17064 @item rfc822-forward
17065 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
17068 The Outlook mail box.
17071 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
17074 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
17077 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
17080 An RFC934-forwarded message.
17086 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
17089 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
17095 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
17096 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
17097 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
17100 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
17101 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
17102 group. And that's it.
17104 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
17105 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
17106 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
17107 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
17108 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
17109 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
17110 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
17111 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
17112 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
17113 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
17115 Virtual server variables:
17118 @item nndoc-article-type
17119 @vindex nndoc-article-type
17120 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
17121 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
17122 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
17123 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
17124 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
17126 @item nndoc-post-type
17127 @vindex nndoc-post-type
17128 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
17129 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
17134 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
17138 @node Document Server Internals
17139 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
17141 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
17142 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
17143 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
17144 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
17146 First, here's an example document type definition:
17150 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
17151 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
17154 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
17155 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
17156 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
17157 types can be defined with very few settings:
17160 @item first-article
17161 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
17162 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
17165 @item article-begin
17166 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
17167 says what the beginning of each article looks like. To do more
17168 complicated things that cannot be dealt with a simple regexp, you can
17169 use @code{article-begin-function} instead of this.
17171 @item article-begin-function
17172 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the beginning
17173 of each article. This setting overrides @code{article-begin}.
17176 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
17177 article. To do more complicated things that cannot be dealt with a
17178 simple regexp, you can use @code{head-begin-function} instead of this.
17180 @item head-begin-function
17181 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
17182 the article. This setting overrides @code{head-begin}.
17185 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
17186 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
17189 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
17190 to @samp{^\n}. To do more complicated things that cannot be dealt with
17191 a simple regexp, you can use @code{body-begin-function} instead of this.
17193 @item body-begin-function
17194 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
17195 of the article. This setting overrides @code{body-begin}.
17198 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article. To do
17199 more complicated things that cannot be dealt with a simple regexp, you
17200 can use @code{body-end-function} instead of this.
17202 @item body-end-function
17203 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
17204 the article. This setting overrides @code{body-end}.
17207 If present, this should match the beginning of the file. All text
17208 before this regexp will be totally ignored.
17211 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
17212 regexp will be totally ignored.
17216 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
17217 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
17218 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
17219 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
17220 something that's palatable for Gnus:
17223 @item prepare-body-function
17224 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
17225 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
17226 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
17228 @item article-transform-function
17229 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
17230 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
17231 body of the article.
17233 @item generate-head-function
17234 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
17235 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
17236 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
17237 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
17239 @item generate-article-function
17240 If present, this function is called to generate an entire article that
17241 Gnus can understand. It is called with the article number as a
17242 parameter when requesting all articles.
17244 @item dissection-function
17245 If present, this function is called to dissect a document by itself,
17246 overriding @code{first-article}, @code{article-begin},
17247 @code{article-begin-function}, @code{head-begin},
17248 @code{head-begin-function}, @code{head-end}, @code{body-begin},
17249 @code{body-begin-function}, @code{body-end}, @code{body-end-function},
17250 @code{file-begin}, and @code{file-end}.
17254 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
17259 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
17260 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
17261 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
17262 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
17263 (head-end . "^ ?$")
17264 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
17265 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
17266 (subtype digest guess))
17269 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
17270 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
17271 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
17272 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
17273 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
17275 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
17276 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first
17277 is the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says
17278 where in the document type definition alist to put this definition.
17279 The alist is traversed sequentially, and
17280 @code{nndoc-@var{type}-type-p} is called for a given type @var{type}.
17281 So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document is of
17282 @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
17283 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it
17284 is of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
17285 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number
17286 means low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
17294 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
17295 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
17296 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
17298 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
17299 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
17300 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
17303 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
17304 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
17305 that interested in doing things properly.
17307 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
17308 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
17311 First some terminology:
17316 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
17317 get news and/or mail from.
17320 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
17321 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
17324 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
17328 @item message packets
17329 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
17330 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
17331 default, where @var{x} is a number.
17333 @item response packets
17334 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
17335 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
17336 default, where @var{x} is a number.
17346 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
17347 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
17348 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
17349 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
17352 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
17355 You put the packet in your home directory.
17358 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
17359 the native or secondary server.
17362 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
17363 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
17366 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
17370 You transfer this packet to the server.
17373 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
17376 You then repeat until you die.
17380 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
17381 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
17384 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
17385 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
17386 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
17390 @node SOUP Commands
17391 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
17393 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
17397 @kindex G s b (Group)
17398 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
17399 Pack all unread articles in the current group
17400 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
17401 process/prefix convention.
17404 @kindex G s w (Group)
17405 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
17406 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
17409 @kindex G s s (Group)
17410 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
17411 Send all replies from the replies packet
17412 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
17415 @kindex G s p (Group)
17416 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
17417 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
17420 @kindex G s r (Group)
17421 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
17422 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
17425 @kindex O s (Summary)
17426 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
17427 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
17428 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
17429 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17434 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
17439 @item gnus-soup-directory
17440 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
17441 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
17442 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
17444 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
17445 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
17446 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
17447 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
17449 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
17450 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
17451 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
17452 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
17454 @item gnus-soup-packer
17455 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
17456 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
17457 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
17459 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
17460 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
17461 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
17462 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
17464 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
17465 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
17466 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
17468 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
17469 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
17470 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
17471 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
17477 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
17480 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
17481 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
17482 you can read them at leisure.
17484 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
17488 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
17489 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
17490 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
17491 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
17493 @item nnsoup-directory
17494 @vindex nnsoup-directory
17495 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
17496 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
17498 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
17499 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
17500 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
17501 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/}.
17503 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
17504 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
17505 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
17506 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
17507 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
17509 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
17510 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
17511 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
17512 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
17514 @item nnsoup-active-file
17515 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
17516 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
17517 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
17518 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
17519 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
17521 @item nnsoup-packer
17522 @vindex nnsoup-packer
17523 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
17524 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
17526 @item nnsoup-unpacker
17527 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
17528 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
17529 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
17531 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
17532 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
17533 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
17536 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
17537 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
17538 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
17541 @item nnsoup-always-save
17542 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
17543 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
17549 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
17551 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
17552 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
17553 more for that to happen.
17555 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
17556 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
17557 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
17560 In specific, this is what it does:
17563 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
17564 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
17567 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
17568 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
17569 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
17572 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
17573 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
17574 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
17577 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
17578 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
17579 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
17581 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
17587 @item nngateway-address
17588 @vindex nngateway-address
17589 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
17591 @item nngateway-header-transformation
17592 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
17593 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
17594 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
17595 transformation should be called, and defaults to
17596 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
17597 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
17600 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
17601 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
17602 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
17605 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
17608 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
17611 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
17614 The following pre-defined functions exist:
17616 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
17619 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
17620 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
17621 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
17623 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17625 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17626 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
17627 @code{nngateway-address}.
17635 (setq gnus-post-method
17637 "mail2news@@replay.com"
17638 (nngateway-header-transformation
17639 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
17642 So, to use this, simply say something like:
17645 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
17650 @node Combined Groups
17651 @section Combined Groups
17653 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
17657 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
17658 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
17662 @node Virtual Groups
17663 @subsection Virtual Groups
17665 @cindex virtual groups
17666 @cindex merging groups
17668 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
17671 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
17672 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
17673 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
17675 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
17676 regexp to match component groups.
17678 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
17679 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
17680 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
17681 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
17682 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
17683 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
17684 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
17685 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
17687 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
17688 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
17691 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
17694 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
17695 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
17697 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
17698 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
17699 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
17700 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
17703 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
17706 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
17707 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
17708 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
17710 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
17711 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
17712 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
17713 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
17714 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
17716 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
17717 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
17718 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
17720 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
17721 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
17722 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
17723 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
17724 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
17725 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
17726 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
17727 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
17728 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
17729 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
17730 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
17732 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
17733 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
17734 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
17735 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
17736 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
17737 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
17738 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
17740 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
17741 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
17743 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
17744 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
17748 @node Kibozed Groups
17749 @subsection Kibozed Groups
17753 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by the @acronym{OED} as ``grepping through
17754 (parts of) the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will
17755 do this for you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @acronym{NNTP} server
17756 down to a halt with useless requests! Oh happiness!
17758 @kindex G k (Group)
17759 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
17762 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
17763 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
17764 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between
17765 @code{nnkiboze} and @code{nnvirtual} end.
17767 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an
17768 @code{nnkiboze} group must have a score file to say what articles are
17769 to be included in the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
17771 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
17772 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
17773 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
17774 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time.
17775 Lots of time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the
17776 headers from all the articles in all the component groups and run them
17777 through the scoring process to determine if there are any articles in
17778 the groups that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
17780 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
17781 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
17782 @acronym{NNTP} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
17783 Stranger things have happened.
17785 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
17786 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
17788 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
17789 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
17790 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/kiboze/} by default.
17791 One contains the @acronym{NOV} header lines for all the articles in
17792 the group, and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store
17793 information on what groups have been searched through to find
17794 component articles.
17796 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
17797 their @acronym{NOV} lines removed from the @acronym{NOV} file.
17800 @node Email Based Diary
17801 @section Email Based Diary
17803 @cindex email based diary
17806 This section describes a special mail back end called @code{nndiary},
17807 and its companion library @code{gnus-diary}. It is ``special'' in the
17808 sense that it is not meant to be one of the standard alternatives for
17809 reading mail with Gnus. See @ref{Choosing a Mail Back End} for that.
17810 Instead, it is used to treat @emph{some} of your mails in a special way,
17811 namely, as event reminders.
17813 Here is a typical scenario:
17817 You've got a date with Andy Mc Dowell or Bruce Willis (select according
17818 to your sexual preference) in one month. You don't want to forget it.
17820 So you send a ``reminder'' message (actually, a diary one) to yourself.
17822 You forget all about it and keep on getting and reading new mail, as usual.
17824 From time to time, as you type `g' in the group buffer and as the date
17825 is getting closer, the message will pop up again to remind you of your
17826 appointment, just as if it were new and unread.
17828 Read your ``new'' messages, this one included, and start dreaming again
17829 of the night you're gonna have.
17831 Once the date is over (you actually fell asleep just after dinner), the
17832 message will be automatically deleted if it is marked as expirable.
17835 The Gnus Diary back end has the ability to handle regular appointments
17836 (that wouldn't ever be deleted) as well as punctual ones, operates as a
17837 real mail back end and is configurable in many ways. All of this is
17838 explained in the sections below.
17841 * The NNDiary Back End:: Basic setup and usage.
17842 * The Gnus Diary Library:: Utility toolkit on top of nndiary.
17843 * Sending or Not Sending:: A final note on sending diary messages.
17847 @node The NNDiary Back End
17848 @subsection The NNDiary Back End
17850 @cindex the nndiary back end
17852 @code{nndiary} is a back end very similar to @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
17853 Spool}). Actually, it could appear as a mix of @code{nnml} and
17854 @code{nndraft}. If you know @code{nnml}, you're already familiar with
17855 the message storing scheme of @code{nndiary}: one file per message, one
17856 directory per group.
17858 Before anything, there is one requirement to be able to run
17859 @code{nndiary} properly: you @emph{must} use the group timestamp feature
17860 of Gnus. This adds a timestamp to each group's parameters. @ref{Group
17861 Timestamp} to see how it's done.
17864 * Diary Messages:: What makes a message valid for nndiary.
17865 * Running NNDiary:: NNDiary has two modes of operation.
17866 * Customizing NNDiary:: Bells and whistles.
17869 @node Diary Messages
17870 @subsubsection Diary Messages
17871 @cindex nndiary messages
17872 @cindex nndiary mails
17874 @code{nndiary} messages are just normal ones, except for the mandatory
17875 presence of 7 special headers. These headers are of the form
17876 @code{X-Diary-<something>}, @code{<something>} being one of
17877 @code{Minute}, @code{Hour}, @code{Dom}, @code{Month}, @code{Year},
17878 @code{Time-Zone} and @code{Dow}. @code{Dom} means ``Day of Month'', and
17879 @code{dow} means ``Day of Week''. These headers actually behave like
17880 crontab specifications and define the event date(s):
17884 For all headers except the @code{Time-Zone} one, a header value is
17885 either a star (meaning all possible values), or a list of fields
17886 (separated by a comma).
17888 A field is either an integer, or a range.
17890 A range is two integers separated by a dash.
17892 Possible integer values are 0--59 for @code{Minute}, 0--23 for
17893 @code{Hour}, 1--31 for @code{Dom}, 1--12 for @code{Month}, above 1971
17894 for @code{Year} and 0--6 for @code{Dow} (0 meaning Sunday).
17896 As a special case, a star in either @code{Dom} or @code{Dow} doesn't
17897 mean ``all possible values'', but ``use only the other field''. Note
17898 that if both are star'ed, the use of either one gives the same result.
17900 The @code{Time-Zone} header is special in that it can only have one
17901 value (@code{GMT}, for instance). A star doesn't mean ``all possible
17902 values'' (because it makes no sense), but ``the current local time
17903 zone''. Most of the time, you'll be using a star here. However, for a
17904 list of available time zone values, see the variable
17905 @code{nndiary-headers}.
17908 As a concrete example, here are the diary headers to add to your message
17909 for specifying ``Each Monday and each 1st of month, at 12:00, 20:00,
17910 21:00, 22:00, 23:00 and 24:00, from 1999 to 2010'' (I'll let you find
17915 X-Diary-Hour: 12, 20-24
17918 X-Diary-Year: 1999-2010
17920 X-Diary-Time-Zone: *
17923 @node Running NNDiary
17924 @subsubsection Running NNDiary
17925 @cindex running nndiary
17926 @cindex nndiary operation modes
17928 @code{nndiary} has two modes of operation: ``traditional'' (the default)
17929 and ``autonomous''. In traditional mode, @code{nndiary} does not get new
17930 mail by itself. You have to move (@kbd{B m}) or copy (@kbd{B c}) mails
17931 from your primary mail back end to nndiary groups in order to handle them
17932 as diary messages. In autonomous mode, @code{nndiary} retrieves its own
17933 mail and handles it independently from your primary mail back end.
17935 One should note that Gnus is not inherently designed to allow several
17936 ``master'' mail back ends at the same time. However, this does make
17937 sense with @code{nndiary}: you really want to send and receive diary
17938 messages to your diary groups directly. So, @code{nndiary} supports
17939 being sort of a ``second primary mail back end'' (to my knowledge, it is
17940 the only back end offering this feature). However, there is a limitation
17941 (which I hope to fix some day): respooling doesn't work in autonomous
17944 In order to use @code{nndiary} in autonomous mode, you have several
17949 Allow @code{nndiary} to retrieve new mail by itself. Put the following
17950 line in your @file{gnusrc} file:
17953 (setq nndiary-get-new-mail t)
17956 You must arrange for diary messages (those containing @code{X-Diary-*}
17957 headers) to be split in a private folder @emph{before} Gnus treat them.
17958 Again, this is needed because Gnus cannot (yet ?) properly handle
17959 multiple primary mail back ends. Getting those messages from a separate
17960 source will compensate this misfeature to some extent.
17962 As an example, here's my procmailrc entry to store diary files in
17963 @file{~/.nndiary} (the default @code{nndiary} mail source file):
17972 Once this is done, you might want to customize the following two options
17973 that affect the diary mail retrieval and splitting processes:
17975 @defvar nndiary-mail-sources
17976 This is the diary-specific replacement for the standard
17977 @code{mail-sources} variable. It obeys the same syntax, and defaults to
17978 @code{(file :path "~/.nndiary")}.
17981 @defvar nndiary-split-methods
17982 This is the diary-specific replacement for the standard
17983 @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable. It obeys the same syntax.
17986 Finally, you may add a permanent @code{nndiary} virtual server
17987 (something like @code{(nndiary "diary")} should do) to your
17988 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}.
17990 Hopefully, almost everything (see the TODO section in
17991 @file{nndiary.el}) will work as expected when you restart Gnus: in
17992 autonomous mode, typing @kbd{g} and @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer, will
17993 also get your new diary mails and split them according to your
17994 diary-specific rules, @kbd{F} will find your new diary groups etc.
17996 @node Customizing NNDiary
17997 @subsubsection Customizing NNDiary
17998 @cindex customizing nndiary
17999 @cindex nndiary customization
18001 Now that @code{nndiary} is up and running, it's time to customize it.
18002 The custom group is called @code{nndiary} (no, really ?!). You should
18003 browse it to figure out which options you'd like to tweak. The following
18004 two variables are probably the only ones you will want to change:
18006 @defvar nndiary-reminders
18007 This is the list of times when you want to be reminded of your
18008 appointements (e.g. 3 weeks before, then 2 days before, then 1 hour
18009 before and that's it). Remember that ``being reminded'' means that the
18010 diary message will pop up as brand new and unread again when you get new
18014 @defvar nndiary-week-starts-on-monday
18015 Rather self-explanatory. Otherwise, Sunday is assumed (this is the
18020 @node The Gnus Diary Library
18021 @subsection The Gnus Diary Library
18023 @cindex the gnus diary library
18025 Using @code{nndiary} manually (I mean, writing the headers by hand and
18026 so on) would be rather boring. Fortunately, there is a library called
18027 @code{gnus-diary} written on top of @code{nndiary}, that does many
18028 useful things for you.
18030 In order to use it, add the following line to your @file{gnusrc} file:
18033 (require 'gnus-diary)
18036 Also, you shouldn't use any @code{gnus-user-format-function-[d|D]}
18037 (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}). @code{gnus-diary} provides both of these
18038 (sorry if you used them before).
18042 * Diary Summary Line Format:: A nicer summary buffer line format.
18043 * Diary Articles Sorting:: A nicer way to sort messages.
18044 * Diary Headers Generation:: Not doing it manually.
18045 * Diary Group Parameters:: Not handling them manually.
18048 @node Diary Summary Line Format
18049 @subsubsection Diary Summary Line Format
18050 @cindex diary summary buffer line
18051 @cindex diary summary line format
18053 Displaying diary messages in standard summary line format (usually
18054 something like @samp{From Joe: Subject}) is pretty useless. Most of
18055 the time, you're the one who wrote the message, and you mostly want to
18056 see the event's date.
18058 @code{gnus-diary} provides two supplemental user formats to be used in
18059 summary line formats. @code{D} corresponds to a formatted time string
18060 for the next occurrence of the event (e.g. ``Sat, Sep 22 01, 12:00''),
18061 while @code{d} corresponds to an approximative remaining time until the
18062 next occurrence of the event (e.g. ``in 6 months, 1 week'').
18064 For example, here's how Joe's birthday is displayed in my
18065 @code{nndiary+diary:birthdays} summary buffer (note that the message is
18066 expirable, but will never be deleted, as it specifies a periodic event):
18069 E Sat, Sep 22 01, 12:00: Joe's birthday (in 6 months, 1 week)
18072 In order to get something like the above, you would normally add the
18073 following line to your diary groups'parameters:
18076 (gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z %uD: %(%s%) (%ud)\n")
18079 However, @code{gnus-diary} does it automatically (@pxref{Diary Group
18080 Parameters}). You can however customize the provided summary line format
18081 with the following user options:
18083 @defvar gnus-diary-summary-line-format
18084 Defines the summary line format used for diary groups (@pxref{Summary
18085 Buffer Lines}). @code{gnus-diary} uses it to automatically update the
18086 diary groups'parameters.
18089 @defvar gnus-diary-time-format
18090 Defines the format to display dates in diary summary buffers. This is
18091 used by the @code{D} user format. See the docstring for details.
18094 @defvar gnus-diary-delay-format-function
18095 Defines the format function to use for displaying delays (remaining
18096 times) in diary summary buffers. This is used by the @code{d} user
18097 format. There are currently built-in functions for English and French;
18098 you can also define your own. See the docstring for details.
18101 @node Diary Articles Sorting
18102 @subsubsection Diary Articles Sorting
18103 @cindex diary articles sorting
18104 @cindex diary summary lines sorting
18105 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule
18106 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-schedule
18107 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-schedule
18109 @code{gnus-diary} provides new sorting functions (@pxref{Sorting the
18110 Summary Buffer} ) called @code{gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule},
18111 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-schedule} and
18112 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-schedule}. These functions let you organize
18113 your diary summary buffers from the closest event to the farthest one.
18115 @code{gnus-diary} automatically installs
18116 @code{gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule} as a menu item in the summary
18117 buffer's ``sort'' menu, and the two others as the primary (hence
18118 default) sorting functions in the group parameters (@pxref{Diary Group
18121 @node Diary Headers Generation
18122 @subsubsection Diary Headers Generation
18123 @cindex diary headers generation
18124 @findex gnus-diary-check-message
18126 @code{gnus-diary} provides a function called
18127 @code{gnus-diary-check-message} to help you handle the @code{X-Diary-*}
18128 headers. This function ensures that the current message contains all the
18129 required diary headers, and prompts you for values or corrections if
18132 This function is hooked into the @code{nndiary} back end, so that
18133 moving or copying an article to a diary group will trigger it
18134 automatically. It is also bound to @kbd{C-c D c} in @code{message-mode}
18135 and @code{article-edit-mode} in order to ease the process of converting
18136 a usual mail to a diary one.
18138 This function takes a prefix argument which will force prompting of
18139 all diary headers, regardless of their presence or validity. That way,
18140 you can very easily reschedule an already valid diary message, for
18143 @node Diary Group Parameters
18144 @subsubsection Diary Group Parameters
18145 @cindex diary group parameters
18147 When you create a new diary group, or visit one, @code{gnus-diary}
18148 automatically checks your group parameters and if needed, sets the
18149 summary line format to the diary-specific value, installs the
18150 diary-specific sorting functions, and also adds the different
18151 @code{X-Diary-*} headers to the group's posting-style. It is then easier
18152 to send a diary message, because if you use @kbd{C-u a} or @kbd{C-u m}
18153 on a diary group to prepare a message, these headers will be inserted
18154 automatically (although not filled with proper values yet).
18156 @node Sending or Not Sending
18157 @subsection Sending or Not Sending
18159 Well, assuming you've read of of the above, here are two final notes on
18160 mail sending with @code{nndiary}:
18164 @code{nndiary} is a @emph{real} mail back end. You really send real diary
18165 messsages for real. This means for instance that you can give
18166 appointements to anybody (provided they use Gnus and @code{nndiary}) by
18167 sending the diary message to them as well.
18169 However, since @code{nndiary} also has a @code{request-post} method, you
18170 can also use @kbd{C-u a} instead of @kbd{C-u m} on a diary group and the
18171 message won't actually be sent; just stored locally in the group. This
18172 comes in very handy for private appointments.
18175 @node Gnus Unplugged
18176 @section Gnus Unplugged
18181 @cindex Gnus unplugged
18183 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
18184 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
18185 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
18186 read news. Believe it or not.
18188 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
18189 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
18190 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
18191 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
18192 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
18194 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
18195 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
18196 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
18197 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
18198 reading news on a machine.
18200 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
18201 fact, you don't have to configure anything as the agent is now enabled
18202 by default (@pxref{Agent Variables, gnus-agent}).
18204 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
18207 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
18208 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
18209 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
18210 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
18211 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
18212 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
18213 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
18214 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
18215 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
18216 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
18217 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
18218 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
18219 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
18224 @subsection Agent Basics
18226 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
18228 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
18229 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
18230 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
18231 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
18233 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
18234 connected to the net continuously.
18236 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
18237 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
18239 You know that Gnus gives you all the opportunity you'd ever want for
18240 shooting yourself in the foot. Some people call it flexibility. Gnus
18241 is also customizable to a great extent, which means that the user has a
18242 say on how Gnus behaves. Other newsreaders might unconditionally shoot
18243 you in your foot, but with Gnus, you have a choice!
18245 Gnus is never really in plugged or unplugged state. Rather, it applies
18246 that state to each server individually. This means that some servers
18247 can be plugged while others can be unplugged. Additionally, some
18248 servers can be ignored by the Agent altogether (which means that
18249 they're kinda like plugged always).
18251 So when you unplug the Agent and then wonder why is Gnus opening a
18252 connection to the Net, the next step to do is to look whether all
18253 servers are agentized. If there is an unagentized server, you found
18256 Another thing is the @dfn{offline} state. Sometimes, servers aren't
18257 reachable. When Gnus notices this, it asks you whether you want the
18258 server to be switched to offline state. If you say yes, then the
18259 server will behave somewhat as if it was unplugged, except that Gnus
18260 will ask you whether you want to switch it back online again.
18262 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
18267 @findex gnus-unplugged
18268 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
18269 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
18270 already fetched while in this mode.
18273 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
18274 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
18275 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
18276 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode (@pxref{Mail
18277 Source Specifiers}).
18280 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the
18281 news onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press
18282 @kbd{g} to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J s} to fetch
18283 all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus know which
18284 articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}).
18287 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
18288 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
18289 then you read the news offline.
18292 And then you go to step 2.
18295 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
18301 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
18302 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
18303 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
18304 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
18305 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
18306 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
18307 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} servers in @code{gnus-select-method} and
18308 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
18311 Decide on download policy. It's fairly simple once you decide whether
18312 you are going to use agent categories, topic parameters, and/or group
18313 parameters to implement your policy. If you're new to gnus, it
18314 is probably best to start with a category, @xref{Agent Categories}.
18316 Both topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) and agent categories
18317 (@pxref{Agent Categories}) provide for setting a policy that applies
18318 to multiple groups. Which you use is entirely up to you. Topic
18319 parameters do override categories so, if you mix the two, you'll have
18320 to take that into account. If you have a few groups that deviate from
18321 your policy, you can use group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to
18325 Uhm@dots{} that's it.
18329 @node Agent Categories
18330 @subsection Agent Categories
18332 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
18333 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
18334 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
18335 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
18336 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
18337 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
18338 you're interested in the articles anyway.
18340 One of the more effective methods for controlling what is to be
18341 downloaded is to create a @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all)
18342 groups to this category. Groups that do not belong in any other
18343 category belong to the @code{default} category. Gnus has its own
18344 buffer for creating and managing categories.
18346 If you prefer, you can also use group parameters (@pxref{Group
18347 Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) for an
18348 alternative approach to controlling the agent. The only real
18349 difference is that categories are specific to the agent (so there is
18350 less to learn) while group and topic parameters include the kitchen
18353 Since you can set agent parameters in several different places we have
18354 a rule to decide which source to believe. This rule specifies that
18355 the parameter sources are checked in the following order: group
18356 parameters, topic parameters, agent category, and finally customizable
18357 variables. So you can mix all of these sources to produce a wide range
18358 of behavior, just don't blame me if you don't remember where you put
18362 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
18363 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
18364 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
18368 @node Category Syntax
18369 @subsubsection Category Syntax
18371 A category consists of a name, the list of groups belonging to the
18372 category, and a number of optional parameters that override the
18373 customizable variables. The complete list of agent parameters are
18376 @cindex Agent Parameters
18378 @item agent-cat-name
18379 The name of the category.
18382 The list of groups that are in this category.
18384 @item agent-predicate
18385 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
18386 are eligible for downloading; and
18388 @item agent-score-file
18389 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
18390 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
18391 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
18393 @item agent-enable-expiration
18394 a boolean indicating whether the agent should expire old articles in
18395 this group. Most groups should be expired to conserve disk space. In
18396 fact, its probably safe to say that the gnus.* hierarchy contains the
18397 only groups that should not be expired.
18399 @item agent-days-until-old
18400 an integer indicating the number of days that the agent should wait
18401 before deciding that a read article is safe to expire.
18403 @item agent-low-score
18404 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-low-score}.
18406 @item agent-high-score
18407 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-high-score}.
18409 @item agent-length-when-short
18410 an integer that overrides the value of
18411 @code{gnus-agent-short-article}.
18413 @item agent-length-when-long
18414 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-long-article}.
18416 @item agent-enable-undownloaded-faces
18417 a symbol indicating whether the summary buffer should display
18418 undownloaded articles using the @code{gnus-summary-*-undownloaded-face}
18419 faces. Any symbol other than @code{nil} will enable the use of
18420 undownloaded faces.
18423 The name of a category can not be changed once the category has been
18426 Each category maintains a list of groups that are exclusive members of
18427 that category. The exclusivity rule is automatically enforced, add a
18428 group to a new category and it is automatically removed from its old
18431 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
18432 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
18433 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
18434 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
18436 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
18437 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
18438 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
18440 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
18441 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
18442 operators sprinkled in between.
18444 Perhaps some examples are in order.
18446 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
18447 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
18453 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
18454 short (for some value of ``short'').
18456 Here's a more complex predicate:
18465 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
18466 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
18469 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
18470 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
18471 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
18473 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
18474 you want to do, you can write your own.
18476 When evaluating each of these predicates, the named constant will be
18477 bound to the value determined by calling
18478 @code{gnus-agent-find-parameter} on the appropriate parameter. For
18479 example, gnus-agent-short-article will be bound to
18480 @code{(gnus-agent-find-parameter group 'agent-short-article)}. This
18481 means that you can specify a predicate in your category then tune that
18482 predicate to individual groups.
18486 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
18487 lines; default 100.
18490 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
18491 lines; default 200.
18494 True iff the article has a download score less than
18495 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
18498 True iff the article has a download score greater than
18499 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
18502 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
18503 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
18504 checksum and sees whether articles match.
18513 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
18514 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
18515 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
18518 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
18519 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
18520 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
18521 something along the lines of the following:
18524 (defun my-article-old-p ()
18525 "Say whether an article is old."
18526 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
18527 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
18530 with the predicate then defined as:
18533 (not my-article-old-p)
18536 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
18537 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
18541 (require 'gnus-agent)
18542 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
18543 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
18544 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
18547 and simply specify your predicate as:
18553 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
18554 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
18555 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
18556 just don't give a damn.
18558 The above predicates apply to @emph{all} the groups which belong to the
18559 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
18560 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
18561 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in its group
18562 parameters like so:
18565 (agent-predicate . short)
18568 This is the group/topic parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
18569 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
18570 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
18572 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
18575 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
18578 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
18579 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
18580 predicate is assumed to be a list.
18583 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
18584 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
18585 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
18586 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
18587 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
18588 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
18590 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
18591 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
18592 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
18593 if it's to be specific to that group.
18595 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
18602 This has the same syntax as a normal Gnus score file except only a
18603 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
18609 Category specification
18613 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
18619 Group/Topic Parameter specification
18622 (agent-score ("from"
18623 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
18628 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
18634 These score files must @emph{only} contain the permitted scoring
18635 keywords stated above.
18641 Category specification
18644 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
18650 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
18654 Group Parameter specification
18657 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
18660 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
18665 Use @code{normal} score files
18667 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
18668 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
18669 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
18670 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
18672 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
18673 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
18674 files for a group, @emph{filtering out} those sections that do not
18675 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
18679 Category Specification
18686 Group Parameter specification
18689 (agent-score . file)
18694 @node Category Buffer
18695 @subsubsection Category Buffer
18697 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
18698 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
18699 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
18701 The following commands are available in this buffer:
18705 @kindex q (Category)
18706 @findex gnus-category-exit
18707 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
18710 @kindex e (Category)
18711 @findex gnus-category-customize-category
18712 Use a customization buffer to set all of the selected category's
18713 parameters at one time (@code{gnus-category-customize-category}).
18716 @kindex k (Category)
18717 @findex gnus-category-kill
18718 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
18721 @kindex c (Category)
18722 @findex gnus-category-copy
18723 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
18726 @kindex a (Category)
18727 @findex gnus-category-add
18728 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
18731 @kindex p (Category)
18732 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
18733 Edit the predicate of the current category
18734 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
18737 @kindex g (Category)
18738 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
18739 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
18740 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
18743 @kindex s (Category)
18744 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
18745 Edit the download score rule of the current category
18746 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
18749 @kindex l (Category)
18750 @findex gnus-category-list
18751 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
18755 @node Category Variables
18756 @subsubsection Category Variables
18759 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
18760 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
18761 Hook run in category buffers.
18763 @item gnus-category-line-format
18764 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
18765 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
18766 Variables}). Valid elements are:
18770 The name of the category.
18773 The number of groups in the category.
18776 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
18777 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
18778 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
18780 @item gnus-agent-short-article
18781 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
18782 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
18784 @item gnus-agent-long-article
18785 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
18786 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
18788 @item gnus-agent-low-score
18789 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
18790 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
18793 @item gnus-agent-high-score
18794 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
18795 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
18798 @item gnus-agent-expire-days
18799 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
18800 The number of days that a @samp{read} article must stay in the agent's
18801 local disk before becoming eligible for expiration (While the name is
18802 the same, this doesn't mean expiring the article on the server. It
18803 just means deleting the local copy of the article). What is also
18804 important to understand is that the counter starts with the time the
18805 article was written to the local disk and not the time the article was
18809 @item gnus-agent-enable-expiration
18810 @vindex gnus-agent-enable-expiration
18811 Determines whether articles in a group are, by default, expired or
18812 retained indefinitely. The default is @code{ENABLE} which means that
18813 you'll have to disable expiration when desired. On the other hand,
18814 you could set this to @code{DISABLE}. In that case, you would then
18815 have to enable expiration in selected groups.
18820 @node Agent Commands
18821 @subsection Agent Commands
18822 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-plugged
18823 @kindex J j (Agent)
18825 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
18826 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
18827 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
18831 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
18832 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
18833 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
18839 @node Group Agent Commands
18840 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
18844 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
18845 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
18846 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
18847 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
18850 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
18851 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
18852 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
18855 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
18856 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
18857 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
18858 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
18861 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
18862 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
18863 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
18864 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
18867 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
18868 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
18869 Add the current group to an Agent category
18870 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
18871 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
18874 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
18875 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
18876 Remove the current group from its category, if any
18877 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
18878 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
18881 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
18882 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
18883 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
18889 @node Summary Agent Commands
18890 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
18894 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
18895 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
18896 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
18899 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
18900 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
18901 Remove the downloading mark from the article
18902 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
18906 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
18907 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
18908 Toggle whether to download the article
18909 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The download mark is @samp{%} by
18913 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
18914 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
18915 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
18918 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
18919 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
18920 Download all eligible (@pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
18921 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
18924 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
18925 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-series
18926 Download all processable articles in this group.
18927 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-series}).
18930 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
18931 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
18932 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
18933 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
18938 @node Server Agent Commands
18939 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
18943 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
18944 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
18945 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
18946 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
18949 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
18950 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
18951 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
18952 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
18957 @node Agent Visuals
18958 @subsection Agent Visuals
18960 If you open a summary while unplugged and, Gnus knows from the group's
18961 active range that there are more articles than the headers currently
18962 stored in the Agent, you may see some articles whose subject looks
18963 something like @samp{[Undownloaded article #####]}. These are
18964 placeholders for the missing headers. Aside from setting a mark,
18965 there is not much that can be done with one of these placeholders.
18966 When Gnus finally gets a chance to fetch the group's headers, the
18967 placeholders will automatically be replaced by the actual headers.
18968 You can configure the summary buffer's maneuvering to skip over the
18969 placeholders if you care (See @code{gnus-auto-goto-ignores}).
18971 While it may be obvious to all, the only headers and articles
18972 available while unplugged are those headers and articles that were
18973 fetched into the Agent while previously plugged. To put it another
18974 way, ``If you forget to fetch something while plugged, you might have a
18975 less than satisfying unplugged session''. For this reason, the Agent
18976 adds two visual effects to your summary buffer. These effects display
18977 the download status of each article so that you always know which
18978 articles will be available when unplugged.
18980 The first visual effect is the @samp{%O} spec. If you customize
18981 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} to include this specifier, you will add
18982 a single character field that indicates an article's download status.
18983 Articles that have been fetched into either the Agent or the Cache,
18984 will display @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} (defaults to @samp{+}). All
18985 other articles will display @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} (defaults to
18986 @samp{-}). If you open a group that has not been agentized, a space
18987 (@samp{ }) will be displayed.
18989 The second visual effect are the undownloaded faces. The faces, there
18990 are three indicating the article's score (low, normal, high), seem to
18991 result in a love/hate response from many Gnus users. The problem is
18992 that the face selection is controlled by a list of condition tests and
18993 face names (See @code{gnus-summary-highlight}). Each condition is
18994 tested in the order in which it appears in the list so early
18995 conditions have precedence over later conditions. All of this means
18996 that, if you tick an undownloaded article, the article will continue
18997 to be displayed in the undownloaded face rather than the ticked face.
18999 If you use the Agent as a cache (to avoid downloading the same article
19000 each time you visit it or to minimize your connection time), the
19001 undownloaded face will probably seem like a good idea. The reason
19002 being that you do all of our work (marking, reading, deleting) with
19003 downloaded articles so the normal faces always appear. For those
19004 users using the agent to improve online performance by caching the NOV
19005 database (most users since 5.10.2), the undownloaded faces may appear
19006 to be an absolutely horrible idea. The issue being that, since none
19007 of their articles have been fetched into the Agent, all of the
19008 normal faces will be obscured by the undownloaded faces.
19010 If you would like to use the undownloaded faces, you must enable the
19011 undownloaded faces by setting the @code{agent-enable-undownloaded-faces}
19012 group parameter to @code{t}. This parameter, like all other agent
19013 parameters, may be set on an Agent Category (@pxref{Agent Categories}),
19014 a Group Topic (@pxref{Topic Parameters}), or an individual group
19015 (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
19017 The one problem common to all users using the agent is how quickly it
19018 can consume disk space. If you using the agent on many groups, it is
19019 even more difficult to effectively recover disk space. One solution
19020 is the @samp{%F} format available in @code{gnus-group-line-format}.
19021 This format will display the actual disk space used by articles
19022 fetched into both the agent and cache. By knowing which groups use
19023 the most space, users know where to focus their efforts when ``agent
19024 expiring'' articles.
19026 @node Agent as Cache
19027 @subsection Agent as Cache
19029 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
19030 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
19031 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
19032 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
19033 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
19034 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
19035 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
19036 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
19037 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
19039 If you so desire, you can configure the agent (see @code{gnus-agent-cache}
19040 @pxref{Agent Variables}) to always download headers and articles while
19041 plugged. Gnus will almost certainly be slower, but it will be kept
19042 synchronized with the server. That last point probably won't make any
19043 sense if you are using a nntp or nnimap back end.
19046 @subsection Agent Expiry
19048 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
19049 @findex gnus-agent-expire
19050 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
19051 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire-group
19052 @findex gnus-agent-expire-group
19053 @cindex agent expiry
19054 @cindex Gnus agent expiry
19057 The Agent back end, @code{nnagent}, doesn't handle expiry. Well, at
19058 least it doesn't handle it like other back ends. Instead, there are
19059 special @code{gnus-agent-expire} and @code{gnus-agent-expire-group}
19060 commands that will expire all read articles that are older than
19061 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. They can be run whenever you feel
19062 that you're running out of space. Neither are particularly fast or
19063 efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to interrupt them (with
19064 @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started one of them.
19066 Note that other functions, e.g. @code{gnus-request-expire-articles},
19067 might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you to keep the agent
19068 synchronized with the group.
19070 The agent parameter @code{agent-enable-expiration} may be used to
19071 prevent expiration in selected groups.
19073 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
19074 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, the agent
19075 expiration commands will expire all articles---unread, read, ticked
19076 and dormant. If @code{nil} (which is the default), only read articles
19077 are eligible for expiry, and unread, ticked and dormant articles will
19078 be kept indefinitely.
19080 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
19081 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's are special
19082 commands, @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} and
19083 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group}, to fix possible problems.
19085 @node Agent Regeneration
19086 @subsection Agent Regeneration
19088 @cindex agent regeneration
19089 @cindex Gnus agent regeneration
19090 @cindex regeneration
19092 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
19093 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
19094 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
19095 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
19096 internal inconsistencies.
19098 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
19099 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
19100 know about articles successfully downloaded prior to the connection
19101 failure. Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
19102 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
19103 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
19105 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
19106 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
19107 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
19108 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
19109 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
19110 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
19112 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
19113 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
19114 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
19115 of individual articles to repair the local @acronym{NOV}(header) database. It
19116 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
19117 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
19120 @node Agent and IMAP
19121 @subsection Agent and IMAP
19123 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
19124 since there are some conceptual differences between @acronym{NNTP} and
19125 @acronym{IMAP}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
19126 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @acronym{IMAP} Disconnected Mode client.
19128 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
19129 are kept on the @acronym{IMAP} server, rather than in @file{.newsrc} as is the
19130 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
19131 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
19133 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
19134 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
19135 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
19136 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
19138 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19139 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
19140 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
19141 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
19142 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
19143 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
19145 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
19146 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
19147 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
19148 in the group buffer.
19150 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
19151 expect from a disconnected @acronym{IMAP} client, including:
19156 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
19159 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
19163 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by ``pushing''
19164 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
19165 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
19166 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on an article, quit the group and
19167 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
19168 removed from the server when you ``synchronize''. The queued flag
19169 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
19170 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
19173 @node Outgoing Messages
19174 @subsection Outgoing Messages
19176 By default, when Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail
19177 and news) are stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}).
19178 You can view them there after posting, and edit them at will.
19180 You can control the circumstances under which outgoing mail is queued
19181 (see @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail}, @pxref{Agent Variables}). Outgoing
19182 news is always queued when Gnus is unplugged, and never otherwise.
19184 You can send the messages either from the draft group with the special
19185 commands available there, or you can use the @kbd{J S} command in the
19186 group buffer to send all the sendable messages in the draft group.
19187 Posting news will only work when Gnus is plugged, but you can send
19190 If sending mail while unplugged does not work for you and you worry
19191 about hitting @kbd{J S} by accident when unplugged, you can have Gnus
19192 ask you to confirm your action (see
19193 @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue}, @pxref{Agent Variables}).
19195 @node Agent Variables
19196 @subsection Agent Variables
19201 Is the agent enabled? The default is @code{t}. When first enabled,
19202 the agent will use @code{gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods} to
19203 automatically mark some back ends as agentized. You may change which
19204 back ends are agentized using the agent commands in the server buffer.
19206 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
19207 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
19210 @item gnus-agent-directory
19211 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
19212 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
19213 @file{~/News/agent/}.
19215 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
19216 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
19217 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
19218 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
19219 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
19222 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
19223 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
19224 Hook run when connecting to the network.
19226 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
19227 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
19228 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
19230 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
19231 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
19232 Hook run when finished fetching articles.
19234 @item gnus-agent-cache
19235 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
19236 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @acronym{NOV} and
19237 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
19238 The default is non-@code{nil}, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
19240 @item gnus-agent-go-online
19241 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
19242 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
19243 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
19244 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
19245 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
19246 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
19249 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
19250 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
19251 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
19252 mark articles as unread after downloading. This is usually a safe
19253 thing to do as the newly downloaded article has obviously not been
19254 read. The default is @code{t}.
19256 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
19257 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
19258 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
19259 agent will let the agent predicate decide whether articles need to be
19260 downloaded or not, for all articles. When @code{nil}, the default,
19261 the agent will only let the predicate decide whether unread articles
19262 are downloaded or not. If you enable this, you may also want to look
19263 into the agent expiry settings (@pxref{Category Variables}), so that
19264 the agent doesn't download articles which the agent will later expire,
19265 over and over again.
19267 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
19268 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
19269 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
19270 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
19271 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
19272 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
19273 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
19274 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
19275 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
19276 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
19277 However, all articles parsed prior to loosing the connection will be
19278 available while unplugged). The default is 10M so it is unusual to
19281 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
19282 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
19283 Perhaps not an Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
19284 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
19285 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
19286 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
19287 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
19288 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
19289 is only valid if the Agent is used.
19291 @item gnus-auto-goto-ignores
19292 @vindex gnus-auto-goto-ignores
19293 Another variable that isn't an Agent variable, yet so closely related
19294 that most will look for it here, this variable tells the summary
19295 buffer how to maneuver around undownloaded (only headers stored in the
19296 agent) and unfetched (neither article nor headers stored) articles.
19298 The valid values are @code{nil} (maneuver to any article),
19299 @code{undownloaded} (maneuvering while unplugged ignores articles that
19300 have not been fetched), @code{always-undownloaded} (maneuvering always
19301 ignores articles that have not been fetched), @code{unfetched}
19302 (maneuvering ignores articles whose headers have not been fetched).
19304 @item gnus-agent-queue-mail
19305 @vindex gnus-agent-queue-mail
19306 When @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail} is @code{always}, Gnus will always
19307 queue mail rather than sending it straight away. When @code{t}, Gnus
19308 will queue mail when unplugged only. When @code{nil}, never queue
19309 mail. The default is @code{t}.
19311 @item gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
19312 @vindex gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
19313 When @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue} is non-@code{nil} Gnus will
19314 prompt you to confirm that you really wish to proceed if you hit
19315 @kbd{J S} while unplugged. The default is @code{nil}.
19317 @item gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
19318 @vindex gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
19319 If you have never used the Agent before (or more technically, if
19320 @file{~/News/agent/lib/servers} does not exist), Gnus will
19321 automatically agentize a few servers for you. This variable control
19322 which back ends should be auto-agentized. It is typically only useful
19323 to agentize remote back ends. The auto-agentizing has the same effect
19324 as running @kbd{J a} on the servers (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}).
19325 If the file exist, you must manage the servers manually by adding or
19326 removing them, this variable is only applicable the first time you
19327 start Gnus. The default is @samp{(nntp nnimap)}.
19332 @node Example Setup
19333 @subsection Example Setup
19335 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
19336 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
19337 @file{~/.gnus.el} file to get started.
19340 ;;; @r{Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @acronym{NNTP}}
19341 ;;; @r{from your ISP's server.}
19342 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
19344 ;;; @r{Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from}
19345 ;;; @r{your ISP's @acronym{POP} server.}
19346 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
19348 ;;; @r{Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.}
19349 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
19351 ;;; @r{Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.}
19352 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; @r{The obsolete setting.}
19353 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; @r{Now the default.}
19356 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
19357 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
19360 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
19361 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
19362 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
19363 @acronym{NNTP} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
19364 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
19367 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
19368 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
19369 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
19370 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
19371 back all the killed groups.)
19373 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
19374 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
19375 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
19378 @node Batching Agents
19379 @subsection Batching Agents
19380 @findex gnus-agent-batch
19382 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
19383 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
19384 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
19386 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
19387 following incantation:
19391 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
19395 @node Agent Caveats
19396 @subsection Agent Caveats
19398 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
19399 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
19403 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
19405 @strong{No}. If you want this behavior, add
19406 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
19407 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
19409 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in
19410 the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
19412 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is @code{nil}.
19416 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
19417 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
19418 locally stored articles.
19425 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
19426 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
19427 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
19430 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
19431 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
19432 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
19433 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
19434 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
19436 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
19437 before generating the summary buffer.
19439 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
19440 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
19441 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
19443 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
19444 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
19445 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
19446 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
19449 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
19450 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
19451 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
19452 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
19453 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
19454 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
19455 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
19456 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
19457 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
19458 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
19459 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
19460 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
19461 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
19462 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
19463 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
19464 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
19468 @node Summary Score Commands
19469 @section Summary Score Commands
19470 @cindex score commands
19472 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
19473 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
19474 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
19475 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
19476 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
19478 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
19479 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
19480 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
19481 score file the current one.
19483 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
19488 @kindex V s (Summary)
19489 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
19490 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
19493 @kindex V S (Summary)
19494 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
19495 Display the score of the current article
19496 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
19499 @kindex V t (Summary)
19500 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
19501 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
19502 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}). In the @code{*Score Trace*} buffer, you
19503 may type @kbd{e} to edit score file corresponding to the score rule on
19504 current line and @kbd{f} to format (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) the
19505 score file and edit it.
19508 @kindex V w (Summary)
19509 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
19510 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
19513 @kindex V R (Summary)
19514 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
19515 Run the current summary through the scoring process
19516 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
19517 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
19518 effect you're having.
19521 @kindex V c (Summary)
19522 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
19523 Make a different score file the current
19524 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
19527 @kindex V e (Summary)
19528 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
19529 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
19530 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
19534 @kindex V f (Summary)
19535 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
19536 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
19537 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
19540 @kindex V F (Summary)
19541 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
19542 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
19543 after editing score files.
19546 @kindex V C (Summary)
19547 @findex gnus-score-customize
19548 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
19549 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
19553 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
19558 @kindex V m (Summary)
19559 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
19560 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
19561 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
19564 @kindex V x (Summary)
19565 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
19566 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
19567 expunge all articles below this score
19568 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
19571 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
19572 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
19575 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
19576 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
19580 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
19581 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
19583 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
19584 keys are available:
19588 Score on the author name.
19591 Score on the subject line.
19594 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
19597 Score on the @code{References} line.
19603 Score on the number of lines.
19606 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
19609 Score on an ``extra'' header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
19610 if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
19613 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
19614 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
19615 @file{ADAPT} files.)
19624 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
19630 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
19631 what headers you are scoring on.
19643 Substring matching.
19646 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
19675 Greater than number.
19680 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
19681 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
19682 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
19687 Temporary score entry.
19690 Permanent score entry.
19693 Immediately scoring.
19697 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
19698 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
19699 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
19703 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
19704 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
19705 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
19706 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
19708 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
19709 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
19710 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
19711 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
19712 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
19714 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
19715 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
19716 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
19717 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
19718 current score file.
19720 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
19721 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
19722 pretend they are keymaps or not.
19725 @node Group Score Commands
19726 @section Group Score Commands
19727 @cindex group score commands
19729 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
19734 @kindex W e (Group)
19735 @findex gnus-score-edit-all-score
19736 Edit the apply-to-all-groups all.SCORE file. You will be popped into
19737 a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score File Editing}).
19740 @kindex W f (Group)
19741 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
19742 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
19743 all the time. This command will flush the cache
19744 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
19748 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
19750 @findex gnus-batch-score
19751 @cindex batch scoring
19753 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
19757 @node Score Variables
19758 @section Score Variables
19759 @cindex score variables
19763 @item gnus-use-scoring
19764 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
19765 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
19766 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
19768 @item gnus-kill-killed
19769 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
19770 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
19771 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
19772 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
19773 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
19774 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
19775 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
19777 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
19778 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
19779 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
19780 initialized from the @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
19781 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
19783 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
19784 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
19785 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
19786 (@file{SCORE} by default.)
19788 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
19789 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
19790 @cindex score cache
19791 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
19792 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
19793 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely
19794 to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
19795 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
19796 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
19797 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
19800 @item gnus-save-score
19801 @vindex gnus-save-score
19802 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
19803 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
19804 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
19806 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
19807 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
19808 across group visits.
19810 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
19811 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
19812 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
19813 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
19814 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
19815 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
19816 manually entered data.
19818 @item gnus-summary-default-score
19819 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
19820 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
19822 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
19823 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
19824 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
19825 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
19826 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
19827 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
19829 @item gnus-score-over-mark
19830 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
19831 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
19832 default. Default is @samp{+}.
19834 @item gnus-score-below-mark
19835 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
19836 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
19837 default. Default is @samp{-}.
19839 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
19840 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
19841 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
19842 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
19844 Predefined functions available are:
19847 @item gnus-score-find-single
19848 @findex gnus-score-find-single
19849 Only apply the group's own score file.
19851 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
19852 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
19853 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
19854 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
19855 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
19856 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
19857 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
19858 then a regexp match is done.
19860 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
19861 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
19863 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
19864 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
19865 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
19866 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
19868 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
19869 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
19870 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
19871 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
19872 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
19876 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
19877 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
19878 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
19879 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
19880 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
19881 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
19882 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
19885 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
19886 overall score file, you could use the value
19888 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
19889 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
19892 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
19893 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
19894 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
19895 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
19896 are expired. It's 7 by default.
19898 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
19899 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
19900 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
19901 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
19902 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
19903 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
19904 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
19905 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
19907 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
19908 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
19909 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
19911 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
19912 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
19913 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be
19914 simplified for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
19915 threading---according to the current value of
19916 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions}. If the scoring entry uses
19917 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
19918 simplified in this manner.
19923 @node Score File Format
19924 @section Score File Format
19925 @cindex score file format
19927 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
19928 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
19929 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
19931 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
19935 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
19937 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
19939 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
19941 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
19946 (mark-and-expunge -10)
19950 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
19951 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
19952 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
19953 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
19957 This example demonstrates most score file elements. @xref{Advanced
19958 Scoring}, for a different approach.
19960 Even though this looks much like Lisp code, nothing here is actually
19961 @code{eval}ed. The Lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
19962 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
19964 Six keys are supported by this alist:
19969 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
19970 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
19971 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
19972 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
19973 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
19974 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
19975 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
19976 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
19977 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
19978 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
19979 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
19980 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
19981 to articles that matches these score entries.
19983 Following this key is an arbitrary number of score entries, where each
19984 score entry has one to four elements.
19988 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
19989 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
19993 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
19994 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
19995 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
19996 is successful. If this element is not present, the
19997 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
19998 instead. This is 1000 by default.
20001 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
20002 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
20003 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
20004 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
20005 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
20008 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
20009 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
20010 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
20011 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
20014 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
20015 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
20016 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
20017 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
20018 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
20019 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
20020 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
20021 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
20022 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
20023 instead, if you feel like.
20026 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
20027 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
20028 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
20029 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
20030 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin
20031 host, if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks @samp{NNTP-Posting-Host} in
20035 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s
20036 "NNTP-Posting-Host")
20040 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
20041 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
20043 These predicates are true if
20046 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
20049 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
20050 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
20057 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
20058 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
20059 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
20060 it's not. I think.)
20062 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
20063 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
20064 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
20065 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
20068 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
20069 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
20070 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
20071 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
20072 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
20073 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
20074 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
20078 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
20079 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
20080 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
20081 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
20082 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
20083 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
20084 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
20085 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
20088 @item Head, Body, All
20089 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
20093 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
20094 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
20095 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
20096 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
20097 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
20098 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
20099 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
20103 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
20104 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
20105 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
20106 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
20107 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
20108 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
20109 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
20110 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
20111 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
20112 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
20113 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
20117 @cindex score file atoms
20119 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20120 lower than this number will be marked as read.
20123 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20124 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
20126 @item mark-and-expunge
20127 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20128 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
20131 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
20132 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
20133 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
20134 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
20135 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
20138 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
20139 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
20142 @item exclude-files
20143 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
20144 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
20148 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
20149 ignored when handling global score files.
20152 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
20153 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
20154 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
20155 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
20158 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
20159 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
20160 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
20161 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
20163 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
20167 (mark-and-expunge -100)
20170 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
20171 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
20172 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
20173 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
20174 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
20176 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
20177 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
20178 scoring rules exist.
20181 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
20182 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
20183 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
20184 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
20185 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
20186 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
20187 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
20188 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
20189 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
20190 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
20191 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
20195 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
20196 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
20197 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
20198 file for a number of groups.
20201 @cindex local variables
20202 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(@var{var}
20203 @var{value})} pairs. Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the
20204 current summary buffer, and set to the value specified. This is a
20205 convenient, if somewhat strange, way of setting variables in some
20206 groups if you don't like hooks much. Note that the @var{value} won't
20211 @node Score File Editing
20212 @section Score File Editing
20214 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
20215 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
20216 with a mode for that.
20218 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
20219 additional commands:
20224 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
20225 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
20226 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
20227 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
20230 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
20231 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
20232 Insert the current date in numerical format
20233 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
20234 you were wondering.
20237 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
20238 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
20239 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
20240 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
20241 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
20246 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
20248 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
20249 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
20251 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f}, @kbd{V e} and
20252 @kbd{V t} to begin editing score files.
20255 @node Adaptive Scoring
20256 @section Adaptive Scoring
20257 @cindex adaptive scoring
20259 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
20260 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
20261 stupidity, to be precise.
20263 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
20264 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
20265 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
20266 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
20267 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
20268 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
20269 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
20270 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
20271 variable to @code{(word line)}.
20273 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
20274 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
20275 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
20276 might look something like this:
20279 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
20280 '((gnus-unread-mark)
20281 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
20282 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
20283 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
20284 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
20285 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
20286 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
20287 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
20288 (gnus-ancient-mark)
20289 (gnus-low-score-mark)
20290 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
20293 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
20294 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
20295 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
20296 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
20297 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
20298 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
20301 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
20302 will be applied to each article.
20304 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
20305 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{e}) will have a
20306 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
20307 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
20309 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
20310 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
20311 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
20312 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
20314 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
20315 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
20316 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
20317 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
20319 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
20320 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
20321 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
20322 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
20323 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
20324 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
20326 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
20327 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
20328 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
20330 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
20331 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
20332 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
20334 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
20335 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
20336 let you use different rules in different groups.
20338 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
20339 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
20340 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
20343 @vindex gnus-adaptive-pretty-print
20344 Adaptive score files can get huge and are not meant to be edited by
20345 human hands. If @code{gnus-adaptive-pretty-print} is @code{nil} (the
20346 deafult) those files will not be written in a human readable way.
20348 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
20349 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
20350 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
20351 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
20352 the length of the match is less than
20353 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
20354 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
20357 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
20358 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
20359 headers. If you adapt on words, the
20360 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
20361 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
20364 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
20365 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
20366 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
20367 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
20368 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
20371 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
20372 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
20373 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
20374 score with 30 points.
20376 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
20377 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
20378 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
20379 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
20380 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
20382 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
20383 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
20384 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
20385 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
20386 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
20388 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
20389 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
20390 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
20391 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
20393 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
20394 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
20395 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
20396 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
20398 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
20399 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
20400 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
20401 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
20402 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
20404 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
20405 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
20406 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
20408 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
20409 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
20410 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
20411 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
20414 @node Home Score File
20415 @section Home Score File
20417 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
20418 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
20419 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
20420 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
20422 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
20423 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
20424 could perhaps use the same home score file.
20426 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
20427 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
20432 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
20436 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
20437 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
20441 A list. The elements in this list can be:
20445 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
20446 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
20449 A function. If the function returns non-@code{nil}, the result will
20450 be used as the home score file. The function will be called with the
20451 name of the group as the parameter.
20454 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
20457 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
20462 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
20465 (setq gnus-home-score-file
20466 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
20469 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
20470 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
20472 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
20474 (setq gnus-home-score-file
20475 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
20478 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
20479 Other functions include
20482 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
20483 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
20484 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
20485 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
20489 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
20490 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
20491 their own home score files:
20494 (setq gnus-home-score-file
20495 ;; @r{All groups that match the regexp @code{"\\.emacs"}}
20496 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
20497 ;; @r{All the comp groups in one score file}
20498 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
20501 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
20502 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
20503 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
20504 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
20505 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
20507 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
20508 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
20509 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
20510 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
20511 precedence over this variable.
20514 @node Followups To Yourself
20515 @section Followups To Yourself
20517 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
20518 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
20519 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
20520 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
20521 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
20522 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
20526 @item gnus-score-followup-article
20527 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
20528 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
20531 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
20532 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
20533 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
20537 @vindex message-sent-hook
20538 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
20539 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
20541 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
20545 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
20546 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
20550 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
20551 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
20554 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
20555 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
20560 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
20564 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
20565 is system-dependent.
20568 @node Scoring On Other Headers
20569 @section Scoring On Other Headers
20570 @cindex scoring on other headers
20572 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
20573 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
20574 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
20575 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
20576 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
20578 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
20579 mail groups, you have greater control. In @ref{To From Newsgroups},
20580 it's explained in greater detail what this mechanism does, but here's
20581 a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on how to allow scoring on the
20582 @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
20584 Put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
20587 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
20588 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
20591 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
20592 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
20593 time if you have much mail.
20595 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
20596 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
20602 @section Scoring Tips
20603 @cindex scoring tips
20609 @cindex scoring crossposts
20610 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
20611 the @code{Xref} header.
20613 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
20616 @item Multiple crossposts
20617 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
20618 more than, say, 3 groups:
20621 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
20625 @item Matching on the body
20626 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
20627 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
20628 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
20629 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
20630 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
20631 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
20632 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
20635 @item Marking as read
20636 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
20637 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
20638 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
20642 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
20644 @item Negated character classes
20645 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
20646 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
20647 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
20651 @node Reverse Scoring
20652 @section Reverse Scoring
20653 @cindex reverse scoring
20655 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
20656 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
20657 like this in your score file:
20661 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
20666 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
20667 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
20670 @node Global Score Files
20671 @section Global Score Files
20672 @cindex global score files
20674 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
20675 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
20676 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
20678 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
20679 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
20680 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
20682 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
20683 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
20684 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
20685 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
20686 files are applicable to which group.
20688 To use the score file
20689 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
20690 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
20694 (setq gnus-global-score-files
20695 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
20696 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
20699 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
20701 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
20702 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
20703 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
20704 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
20706 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
20707 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
20709 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
20710 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
20711 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
20712 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
20713 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
20714 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
20716 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
20722 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
20724 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
20726 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
20728 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
20729 lowered out of existence.
20731 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
20732 articles completely.
20735 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
20736 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
20737 old articles for a long time.
20740 @dots{} I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
20741 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
20742 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
20743 holding our breath yet?
20747 @section Kill Files
20750 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
20751 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
20752 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
20754 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
20755 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
20756 files into score files.
20758 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
20759 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
20760 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
20761 that isn't a very good idea.
20763 Normal kill files look like this:
20766 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20767 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
20771 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
20772 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
20774 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
20775 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
20778 Two summary functions for editing a @sc{gnus} kill file:
20783 @kindex M-k (Summary)
20784 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
20785 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
20788 @kindex M-K (Summary)
20789 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
20790 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
20793 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
20798 @kindex M-k (Group)
20799 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
20800 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
20803 @kindex M-K (Group)
20804 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
20805 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
20808 Kill file variables:
20811 @item gnus-kill-file-name
20812 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
20813 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
20814 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
20815 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
20816 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
20817 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
20819 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
20820 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
20821 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
20822 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
20825 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
20826 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
20827 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
20828 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
20829 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
20830 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
20831 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
20832 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
20833 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
20835 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
20836 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
20837 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
20842 @node Converting Kill Files
20843 @section Converting Kill Files
20845 @cindex converting kill files
20847 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
20848 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
20849 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
20852 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
20853 You can fetch it from
20854 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
20856 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
20857 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
20858 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
20862 @node Advanced Scoring
20863 @section Advanced Scoring
20865 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
20866 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
20867 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
20868 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
20869 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
20871 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
20875 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
20876 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
20877 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
20881 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
20882 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
20884 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
20885 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
20886 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
20887 non-@code{nil} value.
20889 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
20890 operator, and various match operators.
20897 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
20898 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
20899 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
20904 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
20905 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
20906 then this operator will return @code{false}.
20911 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
20912 logical negation of the value of its argument.
20916 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
20917 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
20918 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
20919 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
20920 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
20921 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
20922 the ancestry you want to go.
20924 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
20925 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
20926 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
20927 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
20928 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
20931 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
20932 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
20934 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
20935 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
20938 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
20939 when he's talking about Gnus:
20944 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20945 ("subject" "Gnus"))
20952 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
20956 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20963 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
20964 really don't want to read what he's written:
20968 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20969 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
20973 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
20974 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
20975 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
20982 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
20983 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
20984 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
20985 ("body" "white.*socks"))
20989 Suppose you're reading a high volume group and you're only interested
20990 in replies. The plan is to score down all articles that don't have
20991 subject that begin with "Re:", "Fw:" or "Fwd:" and then score up all
20992 parents of articles that have subjects that begin with reply marks.
20995 ((! ("subject" "re:\\|fwd?:" r))
20997 ((1- ("subject" "re:\\|fwd?:" r))
21001 The possibilities are endless.
21003 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
21004 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
21006 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
21007 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
21008 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
21009 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
21010 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
21011 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
21012 @samp{subject}) first.
21014 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
21015 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
21026 Then that means ``score on the from header of the grandparent of the
21027 current article''. An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
21033 ("subject" "Gnus")))
21040 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
21041 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
21046 @section Score Decays
21047 @cindex score decays
21050 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
21051 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
21052 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
21053 use them in any sensible way.
21055 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
21056 @findex gnus-decay-score
21057 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
21058 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
21059 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
21060 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
21061 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
21062 If @code{gnus-decay-scores} is a regexp, only score files matching this
21063 regexp are treated. E.g. you may set it to @samp{\\.ADAPT\\'} if only
21064 @emph{adaptive} score files should be decayed. The decay itself if
21065 performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function} function, which is
21066 @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the definition of that
21070 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
21071 "Decay SCORE according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
21072 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
21074 (* (if (< score 0) -1 1)
21076 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
21078 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
21079 (if (and (featurep 'xemacs)
21080 ;; XEmacs' floor can handle only the floating point
21081 ;; number below the half of the maximum integer.
21082 (> (abs n) (lsh -1 -2)))
21084 (car (split-string (number-to-string n) "\\.")))
21088 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
21089 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
21090 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
21091 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
21095 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
21098 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
21101 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
21105 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
21106 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
21107 the new score, which should be an integer.
21109 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
21110 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
21115 @include message.texi
21116 @chapter Emacs MIME
21117 @include emacs-mime.texi
21119 @include sieve.texi
21131 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
21132 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
21133 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
21134 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
21135 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
21136 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
21137 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
21138 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
21139 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
21140 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
21141 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
21142 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
21143 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
21144 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
21145 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
21146 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
21147 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
21148 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
21149 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
21150 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
21151 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
21155 @node Process/Prefix
21156 @section Process/Prefix
21157 @cindex process/prefix convention
21159 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
21160 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
21162 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
21163 command to be performed on.
21167 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
21168 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
21169 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
21170 with the current one.
21172 @vindex transient-mark-mode
21173 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
21174 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
21176 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
21177 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
21180 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
21181 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
21183 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
21186 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
21187 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
21188 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
21189 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
21191 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
21192 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
21193 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
21194 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
21195 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
21196 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
21197 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
21198 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
21200 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
21201 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
21202 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
21203 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
21204 expirable, you could say @kbd{M P b M-& E}.
21208 @section Interactive
21209 @cindex interaction
21213 @item gnus-novice-user
21214 @vindex gnus-novice-user
21215 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
21216 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
21217 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
21218 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
21221 @item gnus-expert-user
21222 @vindex gnus-expert-user
21223 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
21224 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
21225 matter how strange.
21227 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
21228 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
21229 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
21230 is @code{t} by default.
21232 @item gnus-interactive-exit
21233 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
21234 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21239 @node Symbolic Prefixes
21240 @section Symbolic Prefixes
21241 @cindex symbolic prefixes
21243 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
21244 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
21245 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
21246 rule of 900 to the current article.
21248 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
21249 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
21250 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
21251 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
21252 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
21253 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
21254 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
21256 @kindex M-i (Summary)
21257 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
21258 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
21259 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
21260 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
21261 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
21262 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
21263 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
21264 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
21266 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
21267 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
21268 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
21270 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
21274 @node Formatting Variables
21275 @section Formatting Variables
21276 @cindex formatting variables
21278 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
21279 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
21280 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
21281 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
21282 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
21285 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
21286 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
21287 lots of percentages everywhere.
21290 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
21291 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
21292 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
21293 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
21294 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
21295 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
21296 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
21297 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
21300 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
21301 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
21302 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
21303 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
21304 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
21305 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
21306 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
21307 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
21309 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
21310 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
21312 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
21313 @findex gnus-update-format
21314 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
21315 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
21316 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
21317 examine the resulting Lisp code to be run to generate the line.
21321 @node Formatting Basics
21322 @subsection Formatting Basics
21324 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
21325 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
21326 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
21328 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
21329 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
21330 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
21331 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
21332 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
21335 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
21336 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
21337 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
21338 less than 4 characters wide.
21340 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
21341 @samp{%&user-date;}.
21344 @node Mode Line Formatting
21345 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
21347 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
21348 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
21349 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
21350 with the following two differences:
21355 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
21358 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
21359 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
21360 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
21361 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
21362 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
21363 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
21364 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
21369 @node Advanced Formatting
21370 @subsection Advanced Formatting
21372 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
21373 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
21374 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
21375 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
21377 These are the valid modifiers:
21382 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
21386 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
21391 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
21394 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
21399 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
21402 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
21405 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
21408 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
21414 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
21419 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
21420 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
21421 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
21422 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
21423 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
21424 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
21425 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
21427 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
21428 last operation, padding.
21430 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
21431 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
21432 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
21433 @xref{Compilation}.
21436 @node User-Defined Specs
21437 @subsection User-Defined Specs
21439 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
21440 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
21441 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
21442 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
21443 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
21444 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
21445 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
21446 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
21447 should protect against that.
21449 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
21450 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
21452 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
21453 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
21454 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
21455 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
21459 @node Formatting Fonts
21460 @subsection Formatting Fonts
21462 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
21463 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
21464 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
21465 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
21468 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
21469 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
21470 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
21471 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
21472 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
21473 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
21475 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
21476 special @code{balloon-help} property set to
21477 @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get
21478 @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*}
21479 variables should be either strings or symbols naming functions that
21480 return a string. When the mouse passes over text with this property
21481 set, a balloon window will appear and display the string. Please
21482 refer to @ref{Tooltips, ,Tooltips, emacs, The Emacs Manual},
21483 (in GNU Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in
21484 XEmacs) for more information on this. (For technical reasons, the
21485 guillemets have been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this
21488 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
21491 ;; @r{Create three face types.}
21492 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
21493 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
21495 ;; @r{We want the article count to be in}
21496 ;; @r{a bold and green face. So we create}
21497 ;; @r{a new face called @code{my-green-bold}.}
21498 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
21499 ;; @r{Set the color.}
21500 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
21501 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
21503 ;; @r{Set the new & fancy format.}
21504 (setq gnus-group-line-format
21505 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
21508 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
21509 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
21511 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
21512 mode-line variables.
21514 @node Positioning Point
21515 @subsection Positioning Point
21517 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
21518 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
21519 line. You can customize this behavior in three different ways.
21521 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
21523 @findex gnus-goto-colon
21524 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
21525 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
21527 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
21528 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
21529 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
21534 @subsection Tabulation
21536 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
21537 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
21538 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
21539 about lining up the following text afterwards.
21541 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs---@samp{%=}. There are two
21542 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
21544 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
21545 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
21546 This is the soft tabulator.
21548 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
21549 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
21550 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
21553 @node Wide Characters
21554 @subsection Wide Characters
21556 Fixed width fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
21557 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
21558 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
21560 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
21561 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
21562 these countries, that's not true.
21564 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
21565 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
21566 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
21567 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
21571 @node Window Layout
21572 @section Window Layout
21573 @cindex window layout
21575 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
21577 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
21578 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
21579 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
21580 @code{t} by default.
21582 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
21583 glitches. Use at your own peril.
21585 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
21586 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
21587 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
21590 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
21591 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
21592 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
21596 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
21597 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
21598 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
21599 possible names is listed below.
21601 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
21602 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
21605 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
21609 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
21610 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
21611 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
21612 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
21613 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
21614 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
21615 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
21616 size spec per split.
21618 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
21619 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
21620 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
21621 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
21622 present) gets focus.
21624 Here's a more complicated example:
21627 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
21628 (summary 0.25 point)
21629 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
21633 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
21634 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
21635 occupy, not a percentage.
21637 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
21638 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
21639 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
21640 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
21641 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
21644 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
21647 (article (horizontal 1.0
21652 (summary 0.25 point)
21657 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
21658 @code{horizontal} thingie?
21660 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
21661 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
21662 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
21663 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
21664 the screen is to be given to this strip.
21666 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
21667 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
21668 lines from the splits.
21670 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
21675 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
21676 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
21677 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
21678 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
21679 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
21680 size = number | frame-params
21681 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
21685 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
21686 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
21687 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
21688 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
21690 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
21691 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
21692 @cindex window height
21693 @cindex window width
21694 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
21695 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
21696 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
21697 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
21698 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
21699 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
21701 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
21702 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
21703 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
21704 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
21706 @findex gnus-configure-frame
21707 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
21708 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
21709 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
21710 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
21711 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
21712 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
21713 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
21714 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
21715 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
21716 configuration list.
21719 (gnus-configure-frame
21723 (article 0.3 point))
21731 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
21732 @code{frame} split:
21735 (gnus-configure-frame
21738 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
21740 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
21741 (user-position . t)
21742 (left . -1) (top . 1))
21747 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
21748 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
21749 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
21750 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
21751 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
21752 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
21753 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
21754 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
21756 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
21757 be found in its default value.
21759 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
21760 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
21761 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
21765 (message (horizontal 1.0
21766 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
21768 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
21773 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
21774 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
21775 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
21780 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
21781 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
21782 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
21783 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
21784 (name . "Message"))
21785 (message 1.0 point))))
21788 @findex gnus-add-configuration
21789 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
21790 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
21791 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
21792 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
21795 (gnus-add-configuration
21796 '(article (vertical 1.0
21798 (summary .25 point)
21802 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
21803 @file{~/.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
21804 Gnus has been loaded.
21806 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
21807 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
21808 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
21809 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
21810 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
21812 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
21813 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
21814 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
21817 @subsection Example Window Configurations
21821 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
21822 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
21837 (gnus-add-configuration
21840 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
21842 (summary 0.16 point)
21845 (gnus-add-configuration
21848 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
21849 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
21855 @node Faces and Fonts
21856 @section Faces and Fonts
21861 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
21862 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
21863 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
21868 @section Compilation
21869 @cindex compilation
21870 @cindex byte-compilation
21872 @findex gnus-compile
21874 Remember all those line format specification variables?
21875 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
21876 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
21877 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
21878 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
21879 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
21882 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
21883 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
21884 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
21885 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
21886 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
21887 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
21888 them into the @file{~/.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
21892 @section Mode Lines
21895 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
21896 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
21897 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
21898 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
21899 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
21900 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
21901 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
21904 @cindex display-time
21906 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
21907 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
21908 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
21909 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
21910 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
21911 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
21912 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
21913 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
21916 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
21918 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
21919 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
21921 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
21922 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
21923 (length display-time-string)))))
21926 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
21927 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
21928 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
21929 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
21930 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
21933 @node Highlighting and Menus
21934 @section Highlighting and Menus
21936 @cindex highlighting
21939 @vindex gnus-visual
21940 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
21941 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
21942 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
21945 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
21946 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
21949 @item group-highlight
21950 Do highlights in the group buffer.
21951 @item summary-highlight
21952 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
21953 @item article-highlight
21954 Do highlights in the article buffer.
21956 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
21958 Create menus in the group buffer.
21960 Create menus in the summary buffers.
21962 Create menus in the article buffer.
21964 Create menus in the browse buffer.
21966 Create menus in the server buffer.
21968 Create menus in the score buffers.
21970 Create menus in all buffers.
21973 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
21974 buffers, you could say something like:
21977 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
21980 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
21983 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
21986 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
21987 in all Gnus buffers.
21989 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
21992 @item gnus-mouse-face
21993 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
21994 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
21995 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
21999 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
22003 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
22004 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
22005 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
22007 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
22008 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
22009 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
22011 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
22012 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
22013 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
22015 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
22016 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
22017 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
22019 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
22020 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
22021 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
22023 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
22024 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
22025 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
22036 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
22037 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
22038 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
22039 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
22040 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
22044 @vindex gnus-carpal
22045 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
22046 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
22047 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
22052 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
22053 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
22054 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
22056 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
22057 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
22058 Face used on buttons.
22060 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
22061 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
22062 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
22064 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
22065 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
22066 Buttons in the group buffer.
22068 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
22069 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
22070 Buttons in the summary buffer.
22072 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
22073 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
22074 Buttons in the server buffer.
22076 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
22077 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
22078 Buttons in the browse buffer.
22081 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
22082 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
22083 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
22091 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
22092 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
22093 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
22094 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
22095 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
22097 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
22098 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
22099 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
22101 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
22102 been idle for thirty minutes:
22105 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
22108 Here's a handler that scans for @acronym{PGP} headers every hour when
22112 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
22115 This @var{time} parameter and that @var{idle} parameter work together
22116 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
22117 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
22119 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
22120 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
22121 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
22122 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
22124 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
22125 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
22126 @var{idle} minutes.
22128 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
22129 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
22132 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
22133 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
22134 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
22136 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
22137 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
22138 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
22139 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
22141 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
22142 your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
22144 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
22146 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
22149 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
22150 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
22151 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
22152 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
22153 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
22154 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
22155 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
22156 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
22157 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
22158 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
22159 @file{~/.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
22161 @findex gnus-demon-init
22162 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
22163 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
22164 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
22165 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
22166 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
22168 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
22169 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
22170 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
22179 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
22180 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
22182 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
22183 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
22184 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
22185 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
22188 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
22189 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
22190 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
22191 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
22193 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
22194 this will make spam disappear.
22196 There are some variables to customize, of course:
22199 @item gnus-use-nocem
22200 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
22201 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
22204 @item gnus-nocem-groups
22205 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
22206 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
22209 ("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
22210 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")
22213 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
22214 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
22215 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
22216 people you want to listen to. The default is
22218 ("Automoose-1" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
22219 "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo" "hweede@@snafu.de")
22221 fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
22223 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at@*
22224 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
22226 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
22227 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
22228 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
22229 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
22230 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
22231 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
22232 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
22233 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
22234 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
22235 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
22237 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
22238 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
22241 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
22244 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
22245 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
22248 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
22251 The specs are applied left-to-right.
22254 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
22255 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
22257 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
22258 says she is. The default is @code{pgg-verify}, which returns
22259 non-@code{nil} if the verification is successful, otherwise (including
22260 the case the NoCeM message was not signed) returns @code{nil}. If this
22261 is too slow and you don't care for verification (which may be dangerous),
22262 you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
22264 Formerly the default was @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
22265 function. While you can still use it, you can change it into
22266 @code{pgg-verify} running with GnuPG if you are willing to add the
22267 @acronym{PGP} public keys to GnuPG's keyring.
22269 @item gnus-nocem-directory
22270 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
22271 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is@*
22272 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
22274 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
22275 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
22276 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
22277 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
22278 might then see old spam.
22280 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
22281 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
22282 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
22283 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
22284 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
22287 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
22288 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
22289 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
22290 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
22294 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
22295 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
22296 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
22297 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
22304 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
22305 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
22306 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
22308 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
22309 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
22310 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
22311 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
22312 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
22313 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
22314 @code{undo} function.
22316 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
22317 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
22318 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
22319 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
22320 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
22321 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
22322 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
22323 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
22324 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
22325 never be totally undoable.
22327 @findex gnus-undo-mode
22328 @vindex gnus-use-undo
22330 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
22331 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
22332 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
22333 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
22337 @node Predicate Specifiers
22338 @section Predicate Specifiers
22339 @cindex predicate specifiers
22341 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
22342 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
22343 to type all that much.
22345 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
22350 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
22351 gnus-article-unread-p)
22354 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
22355 functions all take one parameter.
22357 @findex gnus-make-predicate
22358 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
22359 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
22360 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
22365 @section Moderation
22368 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
22369 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
22370 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
22373 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
22377 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
22380 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
22382 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
22387 You split your incoming mail by matching on
22388 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
22389 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
22392 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
22393 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
22396 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
22397 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
22401 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
22404 (setq gnus-moderated-list
22405 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
22409 @node Fetching a Group
22410 @section Fetching a Group
22411 @cindex fetching a group
22413 @findex gnus-fetch-group
22414 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
22415 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
22416 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
22417 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
22418 It takes the group name as a parameter.
22421 @node Image Enhancements
22422 @section Image Enhancements
22424 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21@footnote{Emacs 21 on MS Windows doesn't
22425 support images yet.}, is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has
22426 taken advantage of that.
22429 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
22430 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
22431 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
22432 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
22433 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
22441 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
22442 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
22443 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
22447 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
22448 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
22449 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
22457 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
22458 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
22459 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
22460 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
22462 The variable that controls this is the
22463 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
22464 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
22465 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
22466 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
22467 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
22469 The default action under Emacs without image support is to fork off the
22470 @code{display} program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick
22471 package. For the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look
22472 for a package like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux
22473 system.} to view the face.
22475 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
22476 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
22477 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
22478 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
22479 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
22480 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
22481 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
22482 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
22484 (Note: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
22492 @vindex gnus-x-face
22493 Face to show X-Face. The colors from this face are used as the
22494 foreground and background colors of the displayed X-Faces. The
22495 default colors are black and white.
22497 @item gnus-face-properties-alist
22498 @vindex gnus-face-properties-alist
22499 Alist of image types and properties applied to Face (@pxref{Face}) and
22500 X-Face images. The default value is @code{((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face))
22501 (png . nil))} for Emacs or @code{((xface . (:face gnus-x-face)))} for
22502 XEmacs. Here are examples:
22505 ;; Specify the altitude of Face and X-Face images in the From header.
22506 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
22507 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :ascent 80))
22508 (png . (:ascent 80))))
22510 ;; Show Face and X-Face images as pressed buttons.
22511 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
22512 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :relief -2))
22513 (png . (:relief -2))))
22516 @pxref{Image Descriptors, ,Image Descriptors, elisp, The Emacs Lisp
22517 Reference Manual} for the valid properties for various image types.
22518 Currently, @code{pbm} is used for X-Face images and @code{png} is used
22519 for Face images in Emacs. Only the @code{:face} property is effective
22520 on the @code{xface} image type in XEmacs if it is built with the
22521 @samp{libcompface} library.
22524 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
22525 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
22527 @findex gnus-random-x-face
22528 @vindex gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command
22529 @vindex gnus-x-face-directory
22530 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
22531 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
22532 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
22533 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
22534 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
22535 header data as a string.
22537 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
22538 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
22539 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
22540 randomly generated data.
22542 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
22543 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command
22544 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
22545 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
22546 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
22548 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
22549 like the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
22552 (setq message-required-news-headers
22553 (nconc message-required-news-headers
22554 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
22557 Using the last function would be something like this:
22560 (setq message-required-news-headers
22561 (nconc message-required-news-headers
22562 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
22563 (gnus-x-face-from-file
22564 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
22572 @c #### FIXME: faces and x-faces'implementations should really be harmonized.
22574 @code{Face} headers are essentially a funkier version of @code{X-Face}
22575 ones. They describe a 48x48 pixel colored image that's supposed to
22576 represent the author of the message.
22579 @findex gnus-article-display-face
22580 The contents of a @code{Face} header must be a base64 encoded PNG image.
22581 See @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/circus/face/} for the precise
22584 The @code{gnus-face-properties-alist} variable affects the appearance of
22585 displayed Face images. @xref{X-Face}.
22587 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
22588 easier insertion of Face headers in outgoing messages.
22590 @findex gnus-convert-png-to-face
22591 @code{gnus-convert-png-to-face} takes a 48x48 PNG image, no longer than
22592 726 bytes long, and converts it to a face.
22594 @findex gnus-face-from-file
22595 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-face-command
22596 @code{gnus-face-from-file} takes a JPEG file as the parameter, and then
22597 converts the file to Face format by using the
22598 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-face-command} shell command.
22600 Here's how you would typically use this function. Put something like the
22601 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
22604 (setq message-required-news-headers
22605 (nconc message-required-news-headers
22606 (list '(Face . (lambda ()
22607 (gnus-face-from-file "~/face.jpg"))))))
22612 @subsection Smileys
22617 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
22622 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
22623 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
22625 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
22626 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
22629 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
22632 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
22633 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
22634 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
22635 text and maps that to file names.
22637 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
22638 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
22639 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
22640 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
22641 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
22644 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
22649 @item smiley-data-directory
22650 @vindex smiley-data-directory
22651 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
22653 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
22654 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
22655 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
22669 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
22670 good way to do so. It's also a great way to impress people staring
22671 over your shoulder as you read news.
22673 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
22682 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
22683 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
22684 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
22685 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
22686 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
22687 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
22688 @code{GIF} formats.
22691 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
22692 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
22693 point your Web browser at
22694 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
22696 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
22697 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
22699 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
22700 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
22703 @vindex gnus-picon-style
22704 The variable @code{gnus-picon-style} controls how picons are displayed.
22705 If @code{inline}, the textual representation is replaced. If
22706 @code{right}, picons are added right to the textual representation.
22708 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
22712 @item gnus-picon-databases
22713 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
22714 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
22715 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
22716 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
22717 "/usr/local/faces")}.
22719 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
22720 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
22721 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
22722 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
22724 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
22725 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
22726 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
22727 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
22729 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
22730 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
22731 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
22732 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
22733 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
22735 @item gnus-picon-file-types
22736 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
22737 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
22738 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not built-in your Emacs.
22744 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
22747 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
22748 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
22749 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
22750 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
22751 unusual directory structure.
22753 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
22754 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
22755 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
22760 @subsubsection Toolbar
22764 @item gnus-use-toolbar
22765 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
22766 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
22767 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
22768 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
22770 @item gnus-group-toolbar
22771 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
22772 The toolbar in the group buffer.
22774 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
22775 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
22776 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
22778 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
22779 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
22780 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
22791 @node Fuzzy Matching
22792 @section Fuzzy Matching
22793 @cindex fuzzy matching
22795 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
22796 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
22798 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
22799 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
22800 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
22802 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
22803 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
22804 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
22805 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
22806 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
22809 @node Thwarting Email Spam
22810 @section Thwarting Email Spam
22814 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
22816 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
22817 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
22818 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
22819 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
22820 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
22821 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
22822 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
22823 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
22826 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
22827 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
22828 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
22829 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
22830 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
22831 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
22833 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
22836 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
22837 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
22838 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
22839 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
22840 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
22841 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
22844 @node The problem of spam
22845 @subsection The problem of spam
22847 @cindex spam filtering approaches
22848 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
22850 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
22852 First, some background on spam.
22854 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
22855 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it
22856 exists because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail,
22857 so only a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to
22858 make it worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most
22859 common spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for
22860 further spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers},
22861 but terms like @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, @emph{sociopaths}, and
22862 @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
22864 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
22865 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
22866 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
22867 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
22868 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
22869 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
22870 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
22871 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
22872 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
22875 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering, at the mail
22876 server or when you sort through incoming mail. If you get 200 spam
22877 messages per day from @samp{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you block
22878 @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about @samp{VIAGRA}, you
22879 discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the message. If you get
22880 lots of spam from Bulgaria, for example, you try to filter all mail
22881 from Bulgarian IPs.
22883 This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate e-mail. The
22884 risks of blocking a whole country (Bulgaria, Norway, Nigeria, China,
22885 etc.) or even a continent (Asia, Africa, Europe, etc.) from contacting
22886 you should be obvious, so don't do it if you have the choice.
22888 In another instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest has
22889 been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it @strong{contained}
22890 words that were common in spam messages. Nevertheless, in isolated
22891 cases, with great care, direct filtering of mail can be useful.
22893 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
22894 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
22895 @var{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @var{X} in
22896 Ghana, Estonia, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
22897 @var{N} systems enter @var{X} or the spam e-mail from @var{X} into a
22898 database. The criteria for spam detection vary---it may be the number
22899 of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When a user
22900 of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a message is
22901 spam, he consults one of those @var{N} systems.
22903 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
22904 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
22905 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
22906 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
22907 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
22908 sending spam, and their web sites and mailing lists have been shut
22909 down for some time because of the incident.
22911 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
22912 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
22913 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
22914 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
22915 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
22916 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
22917 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
22918 to store the database of spam analyses. Statistical analysis on the
22919 server is gaining popularity. This has the advantage of letting the
22920 user Just Read Mail, but has the disadvantage that it's harder to tell
22921 the server that it has misclassified mail.
22923 Fighting spam is not easy, no matter what anyone says. There is no
22924 magic switch that will distinguish Viagra ads from Mom's e-mails.
22925 Even people are having a hard time telling spam apart from non-spam,
22926 because spammers are actively looking to fool us into thinking they
22927 are Mom, essentially. Spamming is irritating, irresponsible, and
22928 idiotic behavior from a bunch of people who think the world owes them
22929 a favor. We hope the following sections will help you in fighting the
22932 @node Anti-Spam Basics
22933 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
22937 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
22939 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
22940 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
22942 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
22943 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
22944 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
22945 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
22946 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
22947 part of the mail address.)
22950 (setq message-default-news-headers
22951 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
22954 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
22955 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
22959 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
22960 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
22961 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
22966 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
22967 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
22968 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
22969 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
22971 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @acronym{SMTP} server
22972 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
22973 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
22974 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
22975 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
22976 your fancy split rule in this way:
22981 (to "larsi" "misc")
22985 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
22986 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
22987 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
22988 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
22989 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
22991 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
22992 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
22993 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
22994 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
22996 Be careful with this approach. Spammers are wise to it.
23000 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
23001 @cindex SpamAssassin
23002 @cindex Vipul's Razor
23005 The days where the hints in the previous section were sufficient in
23006 avoiding spam are coming to an end. There are many tools out there
23007 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
23008 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
23009 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
23010 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
23011 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
23013 Note that this section does not involve the @code{spam.el} package,
23014 which is discussed in the next section. If you don't care for all
23015 the features of @code{spam.el}, you can make do with these simple
23018 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
23019 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
23020 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
23021 Specifiers}) follow.
23025 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
23029 "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
23032 Once you manage to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
23033 the mail contain e.g.@: a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
23034 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
23037 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
23041 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
23044 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
23045 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
23049 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
23050 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
23051 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
23052 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
23055 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
23057 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
23061 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
23062 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
23066 Note that with the nnimap back end, message bodies will not be
23067 downloaded by default. You need to set
23068 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
23069 (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}).
23071 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
23072 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
23073 spam. And here is the nifty function:
23076 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
23077 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
23079 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
23080 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
23081 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
23085 @subsection Hashcash
23088 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
23089 costly and demonstrably unique for each message they send. This has
23090 the obvious drawback that you cannot rely on everyone in the world
23091 using this technique, since it is not part of the Internet standards,
23092 but it may be useful in smaller communities.
23094 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
23095 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
23096 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
23097 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
23098 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
23099 instead prefers that everyone you contact through e-mail supports the
23100 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
23101 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
23102 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
23103 one of them separately.
23106 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
23107 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
23108 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:} header.
23109 For more details, and for the external application @code{hashcash} you
23110 need to install to use this feature, see
23111 @uref{http://www.hashcash.org/}. Even more information can be found
23112 at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
23114 If you wish to generate hashcash for each message you send, you can
23115 customize @code{message-generate-hashcash} (@pxref{Mail Headers, ,Mail
23116 Headers,message, The Message Manual}), as in:
23119 (setq message-generate-hashcash t)
23122 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
23126 @item hashcash-default-payment
23127 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
23128 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
23129 should consist of. By default this is 20. Suggested useful values
23132 @item hashcash-payment-alist
23133 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
23134 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
23135 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(@var{addr}
23136 @var{amount})} cells, where @var{addr} is the receiver (email address
23137 or newsgroup) and @var{amount} is the number of bits in the collision
23138 that is needed. It can also contain @samp{(@var{addr} @var{string}
23139 @var{amount})} cells, where the @var{string} is the string to use
23140 (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
23142 @item hashcash-path
23143 @vindex hashcash-path
23144 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed. This variable should
23145 be automatically set by @code{executable-find}, but if it's @code{nil}
23146 (usually because the @code{hashcash} binary is not in your path)
23147 you'll get a warning when you check hashcash payments and an error
23148 when you generate hashcash payments.
23152 Gnus can verify hashcash cookies, although this can also be done by
23153 hand customized mail filtering scripts. To verify a hashcash cookie
23154 in a message, use the @code{mail-check-payment} function in the
23155 @code{hashcash.el} library. You can also use the @code{spam.el}
23156 package with the @code{spam-use-hashcash} back end to validate hashcash
23157 cookies in incoming mail and filter mail accordingly (@pxref{Anti-spam
23158 Hashcash Payments}).
23160 @node Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
23161 @subsection Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
23162 @cindex spam filtering
23165 The idea behind @code{spam.el} is to have a control center for spam detection
23166 and filtering in Gnus. To that end, @code{spam.el} does two things: it
23167 filters new mail, and it analyzes mail known to be spam or ham.
23168 @dfn{Ham} is the name used throughout @code{spam.el} to indicate
23171 Make sure you read the section on the @code{spam.el} sequence of
23172 events. See @xref{Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events}.
23174 @cindex spam-initialize
23175 To use @code{spam.el}, you @strong{must} run the function
23176 @code{spam-initialize} to autoload @file{spam.el} and to install the
23177 @code{spam.el} hooks. There is one exception: if you use the
23178 @code{spam-use-stat} (@pxref{spam-stat spam filtering}) setting, you
23179 should turn it on before @code{spam-initialize}:
23182 (setq spam-use-stat t) ;; if needed
23186 So, what happens when you load @file{spam.el}?
23188 First, some hooks will get installed by @code{spam-initialize}. There
23189 are some hooks for @code{spam-stat} so it can save its databases, and
23190 there are hooks so interesting things will happen when you enter and
23191 leave a group. More on the sequence of events later (@pxref{Spam
23192 ELisp Package Sequence of Events}).
23194 You get the following keyboard commands:
23204 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
23205 @code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}.
23207 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{$} mark.
23208 Whenever you see a spam article, make sure to mark its summary line
23209 with @kbd{M-d} before leaving the group. This is done automatically
23210 for unread articles in @emph{spam} groups.
23216 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
23217 @code{spam-bogofilter-score}.
23219 You must have Bogofilter installed for that command to work properly.
23225 Also, when you load @file{spam.el}, you will be able to customize its
23226 variables. Try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{spam} variable
23230 * Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events::
23231 * Spam ELisp Package Filtering of Incoming Mail::
23232 * Spam ELisp Package Global Variables::
23233 * Spam ELisp Package Sorting and Score Display in Summary Buffer::
23234 * Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples::
23235 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
23236 * BBDB Whitelists::
23237 * Gmane Spam Reporting::
23238 * Anti-spam Hashcash Payments::
23240 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
23242 * SpamAssassin back end::
23243 * ifile spam filtering::
23244 * spam-stat spam filtering::
23246 * Extending the Spam ELisp package::
23249 @node Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events
23250 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events
23251 @cindex spam filtering
23252 @cindex spam filtering sequence of events
23254 You must read this section to understand how @code{spam.el} works.
23255 Do not skip, speed-read, or glance through this section.
23257 There are two @emph{contact points}, if you will, between
23258 @code{spam.el} and the rest of Gnus: checking new mail for spam, and
23261 Getting new mail in Gnus is done in one of two ways. You can either
23262 split your incoming mail or you can classify new articles as ham or
23263 spam when you enter the group.
23265 Splitting incoming mail is better suited to mail back ends such as
23266 @code{nnml} or @code{nnimap} where new mail appears in a single file
23267 called a @dfn{Spool File}. See @xref{Spam ELisp Package Filtering of
23270 @vindex gnus-spam-autodetect
23271 @vindex gnus-spam-autodetect-methods
23272 For back ends such as @code{nntp} there is no incoming mail spool, so
23273 an alternate mechanism must be used. This may also happen for
23274 back ends where the server is in charge of splitting incoming mail, and
23275 Gnus does not do further splitting. The @code{spam-autodetect} and
23276 @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group parameters (accessible with
23277 @kbd{G c} and @kbd{G p} as usual), and the corresponding variables
23278 @code{gnus-spam-autodetect} and @code{gnus-spam-autodetect-methods}
23279 (accessible with @kbd{M-x customize-variable} as usual) can help.
23281 When @code{spam-autodetect} is used (you can turn it on for a
23282 group/topic or wholesale by regular expression matches, as needed), it
23283 hooks into the process of entering a group. Thus, entering a group
23284 with unseen or unread articles becomes the substitute for checking
23285 incoming mail. Whether only unseen articles or all unread articles
23286 will be processed is determined by the
23287 @code{spam-autodetect-recheck-messages}. When set to @code{t}, unread
23288 messages will be rechecked. You should probably stick with the
23289 default of only checking unseen messages.
23291 @code{spam-autodetect} grants the user at once more and less control
23292 of spam filtering. The user will have more control over each group's
23293 spam methods, so for instance the @samp{ding} group may have
23294 @code{spam-use-BBDB} as the autodetection method, while the
23295 @samp{suspect} group may have the @code{spam-use-blacklist} and
23296 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} methods enabled. Every article detected to
23297 be spam will be marked with the spam mark @samp{$} and processed on
23298 exit from the group as normal spam. The user has less control over
23299 the @emph{sequence} of checks, as he might with @code{spam-split}.
23301 When the newly split mail goes into groups, or messages are
23302 autodetected to be ham or spam, those groups must be exited (after
23303 entering, if needed) for further spam processing to happen. It
23304 matters whether the group is considered a ham group, a spam group, or
23305 is unclassified, based on its @code{spam-content} parameter
23306 (@pxref{Spam ELisp Package Global Variables}). Spam groups have the
23307 additional characteristic that, when entered, any unseen or unread
23308 articles (depending on the @code{spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam}
23309 variable) will be marked as spam. Thus, mail split into a spam group
23310 gets automatically marked as spam when you enter the group.
23312 Thus, when you exit a group, the @code{spam-processors} are applied,
23313 if any are set, and the processed mail is moved to the
23314 @code{ham-process-destination} or the @code{spam-process-destination}
23315 depending on the article's classification. If the
23316 @code{ham-process-destination} or the @code{spam-process-destination},
23317 whichever is appropriate, are @code{nil}, the article is left in the
23320 If a spam is found in any group (this can be changed to only non-spam
23321 groups with @code{spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only}), it is
23322 processed by the active @code{spam-processors} (@pxref{Spam ELisp
23323 Package Global Variables}) when the group is exited. Furthermore, the
23324 spam is moved to the @code{spam-process-destination} (@pxref{Spam
23325 ELisp Package Global Variables}) for further training or deletion.
23326 You have to load the @code{gnus-registry.el} package and enable the
23327 @code{spam-log-to-registry} variable if you want spam to be processed
23328 no more than once. Thus, spam is detected and processed everywhere,
23329 which is what most people want. If the
23330 @code{spam-process-destination} is @code{nil}, the spam is marked as
23331 expired, which is usually the right thing to do.
23333 If spam can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
23334 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
23336 If a ham mail is found in a ham group, as determined by the
23337 @code{ham-marks} parameter, it is processed as ham by the active ham
23338 @code{spam-processor} when the group is exited. With the variables
23339 @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} and
23340 @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups} the behavior can be further
23341 altered so ham found anywhere can be processed. You have to load the
23342 @code{gnus-registry.el} package and enable the
23343 @code{spam-log-to-registry} variable if you want ham to be processed
23344 no more than once. Thus, ham is detected and processed only when
23345 necessary, which is what most people want. More on this in
23346 @xref{Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples}.
23348 If ham can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
23349 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
23351 If all this seems confusing, don't worry. Soon it will be as natural
23352 as typing Lisp one-liners on a neural interface@dots{} err, sorry, that's
23353 50 years in the future yet. Just trust us, it's not so bad.
23355 @node Spam ELisp Package Filtering of Incoming Mail
23356 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Filtering of Incoming Mail
23357 @cindex spam filtering
23358 @cindex spam filtering incoming mail
23361 To use the @code{spam.el} facilities for incoming mail filtering, you
23362 must add the following to your fancy split list
23363 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}:
23369 Note that the fancy split may be called @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
23370 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on whether you use the nnmail or
23371 nnimap back ends to retrieve your mail.
23373 Also, @code{spam-split} will not modify incoming mail in any way.
23375 The @code{spam-split} function will process incoming mail and send the
23376 mail considered to be spam into the group name given by the variable
23377 @code{spam-split-group}. By default that group name is @samp{spam},
23378 but you can customize @code{spam-split-group}. Make sure the contents
23379 of @code{spam-split-group} are an @emph{unqualified} group name, for
23380 instance in an @code{nnimap} server @samp{your-server} the value
23381 @samp{spam} will turn out to be @samp{nnimap+your-server:spam}. The
23382 value @samp{nnimap+server:spam}, therefore, is wrong and will
23383 actually give you the group
23384 @samp{nnimap+your-server:nnimap+server:spam} which may or may not
23385 work depending on your server's tolerance for strange group names.
23387 You can also give @code{spam-split} a parameter,
23388 e.g. @code{spam-use-regex-headers} or @code{"maybe-spam"}. Why is
23391 Take these split rules (with @code{spam-use-regex-headers} and
23392 @code{spam-use-blackholes} set):
23395 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
23396 (any "ding" "ding")
23398 ;; @r{default mailbox}
23402 Now, the problem is that you want all ding messages to make it to the
23403 ding folder. But that will let obvious spam (for example, spam
23404 detected by SpamAssassin, and @code{spam-use-regex-headers}) through,
23405 when it's sent to the ding list. On the other hand, some messages to
23406 the ding list are from a mail server in the blackhole list, so the
23407 invocation of @code{spam-split} can't be before the ding rule.
23409 You can let SpamAssassin headers supersede ding rules, but all other
23410 @code{spam-split} rules (including a second invocation of the
23411 regex-headers check) will be after the ding rule:
23416 ;; @r{all spam detected by @code{spam-use-regex-headers} goes to @samp{regex-spam}}
23417 (: spam-split "regex-spam" 'spam-use-regex-headers)
23418 (any "ding" "ding")
23419 ;; @r{all other spam detected by spam-split goes to @code{spam-split-group}}
23421 ;; @r{default mailbox}
23425 This lets you invoke specific @code{spam-split} checks depending on
23426 your particular needs, and to target the results of those checks to a
23427 particular spam group. You don't have to throw all mail into all the
23428 spam tests. Another reason why this is nice is that messages to
23429 mailing lists you have rules for don't have to have resource-intensive
23430 blackhole checks performed on them. You could also specify different
23431 spam checks for your nnmail split vs. your nnimap split. Go crazy.
23433 You should still have specific checks such as
23434 @code{spam-use-regex-headers} set to @code{t}, even if you
23435 specifically invoke @code{spam-split} with the check. The reason is
23436 that when loading @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done
23437 depending on what @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set. This
23438 is usually not critical, though.
23440 @emph{Note for IMAP users}
23442 The boolean variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body} needs to be
23443 set, if you want to split based on the whole message instead of just
23444 the headers. By default, the nnimap back end will only retrieve the
23445 message headers. If you use a @emph{statistical} filter,
23446 e.g. @code{spam-check-bogofilter}, @code{spam-check-ifile}, or
23447 @code{spam-check-stat} (the splitters that can benefit from the full
23448 message body), this variable will be set automatically. It is not set
23449 for non-statistical back ends by default because it will slow
23450 @acronym{IMAP} down.
23452 @xref{Splitting in IMAP}.
23454 @node Spam ELisp Package Global Variables
23455 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Global Variables
23456 @cindex spam filtering
23457 @cindex spam filtering variables
23458 @cindex spam variables
23461 @vindex gnus-spam-process-newsgroups
23462 The concepts of ham processors and spam processors are very important.
23463 Ham processors and spam processors for a group can be set with the
23464 @code{spam-process} group parameter, or the
23465 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. Ham processors take
23466 mail known to be non-spam (@emph{ham}) and process it in some way so
23467 that later similar mail will also be considered non-spam. Spam
23468 processors take mail known to be spam and process it so similar spam
23469 will be detected later.
23471 The format of the spam or ham processor entry used to be a symbol,
23472 but now it is a @sc{cons} cell. See the individual spam processor entries
23473 for more information.
23475 @vindex gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
23476 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
23477 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
23478 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
23479 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
23480 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
23481 by customizing the corresponding variable
23482 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
23483 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
23484 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
23485 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
23486 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
23487 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
23488 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
23491 @vindex gnus-spam-mark
23493 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
23494 they get the @samp{$} mark (@code{gnus-spam-mark}) when you enter the
23495 group. If you have seen a message, had it marked as spam, then
23496 unmarked it, it won't be marked as spam when you enter the group
23497 thereafter. You can disable that behavior, so all unread messages
23498 will get the @samp{$} mark, if you set the
23499 @code{spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam} parameter to @code{nil}. You
23500 should remove the @samp{$} mark when you are in the group summary
23501 buffer for every message that is not spam after all. To remove the
23502 @samp{$} mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to ``unread'' the article, or
23503 @kbd{d} for declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a
23504 group, all spam-marked (@samp{$}) articles are sent to a spam
23505 processor which will study them as spam samples.
23507 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
23508 @code{ham-marks} group parameter gets overridden below, marks @samp{R}
23509 and @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
23510 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
23511 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
23512 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
23513 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
23514 should then adjust the @code{ham-marks} group parameter.
23517 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
23518 marks you want to consider ham. By default, the list contains the
23519 deleted, read, killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks (the idea is
23520 that these articles have been read, but are not spam). It can be
23521 useful to also include the tick mark in the ham marks. It is not
23522 recommended to make the unread mark a ham mark, because it normally
23523 indicates a lack of classification. But you can do it, and we'll be
23528 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
23529 marks you want to consider spam. By default, the list contains only
23530 the spam mark. It is not recommended to change that, but you can if
23531 you really want to.
23534 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
23535 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
23536 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
23537 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
23538 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
23539 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{$},
23542 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
23543 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
23544 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
23545 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
23546 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
23547 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
23548 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
23549 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
23550 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with @kbd{M-x
23551 customize-variable @key{RET} gnus-ham-process-destinations}). Each
23552 group name list is a standard Lisp list, if you prefer to customize
23553 the variable manually. If the @code{ham-process-destination}
23554 parameter is not set, ham articles are left in place. If the
23555 @code{spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group} parameter is
23556 set, the ham articles are marked as unread before being moved.
23558 If ham can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
23559 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
23561 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
23562 expression! This enables you to send your ham to a regular mail
23563 group and to a @emph{ham training} group.
23565 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
23566 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
23568 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups
23569 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} is
23570 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in spam groups
23571 to be processed. Normally this is not done, you are expected instead
23572 to send your ham to a ham group and process it there.
23574 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups
23575 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups} is
23576 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in non-ham (spam
23577 or unclassified) groups to be processed. Normally this is not done,
23578 you are expected instead to send your ham to a ham group and process
23581 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
23582 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
23583 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
23584 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
23585 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
23586 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
23587 customize this variable with @kbd{M-x customize-variable @key{RET}
23588 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). Each group name list is a standard
23589 Lisp list, if you prefer to customize the variable manually. If the
23590 @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set, the spam
23591 articles are only expired. The group name is fully qualified, meaning
23592 that if you see @samp{nntp:servername} before the group name in the
23593 group buffer then you need it here as well.
23595 If spam can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
23596 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
23598 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
23599 expression! This enables you to send your spam to multiple @emph{spam
23602 @vindex spam-log-to-registry
23603 The problem with processing ham and spam is that Gnus doesn't track
23604 this processing by default. Enable the @code{spam-log-to-registry}
23605 variable so @code{spam.el} will use @code{gnus-registry.el} to track
23606 what articles have been processed, and avoid processing articles
23607 multiple times. Keep in mind that if you limit the number of registry
23608 entries, this won't work as well as it does without a limit.
23610 @vindex spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam
23611 Set this variable if you want only unseen articles in spam groups to
23612 be marked as spam. By default, it is set. If you set it to
23613 @code{nil}, unread articles will also be marked as spam.
23615 @vindex spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group
23616 Set this variable if you want ham to be unmarked before it is moved
23617 out of the spam group. This is very useful when you use something
23618 like the tick mark @samp{!} to mark ham---the article will be placed
23619 in your @code{ham-process-destination}, unmarked as if it came fresh
23620 from the mail server.
23622 @vindex spam-autodetect-recheck-messages
23623 When autodetecting spam, this variable tells @code{spam.el} whether
23624 only unseen articles or all unread articles should be checked for
23625 spam. It is recommended that you leave it off.
23627 @node Spam ELisp Package Sorting and Score Display in Summary Buffer
23628 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Sorting and Score Display in Summary Buffer
23629 @cindex spam scoring
23630 @cindex spam sorting
23631 @cindex spam score summary buffer
23632 @cindex spam sort summary buffer
23635 You can display the spam score of articles in your summary buffer, and
23636 you can sort articles by their spam score.
23638 First you need to decide which back end you will be using. If you use
23639 the @code{spam-use-spamassassin},
23640 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}, or @code{spam-use-regex-headers}
23641 back end, the @code{X-Spam-Status} header will be used. If you use
23642 @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, the @code{X-Bogosity} header will be used.
23643 If you use @code{spam-use-crm114}, any header that matches the CRM114
23644 score format will be used. As long as you set the appropriate back end
23645 variable to t @emph{before} you load @file{spam.el}, you will be
23646 fine. @code{spam.el} will automatically add the right header to the
23647 internal Gnus list of required headers.
23649 To show the spam score in your summary buffer, add this line to your
23650 @code{gnus.el} file (note @code{spam.el} does not do that by default
23651 so it won't override any existing @code{S} formats you may have).
23654 (defalias 'gnus-user-format-function-S 'spam-user-format-function-S)
23657 Now just set your summary line format to use @code{%uS}. Here's an
23658 example that formats the spam score in a 5-character field:
23661 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
23662 "%U%R %10&user-date; $%5uS %6k %B %(%4L: %*%-25,25a%) %s \n")
23665 Finally, to sort by spam status, either do it globally:
23669 gnus-show-threads nil
23670 gnus-article-sort-functions
23671 '(spam-article-sort-by-spam-status))
23674 or per group (@pxref{Sorting the Summary Buffer}).
23676 @node Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples
23677 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples
23678 @cindex spam filtering
23679 @cindex spam filtering configuration examples
23680 @cindex spam configuration examples
23683 @subsubheading Ted's setup
23685 From Ted Zlatanov <tzz@@lifelogs.com>.
23687 ;; @r{for @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent} and spam autodetection}
23688 ;; @r{see @file{gnus-registry.el} for more information}
23689 (gnus-registry-initialize)
23692 ;; @r{I like @kbd{C-s} for marking spam}
23693 (define-key gnus-summary-mode-map "\C-s" 'gnus-summary-mark-as-spam)
23696 spam-log-to-registry t ; @r{for spam autodetection}
23698 spam-use-regex-headers t ; @r{catch X-Spam-Flag (SpamAssassin)}
23699 ;; @r{all groups with @samp{spam} in the name contain spam}
23700 gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
23701 '(("spam" gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
23702 ;; @r{see documentation for these}
23703 spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only nil
23704 spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam t
23705 spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group t
23706 nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
23707 ;; @r{understand what this does before you copy it to your own setup!}
23708 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
23709 ;; @r{trace references to parents and put in their group}
23710 (: gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent)
23711 ;; @r{this will catch server-side SpamAssassin tags}
23712 (: spam-split 'spam-use-regex-headers)
23713 (any "ding" "ding")
23714 ;; @r{note that spam by default will go to @samp{spam}}
23716 ;; @r{default mailbox}
23719 ;; @r{my parameters, set with @kbd{G p}}
23721 ;; @r{all nnml groups, and all nnimap groups except}
23722 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} and}
23723 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam}: any spam goes to nnimap training,}
23724 ;; @r{because it must have been detected manually}
23726 ((spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
23728 ;; @r{all @acronym{NNTP} groups}
23729 ;; @r{autodetect spam with the blacklist and ham with the BBDB}
23730 ((spam-autodetect-methods spam-use-blacklist spam-use-BBDB)
23731 ;; @r{send all spam to the training group}
23732 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
23734 ;; @r{only some @acronym{NNTP} groups, where I want to autodetect spam}
23735 ((spam-autodetect . t))
23737 ;; @r{my nnimap @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam} group}
23739 ;; @r{this is a spam group}
23740 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam)
23742 ;; @r{any spam (which happens when I enter for all unseen messages,}
23743 ;; @r{because of the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} setting above), goes to}
23744 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} unless I mark it as ham}
23746 (spam-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train")
23748 ;; @r{any ham goes to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail} folder, but}
23749 ;; @r{also to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham} folder for training}
23751 (ham-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail"
23752 "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham")
23753 ;; @r{in this group, only @samp{!} marks are ham}
23755 (gnus-ticked-mark))
23756 ;; @r{remembers senders in the blacklist on the way out---this is}
23757 ;; @r{definitely not needed, it just makes me feel better}
23758 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist)))
23760 ;; @r{Later, on the @acronym{IMAP} server I use the @samp{train} group for training}
23761 ;; @r{SpamAssassin to recognize spam, and the @samp{trainham} group fora}
23762 ;; @r{recognizing ham---but Gnus has nothing to do with it.}
23766 @subsubheading Using @code{spam.el} on an IMAP server with a statistical filter on the server
23767 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
23769 My provider has set up bogofilter (in combination with @acronym{DCC}) on
23770 the mail server (@acronym{IMAP}). Recognized spam goes to
23771 @samp{spam.detected}, the rest goes through the normal filter rules,
23772 i.e. to @samp{some.folder} or to @samp{INBOX}. Training on false
23773 positives or negatives is done by copying or moving the article to
23774 @samp{training.ham} or @samp{training.spam} respectively. A cron job on
23775 the server feeds those to bogofilter with the suitable ham or spam
23776 options and deletes them from the @samp{training.ham} and
23777 @samp{training.spam} folders.
23779 With the following entries in @code{gnus-parameters}, @code{spam.el}
23780 does most of the job for me:
23783 ("nnimap:spam\\.detected"
23784 (gnus-article-sort-functions '(gnus-article-sort-by-chars))
23785 (ham-process-destination "nnimap:INBOX" "nnimap:training.ham")
23786 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
23787 ("nnimap:\\(INBOX\\|other-folders\\)"
23788 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap:training.spam")
23789 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham))
23794 @item @b{The Spam folder:}
23796 In the folder @samp{spam.detected}, I have to check for false positives
23797 (i.e. legitimate mails, that were wrongly judged as spam by
23798 bogofilter or DCC).
23800 Because of the @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam} entry, all
23801 messages are marked as spam (with @code{$}). When I find a false
23802 positive, I mark the message with some other ham mark (@code{ham-marks},
23803 @ref{Spam ELisp Package Global Variables}). On group exit, those
23804 messages are copied to both groups, @samp{INBOX} (where I want to have
23805 the article) and @samp{training.ham} (for training bogofilter) and
23806 deleted from the @samp{spam.detected} folder.
23808 The @code{gnus-article-sort-by-chars} entry simplifies detection of
23809 false positives for me. I receive lots of worms (sweN, @dots{}), that all
23810 have a similar size. Grouping them by size (i.e. chars) makes finding
23811 other false positives easier. (Of course worms aren't @i{spam}
23812 (@acronym{UCE}, @acronym{UBE}) strictly speaking. Anyhow, bogofilter is
23813 an excellent tool for filtering those unwanted mails for me.)
23815 @item @b{Ham folders:}
23817 In my ham folders, I just hit @kbd{S x}
23818 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) whenever I see an unrecognized spam
23819 mail (false negative). On group exit, those messages are moved to
23820 @samp{training.spam}.
23823 @subsubheading Reporting spam articles in Gmane groups with @code{spam-report.el}
23825 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
23827 With following entry in @code{gnus-parameters}, @kbd{S x}
23828 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) marks articles in @code{gmane.*}
23829 groups as spam and reports the to Gmane at group exit:
23833 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane)))
23836 Additionally, I use @code{(setq spam-report-gmane-use-article-number nil)}
23837 because I don't read the groups directly from news.gmane.org, but
23838 through my local news server (leafnode). I.e. the article numbers are
23839 not the same as on news.gmane.org, thus @code{spam-report.el} has to check
23840 the @code{X-Report-Spam} header to find the correct number.
23842 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
23843 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
23844 @cindex spam filtering
23845 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
23846 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
23849 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
23851 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
23852 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
23853 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
23854 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
23859 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
23861 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
23862 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
23863 whitelist will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
23864 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the whitelist, their
23865 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
23869 @defvar spam-use-whitelist-exclusive
23871 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists as an
23872 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
23873 unless the sender is in the whitelist. Use with care.
23877 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
23879 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23880 customizing the group parameters or the
23881 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23882 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
23883 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
23887 Instead of the obsolete
23888 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist}, it is recommended
23889 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-blacklist)}. Everything will work
23890 the same way, we promise.
23894 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
23896 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23897 customizing the group parameters or the
23898 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23899 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
23900 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
23905 Instead of the obsolete
23906 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist}, it is recommended
23907 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-whitelist)}. Everything will work
23908 the same way, we promise.
23912 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
23913 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
23914 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
23915 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
23916 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
23918 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
23919 legitimate. All messages from whitelisted addresses are considered
23920 non-spam. Also see @ref{BBDB Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the
23921 Emacs regular expression syntax.
23923 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
23924 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
23925 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
23926 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
23927 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
23928 @file{blacklist} respectively.
23930 @node BBDB Whitelists
23931 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
23932 @cindex spam filtering
23933 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
23934 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
23937 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
23939 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
23940 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted
23941 addresses, without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded
23942 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Messages whose senders are
23943 not in the BBDB will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
23944 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the BBDB, their
23945 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
23949 @defvar spam-use-BBDB-exclusive
23951 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use the BBDB as an
23952 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
23953 unless the sender is in the BBDB. Use with care. Only sender
23954 addresses in the BBDB will be allowed through; all others will be
23955 classified as spammers.
23957 While @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} @emph{can} be used as an alias
23958 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} as far as @code{spam.el} is concerned, it is
23959 @emph{not} a separate back end. If you set
23960 @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} to t, @emph{all} your BBDB splitting
23965 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
23967 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23968 customizing the group parameters or the
23969 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23970 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
23971 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
23976 Instead of the obsolete
23977 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB}, it is recommended
23978 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-BBDB)}. Everything will work
23979 the same way, we promise.
23983 @node Gmane Spam Reporting
23984 @subsubsection Gmane Spam Reporting
23985 @cindex spam reporting
23986 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
23987 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
23990 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane
23992 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23993 customizing the group parameters or the
23994 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23995 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
23996 articles groups will be reported to the Gmane administrators via a
23999 Gmane can be found at @uref{http://gmane.org}.
24003 Instead of the obsolete
24004 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane}, it is recommended
24005 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-gmane)}. Everything will work the
24006 same way, we promise.
24010 @defvar spam-report-gmane-use-article-number
24012 This variable is @code{t} by default. Set it to @code{nil} if you are
24013 running your own news server, for instance, and the local article
24014 numbers don't correspond to the Gmane article numbers. When
24015 @code{spam-report-gmane-use-article-number} is @code{nil},
24016 @code{spam-report.el} will use the @code{X-Report-Spam} header that
24021 @node Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
24022 @subsubsection Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
24023 @cindex spam filtering
24024 @cindex hashcash, spam filtering
24027 @defvar spam-use-hashcash
24029 Similar to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
24030 Whitelists}), but uses hashcash tokens for whitelisting messages
24031 instead of the sender address. Messages without a hashcash payment
24032 token will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an explicit
24033 filter, meaning that unless a hashcash token is found, the messages
24034 are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24039 @subsubsection Blackholes
24040 @cindex spam filtering
24041 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
24044 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
24046 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
24047 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
24048 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
24049 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
24050 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
24051 contains outdated servers.
24053 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
24054 @code{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
24055 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil}. It is not recommended at
24056 this time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil} despite the
24057 possible performance improvements, because some users may be unable to
24058 use it, but you can try it and see if it works for you.
24062 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
24064 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
24068 @defvar spam-blackhole-good-server-regex
24070 A regular expression for IPs that should not be checked against the
24071 blackhole server list. When set to @code{nil}, it has no effect.
24075 @defvar spam-use-dig
24077 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
24078 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
24082 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
24083 ham processor for blackholes.
24085 @node Regular Expressions Header Matching
24086 @subsubsection Regular Expressions Header Matching
24087 @cindex spam filtering
24088 @cindex regular expressions header matching, spam filtering
24091 @defvar spam-use-regex-headers
24093 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus check the
24094 message headers against lists of regular expressions when you set this
24095 option. The variables @code{spam-regex-headers-spam} and
24096 @code{spam-regex-headers-ham} hold the list of regular expressions.
24097 Gnus will check against the message headers to determine if the
24098 message is spam or ham, respectively.
24102 @defvar spam-regex-headers-spam
24104 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
24105 the message, positively identify it as spam.
24109 @defvar spam-regex-headers-ham
24111 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
24112 the message, positively identify it as ham.
24116 Regular expression header checks are done only on incoming mail.
24117 There is no specific spam or ham processor for regular expressions.
24120 @subsubsection Bogofilter
24121 @cindex spam filtering
24122 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
24125 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
24127 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
24130 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{$} mark for spam
24131 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
24132 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
24133 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
24134 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
24135 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
24137 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on a specific
24138 threshold. That threshold can be customized, consult the Bogofilter
24141 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
24142 processing will be turned off.
24144 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
24148 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
24150 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
24151 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
24152 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
24153 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
24154 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
24155 installation documents for details.
24157 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
24161 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
24162 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24163 customizing the group parameters or the
24164 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24165 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
24166 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
24170 Instead of the obsolete
24171 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
24172 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
24173 the same way, we promise.
24176 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
24177 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24178 customizing the group parameters or the
24179 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24180 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
24181 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
24182 of non-spam messages.
24186 Instead of the obsolete
24187 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
24188 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
24189 the same way, we promise.
24192 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
24194 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
24195 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
24196 database directory.
24200 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to @command{ifile} in intent and
24201 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
24202 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
24203 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
24204 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
24205 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
24207 @node SpamAssassin back end
24208 @subsubsection SpamAssassin back end
24209 @cindex spam filtering
24210 @cindex spamassassin, spam filtering
24213 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin
24215 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use SpamAssassin.
24217 SpamAssassin assigns a score to each article based on a set of rules
24218 and tests, including a Bayesian filter. The Bayesian filter can be
24219 trained by associating the @samp{$} mark for spam articles. The
24220 spam score can be viewed by using the command @kbd{S t} in summary
24223 If you set this variable, each article will be processed by
24224 SpamAssassin when @code{spam-split} is called. If your mail is
24225 preprocessed by SpamAssassin, and you want to just use the
24226 SpamAssassin headers, set @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}
24229 You should not enable this is you use
24230 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}.
24234 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin-headers
24236 Set this variable if your mail is preprocessed by SpamAssassin and
24237 want @code{spam-split} to split based on the SpamAssassin headers.
24239 You should not enable this is you use @code{spam-use-spamassassin}.
24243 @defvar spam-spamassassin-path
24245 This variable points to the SpamAssassin executable. If you have
24246 @code{spamd} running, you can set this variable to the @code{spamc}
24247 executable for faster processing. See the SpamAssassin documentation
24248 for more information on @code{spamd}/@code{spamc}.
24252 SpamAssassin is a powerful and flexible spam filter that uses a wide
24253 variety of tests to identify spam. A ham and a spam processors are
24254 provided, plus the @code{spam-use-spamassassin} and
24255 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers} variables to indicate to
24256 spam-split that SpamAssassin should be either used, or has already
24257 been used on the article. The 2.63 version of SpamAssassin was used
24258 to test this functionality.
24260 @node ifile spam filtering
24261 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
24262 @cindex spam filtering
24263 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
24266 @defvar spam-use-ifile
24268 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use @command{ifile}, a
24269 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
24273 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
24275 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
24276 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
24277 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
24281 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
24283 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
24284 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
24285 the default value of @samp{spam}.
24288 @defvar spam-ifile-database-path
24290 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
24291 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
24295 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
24296 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
24297 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
24298 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
24301 @node spam-stat spam filtering
24302 @subsubsection spam-stat spam filtering
24303 @cindex spam filtering
24304 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
24308 @xref{Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat}.
24310 @defvar spam-use-stat
24312 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use
24313 spam-stat.el, an Emacs Lisp statistical analyzer.
24317 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
24318 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24319 customizing the group parameters or the
24320 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24321 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
24322 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
24326 Instead of the obsolete
24327 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
24328 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
24329 the same way, we promise.
24332 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
24333 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24334 customizing the group parameters or the
24335 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24336 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
24337 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
24338 of non-spam messages.
24342 Instead of the obsolete
24343 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
24344 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
24345 the same way, we promise.
24348 This enables @code{spam.el} to cooperate with @file{spam-stat.el}.
24349 @file{spam-stat.el} provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database,
24350 which unlike ifile or Bogofilter does not require external programs.
24351 A spam and a ham processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for
24352 @code{spam-split} are provided.
24355 @subsubsection Using SpamOracle with Gnus
24356 @cindex spam filtering
24360 An easy way to filter out spam is to use SpamOracle. SpamOracle is an
24361 statistical mail filtering tool written by Xavier Leroy and needs to be
24362 installed separately.
24364 There are several ways to use SpamOracle with Gnus. In all cases, your
24365 mail is piped through SpamOracle in its @emph{mark} mode. SpamOracle will
24366 then enter an @samp{X-Spam} header indicating whether it regards the
24367 mail as a spam mail or not.
24369 One possibility is to run SpamOracle as a @code{:prescript} from the
24370 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}, (@pxref{SpamAssassin}). This method has
24371 the advantage that the user can see the @emph{X-Spam} headers.
24373 The easiest method is to make @code{spam.el} (@pxref{Filtering Spam
24374 Using The Spam ELisp Package}) call SpamOracle.
24376 @vindex spam-use-spamoracle
24377 To enable SpamOracle usage by @code{spam.el}, set the variable
24378 @code{spam-use-spamoracle} to @code{t} and configure the
24379 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy} as described in
24380 the section @xref{Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package}. In
24381 this example the @samp{INBOX} of an nnimap server is filtered using
24382 SpamOracle. Mails recognized as spam mails will be moved to
24383 @code{spam-split-group}, @samp{Junk} in this case. Ham messages stay
24387 (setq spam-use-spamoracle t
24388 spam-split-group "Junk"
24389 nnimap-split-inbox '("INBOX")
24390 nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
24391 nnimap-split-fancy '(| (: spam-split) "INBOX"))
24394 @defvar spam-use-spamoracle
24395 Set to @code{t} if you want Gnus to enable spam filtering using
24399 @defvar spam-spamoracle-binary
24400 Gnus uses the SpamOracle binary called @file{spamoracle} found in the
24401 user's PATH. Using the variable @code{spam-spamoracle-binary}, this
24405 @defvar spam-spamoracle-database
24406 By default, SpamOracle uses the file @file{~/.spamoracle.db} as a database to
24407 store its analyses. This is controlled by the variable
24408 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} which defaults to @code{nil}. That means
24409 the default SpamOracle database will be used. In case you want your
24410 database to live somewhere special, set
24411 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} to this path.
24414 SpamOracle employs a statistical algorithm to determine whether a
24415 message is spam or ham. In order to get good results, meaning few
24416 false hits or misses, SpamOracle needs training. SpamOracle learns the
24417 characteristics of your spam mails. Using the @emph{add} mode
24418 (training mode) one has to feed good (ham) and spam mails to
24419 SpamOracle. This can be done by pressing @kbd{|} in the Summary buffer
24420 and pipe the mail to a SpamOracle process or using @code{spam.el}'s
24421 spam- and ham-processors, which is much more convenient. For a
24422 detailed description of spam- and ham-processors, @xref{Filtering Spam
24423 Using The Spam ELisp Package}.
24425 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle
24426 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24427 customizing the group parameter or the
24428 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
24429 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles will be
24430 sent to SpamOracle as spam samples.
24434 Instead of the obsolete
24435 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
24436 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
24437 the same way, we promise.
24440 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle
24441 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24442 customizing the group parameter or the
24443 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
24444 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked articles in
24445 @emph{ham} groups will be sent to the SpamOracle as samples of ham
24450 Instead of the obsolete
24451 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
24452 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
24453 the same way, we promise.
24456 @emph{Example:} These are the Group Parameters of a group that has been
24457 classified as a ham group, meaning that it should only contain ham
24460 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham)
24461 (spam-process ((ham spam-use-spamoracle)
24462 (spam spam-use-spamoracle))))
24464 For this group the @code{spam-use-spamoracle} is installed for both
24465 ham and spam processing. If the group contains spam message
24466 (e.g. because SpamOracle has not had enough sample messages yet) and
24467 the user marks some messages as spam messages, these messages will be
24468 processed by SpamOracle. The processor sends the messages to
24469 SpamOracle as new samples for spam.
24471 @node Extending the Spam ELisp package
24472 @subsubsection Extending the Spam ELisp package
24473 @cindex spam filtering
24474 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
24475 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
24477 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
24478 incoming mail, provide the following:
24486 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
24487 "True if blackbox should be used.")
24490 Write @code{spam-check-blackbox} if Blackbox can check incoming mail.
24492 Write @code{spam-blackbox-register-routine} and
24493 @code{spam-blackbox-unregister-routine} using the bogofilter
24494 register/unregister routines as a start, or other restister/unregister
24495 routines more appropriate to Blackbox, if Blackbox can
24496 register/unregister spam and ham.
24501 The @code{spam-check-blackbox} function should return @samp{nil} or
24502 @code{spam-split-group}, observing the other conventions. See the
24503 existing @code{spam-check-*} functions for examples of what you can
24504 do, and stick to the template unless you fully understand the reasons
24509 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
24516 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
24517 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
24519 Also, ham and spam processors are being phased out as single
24520 variables. Instead the form @code{(spam spam-use-blackbox)} or
24521 @code{(ham spam-use-blackbox)} is favored. For now, spam/ham
24522 processor variables are still around but they won't be for long.
24525 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-spam"
24526 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
24527 Only applicable to spam groups.")
24529 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-ham"
24530 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
24531 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
24540 (const :tag "Spam: Blackbox" (spam spam-use-blackbox))
24541 (const :tag "Ham: Blackbox" (ham spam-use-blackbox))
24543 to the @code{spam-process} group parameter in @code{gnus.el}. Make
24544 sure you do it twice, once for the parameter and once for the
24545 variable customization.
24549 (variable-item spam-use-blackbox)
24551 to the @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group parameter in
24552 @code{gnus.el} if Blackbox can check incoming mail for spam contents.
24554 Finally, use the appropriate @code{spam-install-*-backend} function in
24555 @code{spam.el}. Here are the available functions.
24561 @code{spam-install-backend-alias}
24563 This function will simply install an alias for a back end that does
24564 everything like the original back end. It is currently only used to
24565 make @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} act like @code{spam-use-BBDB}.
24568 @code{spam-install-nocheck-backend}
24570 This function installs a back end that has no check function, but can
24571 register/unregister ham or spam. The @code{spam-use-gmane} back end is
24575 @code{spam-install-checkonly-backend}
24577 This function will install a back end that can only check incoming mail
24578 for spam contents. It can't register or unregister messages.
24579 @code{spam-use-blackholes} and @code{spam-use-hashcash} are such
24583 @code{spam-install-statistical-checkonly-backend}
24585 This function installs a statistical back end (one which requires the
24586 full body of a message to check it) that can only check incoming mail
24587 for contents. @code{spam-use-regex-body} is such a filter.
24590 @code{spam-install-statistical-backend}
24592 This function install a statistical back end with incoming checks and
24593 registration/unregistration routines. @code{spam-use-bogofilter} is
24597 @code{spam-install-backend}
24599 This is the most normal back end installation, where a back end that can
24600 check and register/unregister messages is set up without statistical
24601 abilities. The @code{spam-use-BBDB} is such a back end.
24604 @code{spam-install-mover-backend}
24606 Mover back ends are internal to @code{spam.el} and specifically move
24607 articles around when the summary is exited. You will very probably
24608 never install such a back end.
24614 @node Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
24615 @subsection Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
24616 @cindex Paul Graham
24617 @cindex Graham, Paul
24618 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
24619 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
24620 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
24622 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
24623 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
24624 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
24625 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
24626 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
24627 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
24628 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
24629 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
24630 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
24633 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
24634 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
24635 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
24636 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
24637 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
24638 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
24639 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
24640 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
24642 Gnus supports this kind of filtering. But it needs some setting up.
24643 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
24644 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
24645 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
24646 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
24649 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
24650 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
24651 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
24654 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
24655 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
24657 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
24658 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
24659 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
24660 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
24661 need several hundred emails in both collections.
24663 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
24664 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
24665 per mail. Use the following:
24667 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
24668 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
24669 is treated as one spam mail.
24672 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
24673 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
24674 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
24677 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
24678 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds
24679 the the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
24680 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
24681 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds the the group
24682 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
24684 When you are using @acronym{IMAP}, you won't have the mails available
24685 locally, so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent
24686 to cache the articles. Then you can use directories such as
24687 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
24688 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
24691 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics---the
24692 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
24693 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
24694 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
24697 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
24698 reset the dictionary.
24700 @defun spam-stat-reset
24701 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
24704 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
24705 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
24706 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
24707 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
24708 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
24709 only non-spam mails.
24711 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
24712 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
24713 to update the dictionary incrementally.
24716 @defun spam-stat-save
24717 Save the dictionary.
24720 @defvar spam-stat-file
24721 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
24722 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
24725 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
24726 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
24728 In order to use @code{spam-stat} to split your mail, you need to add the
24729 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
24732 (require 'spam-stat)
24736 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
24739 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
24740 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
24741 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
24742 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
24744 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
24745 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
24746 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
24747 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
24750 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
24751 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
24755 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
24756 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
24759 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
24760 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
24761 expression are considered potential spam.
24764 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
24765 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
24766 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
24770 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
24771 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
24772 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
24773 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
24774 mails, when creating the dictionary!
24777 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
24778 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
24779 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
24783 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
24784 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
24785 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
24786 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
24787 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
24791 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
24792 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
24793 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
24794 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
24799 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
24800 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
24802 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
24804 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
24805 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
24806 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
24809 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
24810 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
24811 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
24814 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
24815 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
24816 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
24817 already been processed as non-spam.
24820 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
24821 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
24822 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
24823 been processed as spam.
24826 @defun spam-stat-save
24827 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
24828 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
24831 @defun spam-stat-load
24832 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
24833 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
24836 @defun spam-stat-score-word
24837 Return the spam score for a word.
24840 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
24841 Return the spam score for a buffer.
24844 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
24845 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
24846 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
24849 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
24850 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
24853 (require 'spam-stat)
24857 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
24860 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
24861 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
24862 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
24863 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
24864 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
24865 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
24866 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
24867 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
24868 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
24869 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
24870 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
24871 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
24872 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
24873 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
24876 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
24879 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
24880 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
24881 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
24882 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
24883 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
24884 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
24888 @section Interaction with other modes
24893 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} provided some useful functions for dired
24894 buffers. It is enabled with
24896 (add-hook 'dired-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-dired-mode)
24901 @findex gnus-dired-attach
24902 Send dired's marked files as an attachment (@code{gnus-dired-attach}).
24903 You will be prompted for a message buffer.
24906 @findex gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap
24907 Visit a file according to the appropriate mailcap entry
24908 (@code{gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap}). With prefix, open file in a new
24912 @findex gnus-dired-print
24913 Print file according to the mailcap entry (@code{gnus-dired-print}). If
24914 there is no print command, print in a PostScript image.
24917 @node Various Various
24918 @section Various Various
24924 @item gnus-home-directory
24925 @vindex gnus-home-directory
24926 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
24927 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
24929 @item gnus-directory
24930 @vindex gnus-directory
24931 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
24932 this variable, which defaults to the @env{SAVEDIR} environment
24933 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
24935 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{~/.gnus.el} file is read.
24936 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
24937 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
24938 @file{~/.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
24940 @item gnus-default-directory
24941 @vindex gnus-default-directory
24942 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
24943 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
24944 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
24945 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
24946 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
24947 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
24950 @vindex gnus-verbose
24951 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
24952 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
24953 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
24954 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
24955 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
24957 @item gnus-verbose-backends
24958 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
24959 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
24960 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
24962 @item nnheader-max-head-length
24963 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
24964 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
24965 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
24966 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
24967 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
24968 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
24969 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
24970 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
24971 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
24973 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
24974 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
24975 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
24976 read when doing the operation described above.
24978 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
24979 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
24981 @cindex invalid characters in file names
24982 @cindex characters in file names
24983 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
24984 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
24985 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
24989 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
24994 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
24995 Windows (phooey) systems.
24997 @item gnus-hidden-properties
24998 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
24999 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
25000 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
25001 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
25003 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
25004 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
25005 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
25006 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
25007 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
25009 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
25010 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
25011 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
25013 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
25014 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
25016 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
25017 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
25018 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
25019 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
25022 @acronym{IMAP} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
25030 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
25031 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
25033 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
25035 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
25041 Not because of victories @*
25044 but for the common sunshine,@*
25046 the largess of the spring.
25050 but for the day's work done@*
25051 as well as I was able;@*
25052 not for a seat upon the dais@*
25053 but at the common table.@*
25058 @chapter Appendices
25061 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
25062 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
25063 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
25064 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
25065 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
25066 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
25067 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
25068 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
25069 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
25076 @cindex installing under XEmacs
25078 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
25079 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
25080 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{mail-lib}, @samp{xemacs-base},
25081 @samp{eterm}, @samp{sh-script}, @samp{net-utils}, @samp{os-utils},
25082 @samp{dired}, @samp{mh-e}, @samp{sieve}, @samp{ps-print}, @samp{W3},
25083 @samp{pgg}, @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{ecrypto}, and @samp{sasl}.
25090 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
25091 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
25093 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
25094 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
25095 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
25096 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
25097 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
25099 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
25100 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
25101 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
25102 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
25103 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
25104 appropriate name, don't you think?)
25106 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
25107 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
25108 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
25109 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
25112 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
25113 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
25114 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
25115 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
25116 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
25117 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
25118 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
25119 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
25120 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
25124 @node Gnus Versions
25125 @subsection Gnus Versions
25127 @cindex September Gnus
25129 @cindex Quassia Gnus
25130 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
25133 @cindex Gnus versions
25135 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
25136 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
25137 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
25139 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
25140 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
25142 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
25143 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
25145 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
25146 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
25148 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
25149 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
25152 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
25154 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
25155 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
25156 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
25157 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
25158 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
25159 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
25162 @node Other Gnus Versions
25163 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
25166 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
25167 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
25168 Japan. It's based on a library called @acronym{SEMI}, which provides
25169 @acronym{MIME} capabilities.
25171 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
25172 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
25173 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
25174 @acronym{MIME} and multilingualization things, especially important for
25181 What's the point of Gnus?
25183 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
25184 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
25185 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
25186 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
25187 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
25188 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
25189 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
25190 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
25191 keep track of millions of people who post?
25193 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
25194 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
25195 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
25196 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
25197 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
25198 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
25199 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
25200 every one of you to explore and invent.
25202 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
25203 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
25206 @node Compatibility
25207 @subsection Compatibility
25209 @cindex compatibility
25210 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
25211 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
25212 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
25217 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
25221 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
25224 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
25227 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
25228 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
25229 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
25230 important variables have their values copied into their global
25231 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
25232 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
25234 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
25235 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
25236 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
25237 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
25238 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
25242 @cindex highlighting
25243 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
25244 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
25245 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
25246 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
25247 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
25248 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
25251 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
25252 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
25253 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
25254 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
25256 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
25257 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
25258 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
25259 to stop doing it the old way.
25261 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
25263 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
25265 @cindex reporting bugs
25267 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
25268 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
25269 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
25271 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
25272 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
25273 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
25274 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
25279 @subsection Conformity
25281 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
25282 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
25290 There are no known breaches of this standard.
25294 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
25296 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
25297 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
25298 We do have some breaches to this one.
25304 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
25305 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
25306 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
25307 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
25308 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
25313 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
25314 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
25315 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
25316 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
25318 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
25319 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
25320 All the various @acronym{MIME} RFCs are supported.
25322 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
25323 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
25325 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
25328 RFC 1991 is the original @acronym{PGP} message specification,
25329 published as an informational RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now
25330 called Open PGP, and put on the Standards Track. Both document a
25331 non-@acronym{MIME} aware @acronym{PGP} format. Gnus supports both
25332 encoding (signing and encryption) and decoding (verification and
25335 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
25336 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
25337 1991) describes the @acronym{MIME}-wrapping around the RFC 1991/2440 format.
25338 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
25340 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
25341 RFC 2633 describes the @acronym{S/MIME} format.
25343 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
25344 RFC 1730 is @acronym{IMAP} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060
25345 (@acronym{IMAP} 4 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5
25346 authentication for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2086 describes access control
25347 lists (ACLs) for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2359 describes a @acronym{IMAP}
25348 protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper @acronym{TLS}
25349 integration (STARTTLS) with @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 1731 describes the
25350 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @acronym{IMAP}.
25354 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
25355 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
25360 @subsection Emacsen
25366 Gnus should work on:
25374 XEmacs 21.4 and up.
25378 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
25379 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
25382 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
25383 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
25384 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
25388 @node Gnus Development
25389 @subsection Gnus Development
25391 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
25392 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
25393 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
25394 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
25395 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
25396 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
25397 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
25398 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
25400 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
25401 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
25402 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
25403 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
25404 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
25407 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
25408 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
25409 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
25410 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
25411 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
25413 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
25414 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
25415 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
25416 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
25417 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
25418 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
25419 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
25420 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
25421 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
25422 can't be assumed to do so.
25427 @subsection Contributors
25428 @cindex contributors
25430 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
25431 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
25432 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
25433 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
25434 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
25435 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
25436 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
25437 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
25438 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
25439 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
25441 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for@dots{} oops,
25447 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
25450 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
25451 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @acronym{MIME} and
25452 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
25453 functionality and stuff.
25456 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
25457 well as numerous other things).
25460 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
25463 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
25466 Justin Sheehy---the @acronym{FAQ} maintainer.
25469 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
25472 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
25473 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
25476 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
25479 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section.
25482 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
25485 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
25488 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
25491 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
25494 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
25495 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
25498 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
25501 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
25504 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
25507 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
25511 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
25514 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
25517 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
25520 Fran@,{c}ois Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
25521 well as autoconf support.
25525 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
25526 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
25528 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
25543 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
25545 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
25549 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
25559 Alexei V. Barantsev,
25574 Massimo Campostrini,
25579 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
25580 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
25584 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
25587 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
25593 Michael Welsh Duggan,
25598 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
25602 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
25610 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
25612 Michelangelo Grigni,
25616 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
25618 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c Hayashi
25620 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
25627 Fran@,{c}ois Felix Ingrand,
25628 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c Ichikawa
25629 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
25631 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
25641 Peter Skov Knudsen,
25642 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
25644 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
25645 Thor Kristoffersen,
25648 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
25666 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
25667 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
25674 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
25679 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
25683 John McClary Prevost,
25689 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
25694 Christian von Roques,
25697 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
25704 Philippe Schnoebelen,
25706 Randal L. Schwartz,
25720 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
25725 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
25745 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
25746 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
25747 (550kB and counting).
25749 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
25752 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
25753 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
25757 @subsection New Features
25758 @cindex new features
25761 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
25762 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
25763 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
25764 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
25765 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
25766 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10/5.11.
25767 * No Gnus:: Lars, FIXME!
25770 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
25771 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
25772 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
25775 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
25777 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
25782 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
25783 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
25786 Local spool and several @acronym{NNTP} servers can be used at once
25787 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
25790 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
25793 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
25794 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
25795 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
25798 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
25799 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
25800 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
25801 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
25804 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
25805 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
25808 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
25809 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
25810 (@pxref{The Active File}).
25813 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
25814 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
25817 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
25818 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
25819 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
25822 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
25823 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
25824 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
25827 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{~/.gnus.el}) to avoid
25828 cluttering up the @file{.emacs} file.
25831 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
25832 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
25835 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
25836 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
25839 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
25840 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
25843 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
25844 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
25847 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
25848 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
25851 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
25854 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
25855 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
25858 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
25859 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
25862 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
25863 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
25866 Gnus can fetch @acronym{FAQ}s and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
25869 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
25870 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
25873 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
25877 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
25881 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
25882 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
25885 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
25891 @node September Gnus
25892 @subsubsection September Gnus
25896 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
25900 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
25905 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
25906 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
25910 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
25911 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
25915 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
25919 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
25920 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
25923 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
25927 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions.
25930 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
25933 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
25936 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
25940 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
25941 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
25944 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
25948 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
25952 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
25956 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
25960 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
25963 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
25964 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
25967 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
25971 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
25972 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
25975 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
25978 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
25979 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
25980 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
25983 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
25987 The Gnus cache is much faster.
25990 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
25994 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
25995 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
25998 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
25999 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
26002 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
26003 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
26006 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
26007 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
26008 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
26011 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
26012 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
26015 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
26018 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
26021 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
26024 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
26027 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
26028 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
26031 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
26035 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
26038 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
26043 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
26046 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
26050 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
26053 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
26057 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
26060 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
26063 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
26064 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
26067 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
26068 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
26072 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
26073 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
26076 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
26080 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
26081 buffer to allow easier treatment.
26084 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
26087 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
26091 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
26095 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
26096 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
26099 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
26103 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
26104 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
26107 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
26108 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
26111 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
26115 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
26118 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
26121 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
26127 @subsubsection Red Gnus
26129 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
26133 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
26140 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
26143 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
26144 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
26147 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
26148 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
26152 Article washing status can be displayed in the
26153 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
26156 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
26159 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
26160 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
26163 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
26167 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
26168 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
26172 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
26173 Server Internals}).
26176 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
26180 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
26183 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
26184 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
26187 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
26188 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
26189 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
26192 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
26193 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
26196 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
26197 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
26200 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
26204 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
26205 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
26208 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
26209 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
26212 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
26216 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
26219 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
26223 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
26224 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
26227 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
26228 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
26231 A new command for reading collections of documents
26232 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
26233 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
26236 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
26240 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @acronym{NNTP}
26241 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
26244 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
26245 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
26246 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
26249 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
26250 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
26254 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
26258 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
26262 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
26267 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
26271 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
26275 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
26276 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
26279 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
26285 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
26287 New features in Gnus 5.6:
26292 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
26293 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added.
26294 @xref{Gnus Unplugged}, for the full story.
26297 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
26298 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
26299 group, which is created automatically.
26302 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
26306 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
26309 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
26310 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
26313 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
26317 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
26320 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
26321 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
26324 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
26327 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. @xref{Symbolic Prefixes}, for
26331 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
26332 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the @file{all.SCORE} file.
26335 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
26336 control over simplification.
26339 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
26342 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
26346 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
26349 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
26352 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
26353 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
26354 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
26357 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
26358 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
26361 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
26365 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
26366 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
26369 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
26370 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @acronym{NNTP} servers.
26373 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
26377 A history of where mails have been split is available.
26380 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
26383 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
26384 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
26387 A new function for citing in Message has been
26388 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
26391 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
26394 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
26398 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
26399 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
26402 The ``lapsed date'' article header can be kept continually
26403 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
26406 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
26409 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
26413 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
26414 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
26416 New features in Gnus 5.8:
26421 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
26422 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
26424 If you used procmail like in
26427 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
26428 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
26429 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
26430 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
26433 this now has changed to
26437 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
26441 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}.
26444 Gnus is now a @acronym{MIME}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
26445 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
26448 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
26449 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
26452 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
26453 called to position point.
26456 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
26457 summary buffers and @acronym{NOV} files.
26460 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
26461 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
26464 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
26465 subtly different manner.
26468 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
26469 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
26470 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
26473 Gnus can now read @acronym{IMAP} mail via @code{nnimap}.
26478 @subsubsection Oort Gnus
26481 New features in Gnus 5.10:
26486 @kbd{F} (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}) and @kbd{R}
26487 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}) only yank the text in the
26488 region if the region is active.
26491 @code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group} can be called interactively,
26495 In draft groups, @kbd{e} is now bound to @code{gnus-draft-edit-message}.
26496 Use @kbd{B w} for @code{gnus-summary-edit-article} instead.
26499 The revised Gnus @acronym{FAQ} is included in the manual,
26500 @xref{Frequently Asked Questions}.
26503 Upgrading from previous (stable) version if you have used Oort.
26505 If you have tried Oort (the unstable Gnus branch leading to this
26506 release) but went back to a stable version, be careful when upgrading to
26507 this version. In particular, you will probably want to remove all
26508 @file{.marks} (nnml) and @file{.mrk} (nnfolder) files, so that flags are
26509 read from your @file{.newsrc.eld} instead of from the
26510 @file{.marks}/@file{.mrk} file where this release store flags. See a
26511 later entry for more information about marks. Note that downgrading
26512 isn't save in general.
26517 More buttons for URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man
26518 pages and Emacs or Gnus related references. @xref{Article Buttons}. The
26519 variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} can be used to control the
26520 appearance of all article buttons. @xref{Article Button Levels}.
26525 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} (see @ref{Other modes}) installs key
26526 bindings in dired buffers to send a file as an attachment, open a file
26527 using the appropriate mailcap entry, and print a file using the mailcap
26531 Gnus can display RSS newsfeeds as a newsgroup. @xref{RSS}.
26534 Single-part yenc encoded attachments can be decoded.
26539 The picons code has been reimplemented to work in GNU Emacs---some of
26540 the previous options have been removed or renamed.
26542 Picons are small ``personal icons'' representing users, domain and
26543 newsgroups, which can be displayed in the Article buffer.
26547 If the new option @code{gnus-treat-body-boundary} is non-@code{nil}, a
26548 boundary line is drawn at the end of the headers.
26551 Retrieval of charters and control messages
26553 There are new commands for fetching newsgroup charters (@kbd{H c}) and
26554 control messages (@kbd{H C}).
26559 You can delay the sending of a message with @kbd{C-c C-j} in the Message
26560 buffer. The messages are delivered at specified time. This is useful
26561 for sending yourself reminders. @xref{Delayed Articles}.
26564 If @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled, attachments are automatically
26565 decompressed when activated.
26568 If the new option @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil},
26569 the nnml back end allows compressed message files.
26572 Signed article headers (X-PGP-Sig) can be verified with @kbd{W p}.
26575 The Summary Buffer uses an arrow in the fringe to indicate the current
26576 article. Use @code{(setq gnus-summary-display-arrow nil)} to disable it.
26579 Warn about email replies to news
26581 Do you often find yourself replying to news by email by mistake? Then
26582 the new option @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} is just the thing for
26586 If the new option @code{gnus-summary-display-while-building} is
26587 non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer is shown and updated as it's being
26591 The new @code{recent} mark @samp{.} indicates newly arrived messages (as
26592 opposed to old but unread messages).
26595 The new option @code{gnus-gcc-mark-as-read} automatically marks
26596 Gcc articles as read.
26599 The nndoc back end now supports mailman digests and exim bounces.
26602 Gnus supports RFC 2369 mailing list headers, and adds a number of
26603 related commands in mailing list groups. @xref{Mailing List}.
26606 The Date header can be displayed in a format that can be read aloud
26607 in English. @xref{Article Date}.
26610 The envelope sender address can be customized when using Sendmail.
26611 @xref{Mail Variables, Mail Variables,, message, Message Manual}.
26614 diffs are automatically highlighted in groups matching
26615 @code{mm-uu-diff-groups-regexp}
26618 @acronym{TLS} wrapper shipped with Gnus
26620 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is now supported in @acronym{IMAP} and
26621 @acronym{NNTP} via @file{tls.el} and GNUTLS. The old
26622 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} support via (external third party)
26623 @file{ssl.el} and OpenSSL still works.
26626 New @file{make.bat} for compiling and installing Gnus under MS Windows
26628 Use @file{make.bat} if you want to install Gnus under MS Windows, the
26629 first argument to the batch-program should be the directory where
26630 @file{xemacs.exe} respectively @file{emacs.exe} is located, iff you want
26631 to install Gnus after compiling it, give @file{make.bat} @code{/copy} as
26632 the second parameter.
26634 @file{make.bat} has been rewritten from scratch, it now features
26635 automatic recognition of XEmacs and GNU Emacs, generates
26636 @file{gnus-load.el}, checks if errors occur while compilation and
26637 generation of info files and reports them at the end of the build
26638 process. It now uses @code{makeinfo} if it is available and falls
26639 back to @file{infohack.el} otherwise. @file{make.bat} should now
26640 install all files which are necessary to run Gnus and be generally a
26641 complete replacement for the @code{configure; make; make install}
26642 cycle used under Unix systems.
26644 The new @file{make.bat} makes @file{make-x.bat} superfluous, so it has
26648 Support for non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names
26650 Message supports non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To: and
26651 Cc: and will query you whether to perform encoding when you try to
26652 send a message. The variable @code{message-use-idna} controls this.
26653 Gnus will also decode non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To:
26654 and Cc: when you view a message. The variable @code{gnus-use-idna}
26658 Better handling of Microsoft citation styles
26660 Gnus now tries to recognize the mangled header block that some Microsoft
26661 mailers use to indicate that the rest of the message is a citation, even
26662 though it is not quoted in any way. The variable
26663 @code{gnus-cite-unsightly-citation-regexp} matches the start of these
26667 @code{gnus-article-skip-boring}
26669 If you set @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} to @code{t}, then Gnus will
26670 not scroll down to show you a page that contains only boring text,
26671 which by default means cited text and signature. You can customize
26672 what is skippable using @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}.
26674 This feature is especially useful if you read many articles that
26675 consist of a little new content at the top with a long, untrimmed
26676 message cited below.
26679 The format spec @code{%C} for positioning point has changed to @code{%*}.
26682 The new variable @code{gnus-parameters} can be used to set group parameters.
26684 Earlier this was done only via @kbd{G p} (or @kbd{G c}), which stored
26685 the parameters in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, but via this variable you can
26686 enjoy the powers of customize, and simplified backups since you set the
26687 variable in @file{~/.emacs} instead of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. The
26688 variable maps regular expressions matching group names to group
26691 (setq gnus-parameters
26693 (gnus-show-threads nil)
26694 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
26695 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
26696 (to-group . "\\1"))))
26700 Smileys (@samp{:-)}, @samp{;-)} etc) are now iconized for Emacs too.
26702 Put @code{(setq gnus-treat-display-smileys nil)} in @file{~/.emacs} to
26706 Gnus no longer generate the Sender: header automatically.
26708 Earlier it was generated iff the user configurable email address was
26709 different from the Gnus guessed default user address. As the guessing
26710 algorithm is rarely correct these days, and (more controversially) the
26711 only use of the Sender: header was to check if you are entitled to
26712 cancel/supersede news (which is now solved by Cancel Locks instead,
26713 see another entry), generation of the header has been disabled by
26714 default. See the variables @code{message-required-headers},
26715 @code{message-required-news-headers}, and
26716 @code{message-required-mail-headers}.
26719 Features from third party @file{message-utils.el} added to @file{message.el}.
26721 Message now asks if you wish to remove @samp{(was: <old subject>)} from
26722 subject lines (see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}). @kbd{C-c
26723 M-m} and @kbd{C-c M-f} inserts markers indicating included text.
26724 @kbd{C-c C-f a} adds a X-No-Archive: header. @kbd{C-c C-f x} inserts
26725 appropriate headers and a note in the body for cross-postings and
26726 followups (see the variables @code{message-cross-post-@var{*}}).
26729 References and X-Draft-Headers are no longer generated when you start
26730 composing messages and @code{message-generate-headers-first} is
26734 Improved anti-spam features.
26736 Gnus is now able to take out spam from your mail and news streams
26737 using a wide variety of programs and filter rules. Among the supported
26738 methods are RBL blocklists, bogofilter and white/blacklists. Hooks
26739 for easy use of external packages such as SpamAssassin and Hashcash
26740 are also new. @xref{Thwarting Email Spam}.
26743 Easy inclusion of X-Faces headers.
26746 Face headers handling.
26749 In the summary buffer, the new command @kbd{/ N} inserts new messages
26750 and @kbd{/ o} inserts old messages.
26753 Gnus decodes morse encoded messages if you press @kbd{W m}.
26756 Unread count correct in nnimap groups.
26758 The estimated number of unread articles in the group buffer should now
26759 be correct for nnimap groups. This is achieved by calling
26760 @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} from the
26761 @code{gnus-setup-news-hook} (called on startup) and
26762 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook}. (called after getting new
26763 mail). If you have modified those variables from the default, you may
26764 want to add @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} again. If
26765 you were happy with the estimate and want to save some (minimal) time
26766 when getting new mail, remove the function.
26769 Group Carbon Copy (GCC) quoting
26771 To support groups that contains SPC and other weird characters, groups
26772 are quoted before they are placed in the Gcc: header. This means
26773 variables such as @code{gnus-message-archive-group} should no longer
26774 contain quote characters to make groups containing SPC work. Also, if
26775 you are using the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar} (indicating Gcc
26776 into two groups) you must change it to return the list
26777 @code{("nnml:foo" "nnml:bar")}, otherwise the Gcc: line will be quoted
26778 incorrectly. Note that returning the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar}
26779 was incorrect earlier, it just didn't generate any problems since it
26780 was inserted directly.
26783 @file{~/News/overview/} not used.
26785 As a result of the following change, the @file{~/News/overview/}
26786 directory is not used any more. You can safely delete the entire
26792 The Gnus Agent has seen a major updated and is now enabled by default,
26793 and all nntp and nnimap servers from @code{gnus-select-method} and
26794 @code{gnus-secondary-select-method} are agentized by default. Earlier
26795 only the server in @code{gnus-select-method} was agentized by the
26796 default, and the agent was disabled by default. When the agent is
26797 enabled, headers are now also retrieved from the Agent cache instead
26798 of the back ends when possible. Earlier this only happened in the
26799 unplugged state. You can enroll or remove servers with @kbd{J a} and
26800 @kbd{J r} in the server buffer. Gnus will not download articles into
26801 the Agent cache, unless you instruct it to do so, though, by using
26802 @kbd{J u} or @kbd{J s} from the Group buffer. You revert to the old
26803 behavior of having the Agent disabled with @code{(setq gnus-agent
26804 nil)}. Note that putting @code{(gnus-agentize)} in @file{~/.gnus.el}
26805 is not needed any more.
26808 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}
26810 The default value changed to @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%)
26811 %s\n}. Moreover @code{gnus-extra-headers},
26812 @code{nnmail-extra-headers} and @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses}
26813 changed their default so that the users name will be replaced by the
26814 recipient's name or the group name posting to for @acronym{NNTP}
26818 @file{deuglify.el} (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article})
26820 A new file from Raymond Scholz @email{rscholz@@zonix.de} for deuglifying
26821 broken Outlook (Express) articles.
26824 @code{(require 'gnus-load)}
26826 If you use a stand-alone Gnus distribution, you'd better add
26827 @code{(require 'gnus-load)} into your @file{~/.emacs} after adding the Gnus
26828 lisp directory into load-path.
26830 File @file{gnus-load.el} contains autoload commands, functions and variables,
26831 some of which may not be included in distributions of Emacsen.
26834 @code{gnus-slave-unplugged}
26836 A new command which starts Gnus offline in slave mode.
26839 @code{message-insinuate-rmail}
26841 Adding @code{(message-insinuate-rmail)} and @code{(setq
26842 mail-user-agent 'gnus-user-agent)} in @file{.emacs} convinces Rmail to
26843 compose, reply and forward messages in message-mode, where you can
26844 enjoy the power of @acronym{MML}.
26847 @code{message-minibuffer-local-map}
26849 The line below enables BBDB in resending a message:
26851 (define-key message-minibuffer-local-map [(tab)]
26852 'bbdb-complete-name)
26856 Externalizing and deleting of attachments.
26858 If @code{gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments} or
26859 @code{message-fcc-externalize-attachments} is non-@code{nil}, attach
26860 local files as external parts.
26862 The command @code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip} (bound to @kbd{C-o}
26863 on @acronym{MIME} buttons) saves a part and replaces the part with an
26864 external one. @code{gnus-mime-delete-part} (bound to @kbd{d} on
26865 @acronym{MIME} buttons) removes a part. It works only on back ends
26866 that support editing.
26869 @code{gnus-default-charset}
26871 The default value is determined from the
26872 @code{current-language-environment} variable, instead of
26873 @code{iso-8859-1}. Also the @samp{.*} item in
26874 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} is removed.
26877 @code{gnus-posting-styles}
26879 Add a new format of match like
26881 ((header "to" "larsi.*org")
26882 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
26884 The old format like the lines below is obsolete, but still accepted.
26886 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
26887 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
26891 @code{message-ignored-news-headers} and @code{message-ignored-mail-headers}
26893 @samp{X-Draft-From} and @samp{X-Gnus-Agent-Meta-Information} have been
26894 added into these two variables. If you customized those, perhaps you
26895 need add those two headers too.
26898 Gnus reads the @acronym{NOV} and articles in the Agent if plugged.
26900 If one reads an article while plugged, and the article already exists
26901 in the Agent, it won't get downloaded once more. @code{(setq
26902 gnus-agent-cache nil)} reverts to the old behavior.
26905 Gnus supports the ``format=flowed'' (RFC 2646) parameter. On
26906 composing messages, it is enabled by @code{use-hard-newlines}.
26907 Decoding format=flowed was present but not documented in earlier
26911 Gnus supports the generation of RFC 2298 Disposition Notification requests.
26913 This is invoked with the @kbd{C-c M-n} key binding from message mode.
26916 Gnus supports Maildir groups.
26918 Gnus includes a new back end @file{nnmaildir.el}. @xref{Maildir}.
26921 Printing capabilities are enhanced.
26923 Gnus supports Muttprint natively with @kbd{O P} from the Summary and
26924 Article buffers. Also, each individual @acronym{MIME} part can be
26925 printed using @kbd{p} on the @acronym{MIME} button.
26928 Message supports the Importance: (RFC 2156) header.
26930 In the message buffer, @kbd{C-c C-f C-i} or @kbd{C-c C-u} cycles through
26934 Gnus supports Cancel Locks in News.
26936 This means a header @samp{Cancel-Lock} is inserted in news posting. It is
26937 used to determine if you wrote an article or not (for canceling and
26938 superseding). Gnus generates a random password string the first time
26939 you post a message, and saves it in your @file{~/.emacs} using the Custom
26940 system. While the variable is called @code{canlock-password}, it is not
26941 security sensitive data. Publishing your canlock string on the web
26942 will not allow anyone to be able to anything she could not already do.
26943 The behavior can be changed by customizing @code{message-insert-canlock}.
26946 Gnus supports server-side mail filtering using Sieve.
26948 Sieve rules can be added as Group Parameters for groups, and the
26949 complete Sieve script is generated using @kbd{D g} from the Group
26950 buffer, and then uploaded to the server using @kbd{C-c C-l} in the
26951 generated Sieve buffer. @xref{Sieve Commands}, and the new Sieve
26952 manual @ref{Top, , Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
26955 Extended format specs.
26957 Format spec @samp{%&user-date;} is added into
26958 @code{gnus-summary-line-format-alist}. Also, user defined extended
26959 format specs are supported. The extended format specs look like
26960 @samp{%u&foo;}, which invokes function
26961 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{foo}}. Because @samp{&} is used as the
26962 escape character, old user defined format @samp{%u&} is no longer supported.
26965 @kbd{/ *} (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}) is rewritten.
26967 It was aliased to @kbd{Y c}
26968 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}). The new function filters
26969 out other articles.
26971 @item Some limiting commands accept a @kbd{C-u} prefix to negate the match.
26973 If @kbd{C-u} is used on subject, author or extra headers, i.e., @kbd{/
26974 s}, @kbd{/ a}, and @kbd{/ x}
26975 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-@{subject,author,extra@}}) respectively, the
26976 result will be to display all articles that do not match the expression.
26979 Group names are treated as UTF-8 by default.
26981 This is supposedly what USEFOR wanted to migrate to. See
26982 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist} and
26983 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist} for customization.
26986 The nnml and nnfolder back ends store marks for each groups.
26988 This makes it possible to take backup of nnml/nnfolder servers/groups
26989 separately of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, while preserving marks. It also
26990 makes it possible to share articles and marks between users (without
26991 sharing the @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file) within e.g. a department. It
26992 works by storing the marks stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld} in a per-group
26993 file @file{.marks} (for nnml) and @file{@var{groupname}.mrk} (for
26994 nnfolder, named @var{groupname}). If the nnml/nnfolder is moved to
26995 another machine, Gnus will automatically use the @file{.marks} or
26996 @file{.mrk} file instead of the information in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
26997 The new server variables @code{nnml-marks-is-evil} and
26998 @code{nnfolder-marks-is-evil} can be used to disable this feature.
27001 The menu bar item (in Group and Summary buffer) named ``Misc'' has
27002 been renamed to ``Gnus''.
27005 The menu bar item (in Message mode) named ``@acronym{MML}'' has been
27006 renamed to ``Attachments''. Note that this menu also contains security
27007 related stuff, like signing and encryption (@pxref{Security, Security,,
27008 message, Message Manual}).
27011 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} and
27012 @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
27014 The regexps in these variables are compared with full group names
27015 instead of real group names in 5.8. Users who customize these
27016 variables should change those regexps accordingly. For example:
27018 ("^han\\>" euc-kr) -> ("\\(^\\|:\\)han\\>" euc-kr)
27022 Gnus supports @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991/2440), @acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC
27023 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME} (RFC 2630-2633).
27025 It needs an external @acronym{S/MIME} and OpenPGP implementation, but no
27026 additional Lisp libraries. This add several menu items to the
27027 Attachments menu, and @kbd{C-c RET} key bindings, when composing
27028 messages. This also obsoletes @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook}.
27031 Gnus inlines external parts (message/external).
27034 @acronym{MML} (Mime compose) prefix changed from @kbd{M-m} to @kbd{C-c
27037 This change was made to avoid conflict with the standard binding of
27038 @code{back-to-indentation}, which is also useful in message mode.
27041 The default for @code{message-forward-show-mml} changed to symbol @code{best}.
27043 The behavior for the @code{best} value is to show @acronym{MML} (i.e.,
27044 convert to @acronym{MIME}) when appropriate. @acronym{MML} will not be
27045 used when forwarding signed or encrypted messages, as the conversion
27046 invalidate the digital signature.
27050 @subsubsection No Gnus
27053 New features in No Gnus:
27054 @c FIXME: Gnus 5.12?
27056 @include gnus-news.texi
27062 @section The Manual
27066 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
27067 either @code{texi2dvi}
27069 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
27070 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
27072 to get what you hold in your hands now.
27074 The following conventions have been used:
27079 This is a @samp{string}
27082 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
27085 This is a @file{file}
27088 This is a @code{symbol}
27092 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
27096 (setq flargnoze "yes")
27099 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
27102 (setq flumphel 'yes)
27105 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
27106 ever get them confused.
27110 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
27111 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
27112 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
27113 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
27114 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
27115 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
27116 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
27122 @node On Writing Manuals
27123 @section On Writing Manuals
27125 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
27126 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
27127 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
27128 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
27129 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
27130 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
27133 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
27134 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
27135 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
27138 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
27139 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
27144 @section Terminology
27146 @cindex terminology
27151 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
27152 News is generally fetched from a nearby @acronym{NNTP} server, and is
27153 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
27154 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
27155 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
27159 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
27160 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
27161 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
27162 not posting, and replying is not following up.
27166 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
27170 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
27175 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
27176 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
27177 commonly fetched via the protocol @acronym{NNTP}, whereas mail
27178 messages could be read from a file on the local disk. The internal
27179 architecture of Gnus thus comprises a ``front end'' and a number of
27180 ``back ends''. Internally, when you enter a group (by hitting
27181 @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke a function in the front end in
27182 Gnus. The front end then ``talks'' to a back end and says things like
27183 ``Give me the list of articles in the foo group'' or ``Show me article
27186 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back
27187 end accesses news via @acronym{NNTP}, the @code{nnimap} back end
27188 accesses mail via @acronym{IMAP}) or a file format and directory
27189 layout (the @code{nnspool} back end accesses news via the common
27190 ``spool directory'' format, the @code{nnml} back end access mail via a
27191 file format and directory layout that's quite similar).
27193 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
27194 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
27195 access the articles.
27197 However, sometimes the term ``back end'' is also used where ``server''
27198 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term ``select
27199 method'' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
27204 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
27205 default, way of getting news.
27209 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
27210 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
27215 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
27216 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
27220 A message that has been posted as news.
27223 @cindex mail message
27224 A message that has been mailed.
27228 A mail message or news article
27232 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
27237 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
27242 A line from the head of an article.
27246 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
27247 collection of @acronym{NOV} lines.
27249 @item @acronym{NOV}
27250 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
27251 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
27252 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
27253 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
27254 normal @sc{head} format.
27258 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
27259 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
27260 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
27261 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
27262 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
27263 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
27265 @item killed groups
27266 @cindex killed groups
27267 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
27268 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
27270 @item zombie groups
27271 @cindex zombie groups
27272 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
27275 @cindex active file
27276 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
27277 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
27278 is rather large, as you might surmise.
27281 @cindex bogus groups
27282 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
27283 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
27284 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
27287 @cindex activating groups
27288 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
27289 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
27290 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
27294 News servers store their articles locally in one fashion or other.
27295 One old-fashioned storage method is to have just one file per
27296 article. That's called a ``traditional spool''.
27300 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
27302 @item select method
27303 @cindex select method
27304 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
27307 @item virtual server
27308 @cindex virtual server
27309 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
27310 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
27311 whole is a virtual server.
27315 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
27316 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
27319 @item ephemeral groups
27320 @cindex ephemeral groups
27321 @cindex temporary groups
27322 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
27323 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
27324 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
27327 @cindex solid groups
27328 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
27329 group buffer are solid groups.
27331 @item sparse articles
27332 @cindex sparse articles
27333 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
27334 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
27338 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
27339 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
27343 @cindex thread root
27344 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
27345 articles in the thread.
27349 An article that has responses.
27353 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
27357 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
27358 specified by RFC 1153.
27361 @cindex splitting, terminolgy
27362 @cindex mail sorting
27363 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
27364 The action of sorting your emails according to certain rules. Sometimes
27365 incorrectly called mail filtering.
27371 @node Customization
27372 @section Customization
27373 @cindex general customization
27375 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
27376 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
27377 for some quite common situations.
27380 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
27381 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
27382 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
27383 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
27387 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
27388 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
27390 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
27391 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
27392 Gnus has to get from the @acronym{NNTP} server.
27396 @item gnus-read-active-file
27397 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
27398 entire active file from the server. This file is often very large. You
27399 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
27400 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
27401 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
27403 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
27404 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
27405 the @acronym{NNTP} server will not be very fast. Not all @acronym{NNTP} servers
27406 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
27410 @node Slow Terminal Connection
27411 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
27413 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
27414 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
27415 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
27419 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
27420 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
27421 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
27422 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
27423 horizontal and vertical recentering.
27425 @item gnus-visible-headers
27426 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
27427 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
27428 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
27429 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
27431 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
27433 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
27434 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
27435 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
27438 @item gnus-use-full-window
27439 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
27440 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
27441 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
27442 want to read them anyway.
27444 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
27445 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
27449 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
27450 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
27451 lines, which might save some time.
27455 @node Little Disk Space
27456 @subsection Little Disk Space
27459 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
27460 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
27464 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
27465 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
27466 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
27467 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
27470 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
27471 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
27472 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
27473 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
27476 @item gnus-save-killed-list
27477 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
27478 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
27479 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
27480 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
27486 @subsection Slow Machine
27487 @cindex slow machine
27489 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
27490 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
27492 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
27493 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
27495 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
27496 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
27497 summary buffer faster.
27501 @node Troubleshooting
27502 @section Troubleshooting
27503 @cindex troubleshooting
27505 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
27513 Make sure your computer is switched on.
27516 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
27517 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
27521 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
27522 like @samp{Gnus v5.10.6} you have the right files loaded. Otherwise
27523 you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
27526 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a
27527 @acronym{FAQ} and a how-to.
27530 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
27531 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
27532 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
27533 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
27534 something like that.
27537 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
27540 @cindex reporting bugs
27542 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
27544 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
27545 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
27546 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
27547 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
27549 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
27550 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
27551 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
27552 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
27555 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
27556 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
27557 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
27558 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
27559 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
27560 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
27562 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
27563 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
27564 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
27568 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
27569 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
27572 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
27573 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
27574 edebug. Debugging Lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
27575 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
27576 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
27577 you discover some weird behavior when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
27578 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
27579 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
27580 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
27581 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
27582 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
27583 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
27584 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
27585 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
27590 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate an elisp error but
27591 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
27592 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press @kbd{C-g} when things are
27593 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
27594 helps isolating the real problem areas).
27596 A fancier approach is to use the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is
27597 (or should be) fully documented elsewhere, but to get you started
27598 there are a few steps that need to be followed. First, instrument the
27599 part of Gnus you are interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x
27600 elp-instrument-package RET gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package
27601 RET message}. Then perform the operation that is slow and press
27602 @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will then see which operations that takes
27603 time, and can debug them further. If the entire operation takes much
27604 longer than the time spent in the slowest function in the profiler
27605 output, you probably profiled the wrong part of Gnus. To reset
27606 profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x
27607 elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove profiling, but given the
27608 complexities and dynamic code generation in Gnus, it might not always
27611 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
27612 @cindex ding mailing list
27613 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
27614 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful. You can also ask on
27615 @email{ding@@gnus.org, the ding mailing list}. Write to
27616 @email{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
27620 @node Gnus Reference Guide
27621 @section Gnus Reference Guide
27623 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
27624 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
27625 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
27626 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
27629 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
27630 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
27631 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
27632 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
27633 and general methods of operation.
27636 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
27637 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
27638 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
27639 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
27640 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
27641 * Group Info:: The group info format.
27642 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
27643 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
27644 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
27648 @node Gnus Utility Functions
27649 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
27650 @cindex Gnus utility functions
27651 @cindex utility functions
27653 @cindex internal variables
27655 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
27656 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
27657 Below is a list of the most common ones.
27661 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
27662 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
27663 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
27665 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
27666 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
27667 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
27669 @item gnus-group-real-name
27670 @findex gnus-group-real-name
27671 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
27674 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
27675 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
27676 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
27677 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
27679 @item gnus-get-info
27680 @findex gnus-get-info
27681 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
27683 @item gnus-group-unread
27684 @findex gnus-group-unread
27685 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
27689 @findex gnus-active
27690 The active entry for @var{group}.
27692 @item gnus-set-active
27693 @findex gnus-set-active
27694 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
27696 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
27697 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
27698 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
27701 @item gnus-continuum-version
27702 @findex gnus-continuum-version
27703 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
27704 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
27707 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
27708 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
27709 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
27711 @item gnus-news-group-p
27712 @findex gnus-news-group-p
27713 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
27715 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
27716 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
27717 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
27719 @item gnus-server-to-method
27720 @findex gnus-server-to-method
27721 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
27723 @item gnus-server-equal
27724 @findex gnus-server-equal
27725 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
27727 @item gnus-group-native-p
27728 @findex gnus-group-native-p
27729 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
27731 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
27732 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
27733 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
27735 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
27736 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
27737 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
27739 @item gnus-group-find-parameter
27740 @findex gnus-group-find-parameter
27741 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
27742 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
27744 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
27745 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
27746 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
27748 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
27749 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
27750 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
27752 @item gnus-check-backend-function
27753 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
27754 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
27755 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
27758 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
27762 @item gnus-read-method
27763 @findex gnus-read-method
27764 Prompts the user for a select method.
27769 @node Back End Interface
27770 @subsection Back End Interface
27772 Gnus doesn't know anything about @acronym{NNTP}, spools, mail or virtual
27773 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
27774 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
27775 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
27776 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
27777 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
27779 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
27780 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
27781 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
27782 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
27783 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
27784 been opened, the function should fail.
27786 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
27787 name. Take this example:
27791 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
27792 (nntp-port-number 4324))
27795 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
27796 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
27798 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
27799 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
27800 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
27802 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
27803 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
27804 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
27806 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
27807 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
27808 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
27809 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
27810 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
27811 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
27814 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
27815 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
27816 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
27817 ---they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
27820 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
27821 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
27822 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
27823 possible for later articles to ``re-use'' older article numbers without
27824 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
27825 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
27826 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
27827 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
27828 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
27829 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
27831 The previous paragraph already mentions all the ``hard'' restrictions that
27832 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
27833 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
27834 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
27835 the ``no-reuse'' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
27836 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
27837 of numbers as long as possible.
27839 Note that by convention, back ends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
27840 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
27841 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
27843 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
27846 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
27849 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
27850 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
27851 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
27852 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
27853 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
27854 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
27858 @node Required Back End Functions
27859 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
27863 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
27865 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
27866 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
27867 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
27868 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
27870 The result data should either be HEADs or @acronym{NOV} lines, and the result
27871 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
27872 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
27873 of HEADs and @acronym{NOV} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
27875 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching ``extra
27876 headers'', in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
27877 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
27878 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
27879 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
27880 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
27881 number, do maximum fetches.
27883 Here's an example HEAD:
27886 221 1056 Article retrieved.
27887 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
27888 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
27889 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
27890 Subject: Re: Something very droll
27891 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
27892 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
27894 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
27895 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
27896 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
27900 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
27901 these in the data buffer.
27903 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
27907 head = error / valid-head
27908 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
27909 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
27910 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
27911 header = <text> eol
27915 (The version of BNF used here is the one used in RFC822.)
27917 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
27918 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
27922 nov-buffer = *nov-line
27923 nov-line = field 7*8[ <TAB> field ] eol
27924 field = <text except TAB>
27927 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
27931 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
27933 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
27934 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
27936 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
27937 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
27938 server. In fact, it should do so.
27940 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
27941 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
27944 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
27946 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
27947 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
27950 There should be no data returned.
27953 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
27955 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
27956 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
27957 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
27958 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
27960 There should be no data returned.
27963 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
27965 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
27966 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
27967 non-@code{nil} value. This function should under no circumstances
27968 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
27970 There should be no data returned.
27973 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
27975 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
27977 There should be no data returned.
27980 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
27982 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
27983 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
27984 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
27985 it would be nice if that were possible.
27987 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
27988 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
27989 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
27990 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
27991 into its article buffer.
27993 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
27994 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
27995 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
27996 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
27997 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
27998 on successful article retrieval.
28001 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
28003 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
28004 making @var{group} the current group.
28006 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
28009 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
28012 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
28015 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
28016 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
28017 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
28018 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
28019 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
28020 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
28021 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
28022 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
28023 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
28027 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
28028 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
28029 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
28033 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
28035 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
28036 a no-op on most back ends.
28038 There should be no data returned.
28041 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
28043 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
28046 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
28049 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
28050 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
28053 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
28054 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
28055 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
28056 and the highest as 0.
28059 active-file = *active-line
28060 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
28062 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
28065 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
28066 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
28067 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
28070 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
28072 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
28073 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
28074 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
28075 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
28076 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
28077 clear if the posting could not be completed.
28079 There should be no result data from this function.
28084 @node Optional Back End Functions
28085 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
28089 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
28091 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
28092 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
28093 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
28095 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
28096 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
28097 former is in the same format as the data from
28098 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
28099 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
28102 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
28106 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
28108 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
28109 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all
28110 the information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
28111 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
28112 should return a non-@code{nil} value (exceptionally,
28113 @code{nntp-request-update-info} always returns @code{nil} not to waste
28114 the network resources).
28116 There should be no result data from this function.
28119 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
28121 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
28122 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
28123 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
28124 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
28125 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
28126 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
28127 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
28128 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
28130 There should be no result data from this function.
28133 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
28135 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
28136 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
28137 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @acronym{IMAP}) however carry
28138 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
28139 propagate the mark information to the server.
28141 @var{action} is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
28144 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
28147 @var{range} is a range of articles you wish to update marks on.
28148 @var{action} is @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove
28149 marks (preserving all marks not mentioned). @var{mark} is a list of
28150 marks; where each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are
28151 @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
28152 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
28153 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
28154 possible, not limit itself to these.
28156 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
28157 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
28158 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
28159 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
28161 An example action list:
28164 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
28165 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
28166 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
28169 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
28170 mark on (currently not used for anything).
28172 There should be no result data from this function.
28174 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
28176 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
28177 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
28178 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
28179 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
28180 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
28182 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
28183 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
28184 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
28187 There should be no result data from this function.
28190 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
28192 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
28193 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
28194 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query
28195 the @acronym{POP} server when this function is invoked. The
28196 @var{group} doesn't have to be heeded---if the back end decides that
28197 it is too much work just scanning for a single group, it may do a
28198 total scan of all groups. It would be nice, however, to keep things
28199 local if that's practical.
28201 There should be no result data from this function.
28204 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
28206 The result data from this function should be a description of
28210 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
28212 description = <text>
28215 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
28217 The result data from this function should be the description of all
28218 groups available on the server.
28221 description-buffer = *description-line
28225 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
28227 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
28228 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
28229 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
28230 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
28231 in the active buffer format.
28233 It is okay for this function to return ``too many'' groups; some back ends
28234 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
28235 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
28236 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
28237 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
28238 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
28239 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
28242 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
28244 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
28246 There should be no return data.
28249 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
28251 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
28252 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
28253 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
28254 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
28255 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
28258 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
28261 There should be no result data returned.
28264 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM &optional LAST)
28266 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
28267 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
28269 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
28270 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
28271 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
28272 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
28273 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
28274 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
28276 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
28277 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
28280 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
28281 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
28283 There should be no data returned.
28286 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
28288 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
28289 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
28290 this function in short order.
28292 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
28293 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
28295 The group should exist before the back end is asked to accept the
28296 article for that group.
28298 There should be no data returned.
28301 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
28303 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
28304 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
28306 There should be no data returned.
28309 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
28311 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
28312 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
28313 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
28315 There should be no data returned.
28318 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
28320 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
28321 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
28323 There should be no data returned.
28328 @node Error Messaging
28329 @subsubsection Error Messaging
28331 @findex nnheader-report
28332 @findex nnheader-get-report
28333 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
28334 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
28335 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
28336 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
28337 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
28338 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
28341 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
28343 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
28346 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
28347 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
28348 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
28349 takes one argument---the server symbol.
28351 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
28352 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
28353 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
28356 @node Writing New Back Ends
28357 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
28359 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
28360 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
28361 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
28362 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
28363 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
28366 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
28367 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
28368 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
28370 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
28371 package called @code{nnoo}.
28373 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
28374 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
28380 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
28381 parameters. For instance:
28384 (nnoo-declare nndir
28388 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
28389 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
28392 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
28393 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
28394 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
28396 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
28397 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
28398 a function in those back ends.
28401 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
28402 "Where nndir will look for groups."
28403 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
28406 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
28407 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
28408 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
28410 @item nnoo-define-basics
28411 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
28415 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
28419 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
28420 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
28421 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
28423 @item nnoo-map-functions
28424 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
28425 functions from the parent back ends.
28428 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
28429 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
28430 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
28433 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
28434 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
28435 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
28436 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
28439 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
28440 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
28441 haven't already been defined.
28447 nnmh-request-newgroups)
28451 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
28452 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
28453 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
28458 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
28461 ;;; @r{nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus}
28462 ;; @r{Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.}
28466 (require 'nnheader)
28470 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
28472 (nnoo-declare nndir
28475 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
28476 "Where nndir will look for groups."
28477 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
28479 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
28480 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
28483 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
28485 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
28486 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
28487 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
28489 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
28490 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
28492 ;;; @r{Interface functions.}
28494 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
28496 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
28497 (setq nndir-directory
28498 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
28500 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
28501 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
28502 (push `(nndir-current-group
28503 ,(file-name-nondirectory
28504 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
28506 (push `(nndir-top-directory
28507 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
28509 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
28511 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
28512 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
28513 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
28514 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
28515 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
28519 nnmh-status-message
28521 nnmh-request-newgroups))
28527 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
28528 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
28530 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
28531 @findex gnus-declare-backend
28532 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
28533 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
28534 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
28536 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
28537 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
28542 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
28545 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
28547 The abilities can be:
28551 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
28553 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
28555 This back end supports both mail and news.
28557 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
28560 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
28561 articles and groups.
28563 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
28564 true for almost all back ends.
28565 @item prompt-address
28566 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
28567 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
28568 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
28572 @node Mail-like Back Ends
28573 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
28575 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
28576 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
28577 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
28578 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
28581 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
28582 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
28583 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
28586 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
28587 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
28590 This function takes four parameters.
28594 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
28597 @item exit-function
28598 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
28600 @item temp-directory
28601 Where the temporary files should be stored.
28604 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
28605 performed for one group only.
28608 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
28609 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
28610 find the article number assigned to this article.
28612 The function also uses the following variables:
28613 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
28614 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
28615 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
28616 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
28620 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
28621 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
28625 @node Score File Syntax
28626 @subsection Score File Syntax
28628 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
28629 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
28630 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
28632 Here's a typical score file:
28636 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
28643 BNF definition of a score file:
28646 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
28647 element = rule / atom
28648 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
28649 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
28650 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
28651 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
28653 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
28654 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
28655 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
28656 date-header = "date"
28657 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
28658 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
28659 score = "nil" / <integer>
28660 date = "nil" / <natural number>
28661 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
28662 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
28663 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
28664 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
28665 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
28666 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
28667 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
28668 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
28669 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
28670 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
28671 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
28672 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
28673 exclude-files / read-only / touched
28674 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
28675 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
28676 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
28677 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
28678 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
28679 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
28680 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
28681 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
28682 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
28683 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
28684 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
28685 eval = "eval" space <form>
28686 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
28689 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
28692 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
28693 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
28694 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
28695 one looong line, then that's ok.
28697 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
28698 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
28702 @subsection Headers
28704 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
28705 corresponds to the @acronym{NOV} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
28706 almost suspect that the author looked at the @acronym{NOV} specification and
28707 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
28709 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
28710 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
28711 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
28712 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
28713 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
28714 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
28715 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
28717 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
28718 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
28719 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
28720 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
28721 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
28723 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
28724 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
28730 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
28731 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
28733 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
28734 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
28735 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
28736 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
28738 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
28742 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
28745 is transformed into
28748 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
28751 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
28752 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
28755 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
28758 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
28759 is slightly tricky:
28762 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
28768 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
28771 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
28777 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
28784 and is equal to the previous range.
28786 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
28787 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
28788 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
28792 range = simple-range / normal-range
28793 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
28794 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
28795 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
28796 number *[ " " contents ]
28799 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
28800 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
28801 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
28802 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
28803 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
28808 @subsection Group Info
28810 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
28811 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
28812 describes the group.
28814 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
28815 second is a more complex one:
28818 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
28820 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
28821 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
28823 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
28826 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
28827 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
28828 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
28829 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
28830 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
28831 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
28832 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
28833 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
28834 this section is about.
28836 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
28837 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
28838 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
28840 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
28843 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
28844 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
28845 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
28846 group = quote <string> quote
28847 ralevel = rank / level
28848 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
28849 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
28850 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
28852 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
28853 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
28854 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
28855 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
28858 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
28859 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
28862 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
28863 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
28866 @item gnus-info-group
28867 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
28868 @findex gnus-info-group
28869 @findex gnus-info-set-group
28870 Get/set the group name.
28872 @item gnus-info-rank
28873 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
28874 @findex gnus-info-rank
28875 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
28876 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
28878 @item gnus-info-level
28879 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
28880 @findex gnus-info-level
28881 @findex gnus-info-set-level
28882 Get/set the group level.
28884 @item gnus-info-score
28885 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
28886 @findex gnus-info-score
28887 @findex gnus-info-set-score
28888 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
28890 @item gnus-info-read
28891 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
28892 @findex gnus-info-read
28893 @findex gnus-info-set-read
28894 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
28896 @item gnus-info-marks
28897 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
28898 @findex gnus-info-marks
28899 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
28900 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
28902 @item gnus-info-method
28903 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
28904 @findex gnus-info-method
28905 @findex gnus-info-set-method
28906 Get/set the group select method.
28908 @item gnus-info-params
28909 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
28910 @findex gnus-info-params
28911 @findex gnus-info-set-params
28912 Get/set the group parameters.
28915 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
28916 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
28918 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
28919 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
28920 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
28921 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
28924 @node Extended Interactive
28925 @subsection Extended Interactive
28926 @cindex interactive
28927 @findex gnus-interactive
28929 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
28930 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
28931 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
28934 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
28935 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
28940 The best thing to do would have been to implement
28941 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
28942 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
28943 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
28944 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
28945 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
28946 @code{interactive}.
28948 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
28953 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
28954 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
28958 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
28959 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
28960 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
28963 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
28967 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
28971 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
28977 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
28978 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
28982 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
28983 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
28984 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
28986 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
28987 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
28988 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
28989 Gnus, that's very useful.
28991 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
28992 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
28993 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
28994 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
28995 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
28996 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
28997 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
28998 following function:
29001 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
29005 (,function ,@@args))
29009 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
29010 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
29011 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
29014 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
29015 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
29016 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
29018 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
29019 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
29020 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
29023 @node Various File Formats
29024 @subsection Various File Formats
29027 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
29028 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
29032 @node Active File Format
29033 @subsubsection Active File Format
29035 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
29036 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
29039 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
29042 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
29043 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
29044 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
29045 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
29046 no.general 1000 900 y
29049 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
29052 active = *group-line
29053 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
29054 group = <non-white-space string>
29056 high-number = <non-negative integer>
29057 low-number = <positive integer>
29058 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
29061 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
29062 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
29065 @node Newsgroups File Format
29066 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
29068 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
29069 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
29070 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
29073 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
29074 Here's the definition:
29078 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
29079 group = <non-white-space string>
29081 description = <string>
29086 @node Emacs for Heathens
29087 @section Emacs for Heathens
29089 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
29090 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
29091 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
29092 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
29093 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
29094 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
29095 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
29099 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
29100 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
29105 @subsection Keystrokes
29109 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
29112 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
29115 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
29116 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
29117 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
29118 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
29119 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
29120 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
29122 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
29123 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
29124 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
29125 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
29126 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
29127 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
29128 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
29130 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
29131 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
29132 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
29133 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
29134 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
29135 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
29136 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
29138 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
29139 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
29140 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
29141 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
29142 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
29148 @subsection Emacs Lisp
29150 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
29151 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
29152 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
29153 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
29155 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
29156 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
29157 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
29158 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
29159 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
29160 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
29161 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
29164 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
29165 write the following:
29168 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
29171 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
29172 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
29173 you can go and fill your @file{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
29176 If you have put that thing in your @file{.emacs} file, it will be read
29177 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
29178 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
29179 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
29180 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
29182 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
29183 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
29184 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
29188 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
29192 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
29195 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
29196 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
29199 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
29202 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
29203 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
29206 @include gnus-faq.texi
29226 @c Local Variables:
29228 @c coding: iso-8859-1
29232 arch-tag: c9fa47e7-78ca-4681-bda9-9fef45d1c819