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308 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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325 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
335 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
337 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
345 @top The Gnus Newsreader
349 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
350 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@acronym{NNTP}, local
351 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
354 @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change the following line:
355 This manual corresponds to No Gnus v0.11.
370 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
371 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
373 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
374 being accused of plagiarism:
376 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
377 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
378 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
379 can even read news with it!
381 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
382 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
383 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
384 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
385 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
388 @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change the following line:
389 This manual corresponds to No Gnus v0.11.
391 @heading Other related manuals
393 @item Message manual: Composing messages
394 @item Emacs-MIME: Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
395 @item Sieve: Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
396 @item PGG: @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
397 @item SASL: @acronym{SASL} authentication in Emacs.
403 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
404 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
405 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
406 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
407 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
408 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
409 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
410 * Various:: General purpose settings.
411 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
412 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, @acronym{FAQ}, History, Internals.
413 * GNU Free Documentation License:: The license for this documentation.
414 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
415 * Key Index:: Key Index.
417 Other related manuals
419 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
420 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
421 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
422 * PGG:(pgg). @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
423 * SASL:(sasl). @acronym{SASL} authentication in Emacs.
426 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
430 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
431 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
432 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
433 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
434 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
435 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
436 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
437 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
438 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
439 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
440 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
444 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
445 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
446 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
450 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
451 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
452 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
453 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
454 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
455 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
456 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
457 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
458 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
459 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
460 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
461 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
462 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
463 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
464 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
465 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
466 * Non-ASCII Group Names:: Accessing groups of non-English names.
467 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
471 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
472 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
473 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
477 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
478 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
479 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
480 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
481 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
485 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
486 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
487 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
488 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
489 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
493 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
494 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
495 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
496 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
497 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
498 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
499 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
500 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
501 * Threading:: How threads are made.
502 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
503 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
504 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
505 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
506 * Sticky Articles:: Article buffers that are not reused.
507 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
508 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
509 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
510 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
511 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
512 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
513 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
514 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
515 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
516 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
517 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
518 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
519 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
520 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
521 or reselecting the current group.
522 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
523 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
524 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
525 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
527 Summary Buffer Format
529 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
530 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
531 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
532 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
536 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
537 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
539 Reply, Followup and Post
541 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
542 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
543 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
544 * Canceling and Superseding::
548 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
549 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
550 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
551 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
552 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
553 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
557 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
558 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
560 Customizing Threading
562 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
563 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
564 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
565 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
569 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
570 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
571 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
572 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
573 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
574 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
578 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
579 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
580 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
584 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
585 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
586 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
587 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
588 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
589 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
590 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
591 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
592 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys, Gravatars
593 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
594 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
596 Alternative Approaches
598 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
599 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
601 Various Summary Stuff
603 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
604 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
605 * Summary Generation Commands::
606 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
610 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
611 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
612 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
613 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
614 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
618 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
619 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
620 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
621 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
622 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
623 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
624 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
625 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
626 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
630 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
631 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
632 * Using @acronym{IMAP}:: Reading mail from @acronym{IMAP}.
633 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
634 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
635 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files.
636 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
637 * Email Based Diary:: Using mails to manage diary events in Gnus.
638 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
642 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
643 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
644 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
645 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
646 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
647 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
648 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
652 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
653 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
657 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
658 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
659 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
660 * NNTP marks:: Storing marks for @acronym{NNTP} servers.
664 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
665 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
666 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
667 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
668 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
669 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
670 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
671 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
672 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
673 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
674 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
675 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
676 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
680 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
681 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
682 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
684 Choosing a Mail Back End
686 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
687 * Babyl:: Babyl was used by older versions of Rmail.
688 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
689 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
690 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
691 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
692 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
697 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
698 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
699 * Customizing W3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/W3 from Gnus.
703 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
704 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
705 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
706 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
710 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
714 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
718 * The NNDiary Back End:: Basic setup and usage.
719 * The Gnus Diary Library:: Utility toolkit on top of nndiary.
720 * Sending or Not Sending:: A final note on sending diary messages.
724 * Diary Messages:: What makes a message valid for nndiary.
725 * Running NNDiary:: NNDiary has two modes of operation.
726 * Customizing NNDiary:: Bells and whistles.
728 The Gnus Diary Library
730 * Diary Summary Line Format:: A nicer summary buffer line format.
731 * Diary Articles Sorting:: A nicer way to sort messages.
732 * Diary Headers Generation:: Not doing it manually.
733 * Diary Group Parameters:: Not handling them manually.
737 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
738 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
739 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
740 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
741 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
742 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
743 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
744 * Agent and flags:: How the Agent maintains flags.
745 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
746 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
747 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
748 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
749 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
750 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
754 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
755 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
756 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
760 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
761 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
762 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
766 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
767 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
768 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
769 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
770 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
771 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
772 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
773 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
774 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
775 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
776 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
777 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
778 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
779 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
780 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
781 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
785 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
786 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
787 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
791 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
792 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
793 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
794 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
795 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
796 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
797 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
798 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
799 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
800 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
801 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
802 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
803 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
804 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
805 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
806 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
807 * Thwarting Email Spam:: Simple ways to avoid unsolicited commercial email.
808 * Spam Package:: A package for filtering and processing spam.
809 * The Gnus Registry:: A package for tracking messages by Message-ID.
810 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
811 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
815 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
816 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
817 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
818 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
819 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
820 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
821 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
822 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
826 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
827 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
828 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were
830 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
831 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
835 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
836 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
837 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
838 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
842 * Spam Package Introduction::
843 * Filtering Incoming Mail::
844 * Detecting Spam in Groups::
845 * Spam and Ham Processors::
846 * Spam Package Configuration Examples::
848 * Extending the Spam package::
849 * Spam Statistics Package::
851 Spam Statistics Package
853 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
854 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
855 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
859 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
860 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
861 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
862 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
863 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
864 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
865 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
866 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
867 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
871 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
872 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
873 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
874 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
875 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
876 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
877 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
878 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
879 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
883 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
884 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
885 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
886 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
887 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
888 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10/5.11.
889 * No Gnus:: Very punny.
893 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
894 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
895 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
896 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
900 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
901 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
902 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
903 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
904 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
905 * Group Info:: The group info format.
906 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
907 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
908 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
912 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
913 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
914 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
915 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
916 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
917 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
921 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
922 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
926 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
927 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
933 @chapter Starting Gnus
936 If you haven't used Emacs much before using Gnus, read @ref{Emacs for
941 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
942 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
943 your Emacs. If not, you should customize the variable
944 @code{gnus-select-method} as described in @ref{Finding the News}. For a
945 minimal setup for posting should also customize the variables
946 @code{user-full-name} and @code{user-mail-address}.
948 @findex gnus-other-frame
949 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
950 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
951 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
953 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
954 variables in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file. This file is similar to
955 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when Gnus starts.
957 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
958 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
961 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
962 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
963 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
964 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
965 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
966 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
967 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
968 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
969 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
970 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
974 @node Finding the News
975 @section Finding the News
978 First of all, you should know that there is a special buffer called
979 @code{*Server*} that lists all the servers Gnus knows about. You can
980 press @kbd{^} from the Group buffer to see it. In the Server buffer,
981 you can press @kbd{RET} on a defined server to see all the groups it
982 serves (subscribed or not!). You can also add or delete servers, edit
983 a foreign server's definition, agentize or de-agentize a server, and
984 do many other neat things. @xref{Server Buffer}.
985 @xref{Foreign Groups}. @xref{Agent Basics}.
987 @vindex gnus-select-method
989 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
990 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
991 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
992 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
995 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @acronym{NNTP} server is where
996 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
999 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
1002 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
1005 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1008 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1009 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1010 server is running Leafnode (which is a simple, standalone private news
1011 server); in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1013 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1015 @cindex @acronym{NNTP} server
1016 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
1017 @env{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1018 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1019 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter.
1020 If that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs
1021 as an @acronym{NNTP} server. That's a long shot, though.
1023 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1024 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1025 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1026 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1028 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1029 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1030 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1031 @acronym{NNTP} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1032 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
1033 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1034 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1035 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1036 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1039 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1041 However, if you use one @acronym{NNTP} server regularly and are just
1042 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1043 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1044 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1045 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1046 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1048 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1050 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1051 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1052 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1053 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1054 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1055 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1058 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1059 you would typically set this variable to
1062 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1065 Note: the @acronym{NNTP} back end stores marks in marks files
1066 (@pxref{NNTP marks}). This feature makes it easy to share marks between
1067 several Gnus installations, but may slow down things a bit when fetching
1068 new articles. @xref{NNTP marks}, for more information.
1071 @node The First Time
1072 @section The First Time
1073 @cindex first time usage
1075 If no startup files exist (@pxref{Startup Files}), Gnus will try to
1076 determine what groups should be subscribed by default.
1078 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1079 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1080 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1081 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1084 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1085 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1086 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1088 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1089 help you with most common problems.
1091 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1092 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1096 @node The Server is Down
1097 @section The Server is Down
1098 @cindex server errors
1100 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1101 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1102 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1104 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1105 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1106 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1107 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1108 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1109 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1110 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1112 @findex gnus-no-server
1113 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1115 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1116 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1117 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1118 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1119 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1120 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1121 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1125 @section Slave Gnusae
1128 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1129 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1130 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1131 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1133 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1134 @file{.newsrc} file.
1136 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1137 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1138 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1139 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1140 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1141 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1142 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1145 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1146 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1147 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1148 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1149 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1150 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1151 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1152 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1154 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1155 information in the normal (i.e., master) @file{.newsrc} file.
1157 If the @file{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1158 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1159 file. If you answer ``yes'', the unsaved changes to the master will be
1160 incorporated into the slave. If you answer ``no'', the slave may see some
1161 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1168 @cindex subscription
1170 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1171 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1172 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1173 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1174 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1175 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1176 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1177 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1178 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1181 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1182 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1183 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1187 @node Checking New Groups
1188 @subsection Checking New Groups
1190 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1191 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1192 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1193 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1194 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1195 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1196 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1197 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1198 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1199 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1201 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1202 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1203 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1204 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1205 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1206 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1207 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1208 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1209 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1210 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1211 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1213 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1214 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1215 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1216 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1217 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1218 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1221 @node Subscription Methods
1222 @subsection Subscription Methods
1224 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1225 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1226 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1228 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1229 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1231 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1235 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1236 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1237 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1238 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1239 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1241 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1242 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1243 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1244 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1246 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1247 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1248 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1250 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1251 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1252 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1253 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1254 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1255 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1256 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1257 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1258 up. Or something like that.
1260 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1261 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1262 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1263 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1264 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1266 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1267 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1268 Kill all new groups.
1270 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1271 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1272 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1273 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1274 topic parameter that looks like
1280 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1283 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1288 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1289 A closely related variable is
1290 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1291 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1292 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1293 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1296 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1297 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1298 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1299 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1302 @node Filtering New Groups
1303 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1305 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1306 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1307 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1310 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1313 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1314 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1315 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1316 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1317 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1318 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1319 subscribing these groups.
1320 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1321 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1323 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1324 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1325 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1326 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1327 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1328 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1329 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1330 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1332 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1333 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1334 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1335 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous,
1336 but I thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is
1337 more meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is
1338 used more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new
1339 groups that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1340 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1341 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1344 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1345 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1348 @node Changing Servers
1349 @section Changing Servers
1350 @cindex changing servers
1352 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another.
1353 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1354 very flaky and you want to use another.
1356 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1357 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1361 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1362 @acronym{NNTP} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1363 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1364 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1367 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1368 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1369 You can use the @kbd{M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups}
1370 command to clear out all data that you have on your native groups.
1373 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1374 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1375 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1376 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1378 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1379 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1380 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1381 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1382 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1383 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1384 cache for all groups).
1388 @section Startup Files
1389 @cindex startup files
1394 Most common Unix news readers use a shared startup file called
1395 @file{.newsrc}. This file contains all the information about what
1396 groups are subscribed, and which articles in these groups have been
1399 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1400 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1401 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1402 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1403 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1404 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1405 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1407 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1408 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1409 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1410 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1411 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1412 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1414 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1415 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1416 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1417 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1418 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1419 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1420 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1421 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1422 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which can be
1423 convenient if you use a different news reader occasionally, and you
1424 want to read a different subset of the available groups with that
1427 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1428 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1429 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1430 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1431 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1432 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1433 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1434 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1435 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1436 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1437 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1438 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1440 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1441 @vindex gnus-backup-startup-file
1442 @vindex version-control
1443 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1444 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1445 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1446 If you want version control for this file, set
1447 @code{gnus-backup-startup-file}. It respects the same values as the
1448 @code{version-control} variable.
1450 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1451 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1452 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1453 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1454 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1455 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1456 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1457 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1458 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1459 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1462 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1463 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1465 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1466 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1469 @vindex gnus-init-file
1470 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1471 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1472 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus-init} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1473 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1474 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1475 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1476 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1477 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1478 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1479 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order). If Emacs was invoked with
1480 the @option{-q} or @option{--no-init-file} options (@pxref{Initial
1481 Options, ,Initial Options, emacs, The Emacs Manual}), Gnus doesn't read
1482 @code{gnus-init-file}.
1487 @cindex dribble file
1490 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1491 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1492 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1493 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1494 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1497 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1498 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1501 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1502 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1503 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1505 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1506 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1507 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1508 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1509 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1510 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1512 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1513 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1514 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1517 @node The Active File
1518 @section The Active File
1520 @cindex ignored groups
1522 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1523 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1524 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1526 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1527 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1528 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1529 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1530 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1531 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1532 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1535 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1536 @c if you set it to anything else.
1538 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1540 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1541 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1542 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1544 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1545 you actually subscribe to.
1547 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1548 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1549 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1550 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1552 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1553 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1554 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1555 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1556 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1557 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1559 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1560 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1561 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1564 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1565 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1566 @acronym{NNTP} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1567 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1568 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1569 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1571 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1572 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1574 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1575 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1577 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1578 secondary select methods.
1581 @node Startup Variables
1582 @section Startup Variables
1586 @item gnus-load-hook
1587 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1588 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1589 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1590 times you start Gnus.
1592 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1593 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1594 A hook called as the first thing when Gnus is started.
1596 @item gnus-startup-hook
1597 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1598 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1600 @item gnus-started-hook
1601 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1602 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1605 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1606 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1607 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1608 generating the group buffer.
1610 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1611 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1612 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1613 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1614 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1615 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1616 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1617 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1619 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1620 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1621 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1622 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1623 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1624 @file{~/.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1626 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1627 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1628 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1630 @item gnus-use-backend-marks
1631 @vindex gnus-use-backend-marks
1632 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will store article marks both in the
1633 @file{.newsrc.eld} file and in the backends. This will slow down
1634 group operation some.
1640 @chapter Group Buffer
1641 @cindex group buffer
1643 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1645 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1646 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1647 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1648 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1649 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1650 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1651 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1652 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1653 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1654 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1655 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1656 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1657 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1658 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1659 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1660 @c human rights at 9...
1663 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1664 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1665 long as Gnus is active.
1669 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1670 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1671 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1672 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1673 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1674 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1675 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1676 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1682 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1683 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1684 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1685 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1686 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1687 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1688 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1689 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1690 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1691 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1692 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1693 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1694 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1695 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1696 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1697 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1698 * Non-ASCII Group Names:: Accessing groups of non-English names.
1699 * Searching:: Mail search engines.
1700 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1704 @node Group Buffer Format
1705 @section Group Buffer Format
1708 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1709 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
1710 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1713 You can customize the Group Mode tool bar, see @kbd{M-x
1714 customize-apropos RET gnus-group-tool-bar}. This feature is only
1717 The tool bar icons are now (de)activated correctly depending on the
1718 cursor position. Therefore, moving around in the Group Buffer is
1719 slower. You can disable this via the variable
1720 @code{gnus-group-update-tool-bar}. Its default value depends on your
1723 @node Group Line Specification
1724 @subsection Group Line Specification
1725 @cindex group buffer format
1727 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1728 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1730 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1733 25: news.announce.newusers
1734 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1739 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1740 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1741 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1742 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1744 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1745 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1746 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1747 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1748 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1749 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1751 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1753 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1754 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1755 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1756 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1757 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1759 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1760 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1761 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1763 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1768 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1771 Whether the group is subscribed.
1774 Level of subscribedness.
1777 Number of unread articles.
1780 Number of dormant articles.
1783 Number of ticked articles.
1786 Number of read articles.
1789 Number of unseen articles.
1792 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1793 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1795 Gnus uses this estimation because the @acronym{NNTP} protocol provides
1796 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1797 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1798 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1799 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1800 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1801 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job.
1803 The nnml backend (@pxref{Mail Spool}) has a feature called ``group
1804 compaction'' which circumvents this deficiency: the idea is to
1805 renumber all articles from 1, removing all gaps between numbers, hence
1806 getting a correct total count. Other backends may support this in the
1807 future. In order to keep your total article count relatively up to
1808 date, you might want to compact your groups (or even directly your
1809 server) from time to time. @xref{Misc Group Stuff}, @xref{Server Commands}.
1812 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1815 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1824 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1825 comment element in the group parameters.
1828 Newsgroup description. You need to read the group descriptions
1829 before these will appear, and to do that, you either have to set
1830 @code{gnus-read-active-file} or use the group buffer @kbd{M-d}
1834 @samp{m} if moderated.
1837 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1843 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1849 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1853 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1856 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1857 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1858 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1859 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1860 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1863 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1865 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1869 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1872 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1876 The disk space used by the articles fetched by both the cache and
1877 agent. The value is automatically scaled to bytes(B), kilobytes(K),
1878 megabytes(M), or gigabytes(G) to minimize the column width. A format
1879 of %7F is sufficient for a fixed-width column.
1882 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1883 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1884 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1885 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1886 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1887 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1892 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1893 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1894 group, or a bogus native group.
1897 @node Group Mode Line Specification
1898 @subsection Group Mode Line Specification
1899 @cindex group mode line
1901 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1902 The mode line can be changed by setting
1903 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1904 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1908 The native news server.
1910 The native select method.
1914 @node Group Highlighting
1915 @subsection Group Highlighting
1916 @cindex highlighting
1917 @cindex group highlighting
1919 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1920 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1921 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1922 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1923 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1925 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1929 (cond (window-system
1930 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1931 (defface my-group-face-1
1932 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1933 (defface my-group-face-2
1934 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t)))
1935 "Second group face")
1936 (defface my-group-face-3
1937 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1938 (defface my-group-face-4
1939 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1940 (defface my-group-face-5
1941 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1943 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1944 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1945 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1946 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1947 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1948 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1951 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1953 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1960 The number of unread articles in the group.
1964 Whether the group is a mail group.
1966 The level of the group.
1968 The score of the group.
1970 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1972 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather,
1973 @var{max-number} minus @var{min-number} plus one.
1975 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1976 topic being inserted.
1979 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1980 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1981 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1983 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1984 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1985 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1986 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
1989 @node Group Maneuvering
1990 @section Group Maneuvering
1991 @cindex group movement
1993 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1994 expected, hopefully.
2000 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
2001 Go to the next group that has unread articles
2002 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
2008 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
2009 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
2010 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
2014 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2015 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2019 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2020 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2024 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2025 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2026 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2030 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2031 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2032 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2035 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2041 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2042 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2043 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2048 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2049 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2050 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2054 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2055 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2056 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2059 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2060 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2061 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2062 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2065 @vindex gnus-summary-next-group-on-exit
2066 If @code{gnus-summary-next-group-on-exit} is @code{t}, when a summary is
2067 exited, the point in the group buffer is moved to the next unread group.
2068 Otherwise, the point is set to the group just exited. The default is
2071 @node Selecting a Group
2072 @section Selecting a Group
2073 @cindex group selection
2078 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2079 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2080 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2081 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2082 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2083 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2084 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{n}, @var{n}
2085 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{n} is
2086 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{n} newest articles, if @var{n} is
2087 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{n})} oldest articles.
2089 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2090 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2091 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2093 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2094 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2099 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2100 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2101 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2102 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2103 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2107 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2108 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2109 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2110 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2111 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2112 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2113 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2114 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2115 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2116 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2119 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2120 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2121 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2122 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2123 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2126 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2127 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2128 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2129 doing any processing of its contents
2130 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2131 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2132 manner will have no permanent effects.
2136 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2137 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should
2138 consider to be a big group. If it is @code{nil}, no groups are
2139 considered big. The default value is 200. If the group has more
2140 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2141 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many
2142 articles should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a
2143 negative number (@var{-n}), the @var{n} oldest articles will be
2144 fetched. If it is positive, the @var{n} articles that have arrived
2145 most recently will be fetched.
2147 @vindex gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup
2148 @code{gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup} is the same as
2149 @code{gnus-large-newsgroup}, but is only used for ephemeral
2152 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-maximum-articles
2153 In groups in some news servers, there might be a big gap between a few
2154 very old articles that will never be expired and the recent ones. In
2155 such a case, the server will return the data like @code{(1 . 30000000)}
2156 for the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, for example. Even if there
2157 are actually only the articles 1-10 and 29999900-30000000, Gnus doesn't
2158 know it at first and prepares for getting 30000000 articles. However,
2159 it will consume hundreds megabytes of memories and might make Emacs get
2160 stuck as the case may be. If you use such news servers, set the
2161 variable @code{gnus-newsgroup-maximum-articles} to a positive number.
2162 The value means that Gnus ignores articles other than this number of the
2163 latest ones in every group. For instance, the value 10000 makes Gnus
2164 get only the articles 29990001-30000000 (if the latest article number is
2165 30000000 in a group). Note that setting this variable to a number might
2166 prevent you from reading very old articles. The default value of the
2167 variable @code{gnus-newsgroup-maximum-articles} is @code{nil}, which
2168 means Gnus never ignores old articles.
2170 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2171 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2172 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2173 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2174 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2175 Which article this is controlled by the
2176 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2182 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2185 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2188 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2190 @item unseen-or-unread
2191 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2192 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2196 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2200 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2201 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2203 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2204 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2205 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2206 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2210 @node Subscription Commands
2211 @section Subscription Commands
2212 @cindex subscription
2220 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2221 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2222 Toggle subscription to the current group
2223 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2229 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2230 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2231 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2232 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2238 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2239 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2240 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2246 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2247 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2250 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2251 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2252 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2253 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2254 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2260 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2261 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2265 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2266 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2269 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2270 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2271 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2272 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2273 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2274 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2275 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2276 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2277 @file{.newsrc} file.
2281 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2291 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2292 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2293 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2294 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2295 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2296 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2301 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2302 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2303 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2307 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2308 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2309 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2311 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2312 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2313 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2314 If you have switched from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another, all your marks
2315 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2316 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2323 @section Group Levels
2327 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2328 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2329 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2330 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2331 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2333 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2339 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2340 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2341 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2342 prompted for a level.
2345 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2346 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2347 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2348 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2349 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2350 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2351 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2352 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2353 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2354 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2355 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2356 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2357 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2358 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2359 reasons of efficiency.
2361 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2362 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2364 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2365 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2366 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2367 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2368 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2369 groups are hidden, in a way.
2371 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2372 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2373 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2374 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2375 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2376 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2378 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2379 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2380 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2381 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2382 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2383 list of killed groups.)
2385 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2386 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2387 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2389 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2390 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2391 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2392 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2393 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2394 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2395 relevant valid ranges.
2397 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2398 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2399 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2400 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2401 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2402 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2405 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2406 one with the best level.
2408 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2409 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2410 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2413 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2414 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2415 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2416 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2419 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2420 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2421 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2422 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2424 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2425 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2426 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2427 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2428 to 5. The default is 6.
2432 @section Group Score
2437 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2438 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2439 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2442 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2443 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2444 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2445 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2446 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2447 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2448 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2449 least significant part.))
2451 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2452 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2453 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2454 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2455 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2456 action after each summary exit, you can add
2457 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2458 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2459 slow things down somewhat.
2462 @node Marking Groups
2463 @section Marking Groups
2464 @cindex marking groups
2466 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2467 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2468 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2469 bidding on those groups.
2471 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2472 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2473 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2481 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2482 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2488 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2489 Remove the mark from the current group
2490 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2494 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2495 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2499 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2500 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2504 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2505 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2509 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2510 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2511 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2514 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2516 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2517 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2518 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2519 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2520 the command to be executed.
2523 @node Foreign Groups
2524 @section Foreign Groups
2525 @cindex foreign groups
2527 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2528 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2529 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2530 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2533 Changes from the group editing commands are stored in
2534 @file{~/.newsrc.eld} (@code{gnus-startup-file}). An alternative is the
2535 variable @code{gnus-parameters}, @xref{Group Parameters}.
2541 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2542 @cindex making groups
2543 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2544 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2545 to subscribe to @acronym{NNTP} groups (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
2549 @findex gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group
2550 Make an ephemeral group (@code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group}). Gnus
2551 will prompt you for a name, a method and an @dfn{address}.
2555 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2556 @cindex renaming groups
2557 Rename the current group to something else
2558 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2559 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2565 @findex gnus-group-customize
2566 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2570 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2571 @cindex renaming groups
2572 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2573 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2577 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2578 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2579 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2583 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2584 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2585 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2589 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2591 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2592 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2597 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2598 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2602 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2604 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2605 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2606 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2610 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2611 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2613 Make a group based on some file or other
2614 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2615 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2616 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2617 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2618 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2619 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2620 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2621 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2622 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2626 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2627 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2628 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2629 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2633 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2637 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2638 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2639 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2640 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2641 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2642 @xref{Web Searches}.
2644 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2645 to a particular group by using a match string like
2646 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2650 @findex gnus-group-make-rss-group
2651 Make a group based on an @acronym{RSS} feed
2652 (@code{gnus-group-make-rss-group}). You will be prompted for an URL.
2656 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2657 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2658 This function will delete the current group
2659 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2660 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2661 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2662 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2663 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} groups), though.
2667 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2668 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2669 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2673 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2674 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2675 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2678 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2681 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2682 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2683 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2684 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2685 groups from different @acronym{NNTP} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2686 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2690 The following commands create ephemeral groups. They can be called not
2691 only from the Group buffer, but in any Gnus buffer.
2694 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group
2695 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group
2696 @vindex gnus-gmane-group-download-format
2697 Read an ephemeral group on Gmane.org. The articles are downloaded via
2698 HTTP using the URL specified by @code{gnus-gmane-group-download-format}.
2699 Gnus will prompt you for a group name, the start article number and an
2702 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group-url
2703 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group-url
2704 This command is similar to @code{gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group}, but
2705 the group name and the article number and range are constructed from a
2706 given @acronym{URL}. Supported @acronym{URL} formats include e.g.
2707 @url{http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12300/focus=12399},
2708 @url{http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12345/},
2709 @url{http://article.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12345/},
2710 @url{http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12345/}, and
2711 @url{http://news.gmane.org/group/gmane.foo.bar/thread=12345}.
2713 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group
2714 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group
2715 Read an Emacs bug report in an ephemeral group. Gnus will prompt for a
2716 bug number. The default is the number at point. The @acronym{URL} is
2717 specified in @code{gnus-bug-group-download-format-alist}.
2719 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-debian-bug-group
2720 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-debian-bug-group
2721 Read a Debian bug report in an ephemeral group. Analog to
2722 @code{gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group}.
2725 Some of these command are also useful for article buttons, @xref{Article
2733 '("#\\([0-9]+\\)\\>" 1
2734 (string-match "\\<emacs\\>" (or gnus-newsgroup-name ""))
2735 gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group 1))
2739 @node Group Parameters
2740 @section Group Parameters
2741 @cindex group parameters
2743 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2745 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2746 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2747 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2748 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2749 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2750 Additionally, you can set group parameters via the
2751 @code{gnus-parameters} variable, see below.
2753 Here's an example group parameter list:
2756 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2760 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing before
2761 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2762 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2763 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2765 Some parameters have correspondent customizable variables, each of which
2766 is an alist of regexps and values.
2768 The following group parameters can be used:
2773 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2776 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2779 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2780 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2781 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2782 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2783 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2785 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2786 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2787 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2788 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2789 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2790 list address instead.
2792 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2796 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2799 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2802 It is totally ignored
2803 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2804 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2806 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2807 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2808 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2809 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2810 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2812 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2813 @cindex mail list groups
2814 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2815 entering summary buffer.
2817 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2822 @cindex Mail-Followup-To
2823 @findex gnus-find-subscribed-addresses
2824 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2825 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2826 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2827 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2828 headers for your posts to these lists. The second step is to put the
2829 following in your @file{.gnus.el}
2832 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
2833 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
2836 @xref{Mailing Lists, ,Mailing Lists, message, The Message Manual}, for
2837 a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2841 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2842 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2843 of whether it has any unread articles.
2845 This parameter cannot be set via @code{gnus-parameters}. See
2846 @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} as an alternative.
2848 @item broken-reply-to
2849 @cindex broken-reply-to
2850 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2851 headers in this group are to be ignored, and for the header to be hidden
2852 if @code{reply-to} is part of @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}. This
2853 can be useful if you're reading a mailing list group where the listserv
2854 has inserted @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv
2855 itself. That is broken behavior. So there!
2859 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2860 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2864 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2865 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2866 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2871 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2872 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2873 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2874 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2875 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2876 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2877 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2879 @strong{Caveat}: Adding @code{(gcc-self . t)} to the parameter list of
2880 @code{nntp} groups (or the like) isn't valid. An @code{nntp} server
2881 doesn't accept articles.
2885 @cindex expiring mail
2886 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2887 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2888 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2890 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2893 @cindex total-expire
2894 @cindex expiring mail
2895 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2896 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2897 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2898 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2901 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2905 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2906 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2907 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2908 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2909 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2910 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2911 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2914 @cindex expiry-target
2915 Where expired messages end up. This parameter overrides
2916 @code{nnmail-expiry-target}.
2919 @cindex score file group parameter
2920 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2921 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2922 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2925 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2926 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2927 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2928 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2931 @cindex admin-address
2932 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2933 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2934 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2935 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2939 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2940 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2944 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2947 Display the last @var{integer} articles in the group. This is the same as
2948 entering the group with @kbd{C-u @var{integer}}.
2951 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2955 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2957 Here are some examples:
2961 Display only unread articles.
2964 Display everything except expirable articles.
2966 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2967 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2971 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2972 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2973 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2974 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2975 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2979 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2980 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2981 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2985 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2986 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2987 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2991 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2992 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2993 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2995 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2997 @item ignored-charsets
2998 @cindex ignored-charset
2999 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
3000 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
3001 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
3003 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
3006 @cindex posting-style
3007 You can store additional posting style information for this group
3008 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
3009 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
3010 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
3011 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
3013 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
3014 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
3015 like this in the group parameters:
3020 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
3021 (signature "Funky Signature"))
3024 If you're using topics to organize your group buffer
3025 (@pxref{Group Topics}), note that posting styles can also be set in
3026 the topics parameters. Posting styles in topic parameters apply to all
3027 groups in this topic. More precisely, the posting-style settings for a
3028 group result from the hierarchical merging of all posting-style
3029 entries in the parameters of this group and all the topics it belongs
3035 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
3036 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
3040 If it is set, and the setting of @code{mail-sources} includes a
3041 @code{group} mail source (@pxref{Mail Sources}), the value is a
3042 mail source for this group.
3046 An item like @code{(banner . @var{regexp})} causes any part of an article
3047 that matches the regular expression @var{regexp} to be stripped. Instead of
3048 @var{regexp}, you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
3049 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
3050 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
3054 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
3055 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
3056 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
3057 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
3059 For example, if the @samp{INBOX.list.sieve} group has the @code{(sieve
3060 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
3061 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
3062 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
3065 if address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com" @{
3066 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
3070 To generate tests for multiple email-addresses use a group parameter
3071 like @code{(sieve address "sender" ("name@@one.org" else@@two.org"))}.
3072 When generating a sieve script (@pxref{Sieve Commands}) Sieve code
3073 like the following is generated:
3076 if address "sender" ["name@@one.org", "else@@two.org"] @{
3077 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
3081 See @pxref{Sieve Commands} for commands and variables that might be of
3082 interest in relation to the sieve parameter.
3084 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve,
3085 Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
3087 @item (agent parameters)
3088 If the agent has been enabled, you can set any of the its parameters
3089 to control the behavior of the agent in individual groups. See Agent
3090 Parameters in @ref{Category Syntax}. Most users will choose to set
3091 agent parameters in either an agent category or group topic to
3092 minimize the configuration effort.
3094 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
3095 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
3096 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
3097 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
3098 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
3099 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
3100 @code{eval}ed there.
3102 Note that this feature sets the variable locally to the summary buffer
3103 if and only if @var{variable} has been bound as a variable. Otherwise,
3104 only evaluating the form will take place. So, you may want to bind the
3105 variable in advance using @code{defvar} or other if the result of the
3106 form needs to be set to it.
3108 But some variables are evaluated in the article buffer, or in the
3109 message buffer (of a reply or followup or otherwise newly created
3110 message). As a workaround, it might help to add the variable in
3111 question to @code{gnus-newsgroup-variables}. @xref{Various Summary
3112 Stuff}. So if you want to set @code{message-from-style} via the group
3113 parameters, then you may need the following statement elsewhere in your
3114 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3117 (add-to-list 'gnus-newsgroup-variables 'message-from-style)
3120 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
3121 A use for this feature is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
3122 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
3125 nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps
3128 has the tag @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this
3129 tag can be removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for
3130 the group by putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")}
3131 into the group parameters for the group.
3133 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function. If you want to
3134 hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put something like
3135 @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that group. If
3136 @code{dummy-variable} has been bound (see above), it will be set to the
3137 (meaningless) result of the @code{(ding)} form.
3139 Alternatively, since the VARIABLE becomes local to the group, this
3140 pattern can be used to temporarily change a hook. For example, if the
3141 following is added to a group parameter
3144 (gnus-summary-prepared-hook
3145 '(lambda nil (local-set-key "d" (local-key-binding "n"))))
3148 when the group is entered, the 'd' key will not mark the article as
3153 @vindex gnus-parameters
3154 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
3155 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect (For this
3156 case see @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} as an alternative.).
3160 (setq gnus-parameters
3162 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3163 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
3164 (gnus-summary-line-format
3165 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
3169 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
3173 (gnus-use-scoring t))
3177 (broken-reply-to . t))))
3180 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
3181 the @code{to-group} example shows.
3183 @vindex gnus-parameters-case-fold-search
3184 By default, whether comparing the group name and one of those regexps
3185 specified in @code{gnus-parameters} is done in a case-sensitive manner
3186 or a case-insensitive manner depends on the value of
3187 @code{case-fold-search} at the time when the comparison is done. The
3188 value of @code{case-fold-search} is typically @code{t}; it means, for
3189 example, the element @code{("INBOX\\.FOO" (total-expire . t))} might be
3190 applied to both the @samp{INBOX.FOO} group and the @samp{INBOX.foo}
3191 group. If you want to make those regexps always case-sensitive, set the
3192 value of the @code{gnus-parameters-case-fold-search} variable to
3193 @code{nil}. Otherwise, set it to @code{t} if you want to compare them
3194 always in a case-insensitive manner.
3196 You can define different sorting to different groups via
3197 @code{gnus-parameters}. Here is an example to sort an @acronym{NNTP}
3198 group by reverse date to see the latest news at the top and an
3199 @acronym{RSS} group by subject. In this example, the first group is the
3200 Debian daily news group @code{gmane.linux.debian.user.news} from
3201 news.gmane.org. The @acronym{RSS} group corresponds to the Debian
3202 weekly news RSS feed
3203 @url{http://packages.debian.org/unstable/newpkg_main.en.rdf},
3209 '(("nntp.*gmane\\.debian\\.user\\.news"
3210 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3211 (gnus-article-sort-functions '((not gnus-article-sort-by-date)))
3212 (gnus-use-adaptive-scoring nil)
3213 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
3215 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3216 (gnus-article-sort-functions 'gnus-article-sort-by-subject)
3217 (gnus-use-adaptive-scoring nil)
3218 (gnus-use-scoring t)
3219 (gnus-score-find-score-files-function 'gnus-score-find-single)
3220 (gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%d %I%(%[ %s %]%)\n"))))
3224 @node Listing Groups
3225 @section Listing Groups
3226 @cindex group listing
3228 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3236 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3237 List all groups that have unread articles
3238 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3239 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3240 only lists groups of level five (i.e.,
3241 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3248 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3249 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3250 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3251 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3252 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3253 unsubscribed groups).
3257 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3258 List all unread groups on a specific level
3259 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3260 with no unread articles.
3264 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3265 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3266 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3267 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3272 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3273 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3277 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3278 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3279 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3283 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3284 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3288 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3289 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3290 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3291 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3292 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3293 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3294 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3295 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3299 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3300 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3301 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3305 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3306 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3307 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3311 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3312 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3316 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3317 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3321 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3322 List groups limited within the current selection
3323 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3327 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3328 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3332 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3333 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3337 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3338 @cindex visible group parameter
3339 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3340 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3341 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3342 get the same effect.
3344 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3345 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3346 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3347 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3348 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3351 @node Sorting Groups
3352 @section Sorting Groups
3353 @cindex sorting groups
3355 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3356 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3357 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3358 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3359 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3360 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3365 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3366 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3367 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3369 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3370 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3371 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3373 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3374 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3375 Sort by group level.
3377 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3378 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3379 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3381 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3382 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3383 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3384 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3386 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3387 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3388 Sort by number of unread articles.
3390 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3391 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3392 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3394 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3395 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3396 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3401 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3402 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3406 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3407 some sorting criteria:
3411 @kindex G S a (Group)
3412 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3413 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3414 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3417 @kindex G S u (Group)
3418 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3419 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3420 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3423 @kindex G S l (Group)
3424 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3425 Sort the group buffer by group level
3426 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3429 @kindex G S v (Group)
3430 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3431 Sort the group buffer by group score
3432 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3435 @kindex G S r (Group)
3436 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3437 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3438 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3441 @kindex G S m (Group)
3442 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3443 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name@*
3444 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3447 @kindex G S n (Group)
3448 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3449 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3450 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3454 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3455 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3457 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3458 commands will sort in reverse order.
3460 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3464 @kindex G P a (Group)
3465 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3466 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3467 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3470 @kindex G P u (Group)
3471 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3472 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3473 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3476 @kindex G P l (Group)
3477 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3478 Sort the groups by group level
3479 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3482 @kindex G P v (Group)
3483 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3484 Sort the groups by group score
3485 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3488 @kindex G P r (Group)
3489 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3490 Sort the groups by group rank
3491 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3494 @kindex G P m (Group)
3495 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3496 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name@*
3497 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3500 @kindex G P n (Group)
3501 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3502 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3503 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3506 @kindex G P s (Group)
3507 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3508 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3512 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3516 @node Group Maintenance
3517 @section Group Maintenance
3518 @cindex bogus groups
3523 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3524 Find bogus groups and delete them
3525 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3529 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3530 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3531 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3532 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3533 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3537 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3538 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3539 @cindex expiring mail
3540 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3541 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3542 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3543 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3546 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3547 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3548 @cindex expiring mail
3549 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3550 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3555 @node Browse Foreign Server
3556 @section Browse Foreign Server
3557 @cindex foreign servers
3558 @cindex browsing servers
3563 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3564 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3565 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3566 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3569 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3570 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3571 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3572 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3574 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3579 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3580 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3584 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3585 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3588 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3589 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3590 Enter the current group and display the first article
3591 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3594 @kindex RET (Browse)
3595 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3596 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3600 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3601 @vindex gnus-browse-subscribe-newsgroup-method
3602 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3603 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}). You
3604 can affect the way the new group is entered into the Group buffer
3605 using the variable @code{gnus-browse-subscribe-newsgroup-method}. See
3606 @pxref{Subscription Methods} for available options.
3612 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3613 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3617 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3618 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3622 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3623 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3624 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3629 @section Exiting Gnus
3630 @cindex exiting Gnus
3632 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3637 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3638 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3639 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3640 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3644 @findex gnus-group-exit
3645 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3646 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3650 @findex gnus-group-quit
3651 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3652 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3655 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3656 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3657 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3658 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3659 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3660 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3666 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3667 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3668 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3674 @section Group Topics
3677 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3678 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3679 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3680 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3681 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3682 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3686 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3687 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3698 2: alt.religion.emacs
3701 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3703 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3704 13: comp.sources.unix
3707 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3709 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3710 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3711 is a toggling command.)
3713 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3714 dum@dots{} Nice tune, that@dots{} la la la@dots{} What, you're back?
3715 Yes, and now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed
3716 under @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
3719 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3720 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3721 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3724 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3728 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3729 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3730 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3731 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3732 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3736 @node Topic Commands
3737 @subsection Topic Commands
3738 @cindex topic commands
3740 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3741 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3742 definitions slightly.
3744 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3745 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3746 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3747 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3748 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3749 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3751 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3758 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3759 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3760 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3764 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3766 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3767 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3768 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3769 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3772 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3773 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3774 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3775 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3779 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3780 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3781 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3782 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3788 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3789 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3790 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3794 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3795 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3796 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3799 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3800 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the ``cut'' part of cut and paste. Then,
3801 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the ``Gnus''
3802 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the ``paste'' part of cut and
3803 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3805 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3806 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3810 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3811 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3818 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3820 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3821 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3822 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3823 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3824 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3825 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3829 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3835 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3836 Move the current group to some other topic
3837 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3838 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3842 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3843 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3847 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3848 Copy the current group to some other topic
3849 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3850 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3854 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3855 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3856 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3860 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3861 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3862 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3866 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3867 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3868 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3869 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3870 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3871 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3872 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3875 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3876 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3880 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3881 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3882 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3886 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3887 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3888 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3892 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3893 Toggle hiding empty topics
3894 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3898 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3899 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3900 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3901 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3904 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3905 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3906 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3907 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3908 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3911 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3912 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3913 @cindex expiring mail
3914 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3915 expiry process (if any)
3916 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3920 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3921 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3924 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3925 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3926 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3930 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3931 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3932 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3935 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3936 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3937 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3940 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3941 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3942 Go to the previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3946 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3947 @cindex group parameters
3948 @cindex topic parameters
3950 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3951 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3956 @node Topic Variables
3957 @subsection Topic Variables
3958 @cindex topic variables
3960 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3961 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3963 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3964 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3965 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3978 Number of groups in the topic.
3980 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3982 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3985 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3986 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3987 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3990 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3991 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3993 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3994 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3995 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3999 @subsection Topic Sorting
4000 @cindex topic sorting
4002 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
4008 @kindex T S a (Topic)
4009 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
4010 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
4011 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
4014 @kindex T S u (Topic)
4015 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
4016 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
4017 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
4020 @kindex T S l (Topic)
4021 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
4022 Sort the current topic by group level
4023 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
4026 @kindex T S v (Topic)
4027 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
4028 Sort the current topic by group score
4029 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
4032 @kindex T S r (Topic)
4033 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
4034 Sort the current topic by group rank
4035 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
4038 @kindex T S m (Topic)
4039 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
4040 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
4041 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
4044 @kindex T S e (Topic)
4045 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
4046 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
4047 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
4050 @kindex T S s (Topic)
4051 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
4052 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
4053 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
4054 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
4058 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
4059 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
4063 @node Topic Topology
4064 @subsection Topic Topology
4065 @cindex topic topology
4068 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
4075 2: alt.religion.emacs
4078 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4080 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4081 13: comp.sources.unix
4085 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
4086 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
4087 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
4092 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
4093 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
4097 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
4098 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
4099 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
4100 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
4101 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
4102 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
4104 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
4105 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
4106 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
4109 @node Topic Parameters
4110 @subsection Topic Parameters
4111 @cindex topic parameters
4113 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent
4114 (and ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid
4115 topic parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}). When the agent is
4116 enabled, all agent parameters (See Agent Parameters in @ref{Category
4117 Syntax}) are also valid topic parameters.
4119 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
4124 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
4125 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
4126 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
4129 @item subscribe-level
4130 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
4131 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
4132 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
4136 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
4137 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
4138 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
4139 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
4146 2: alt.religion.emacs
4150 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4152 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4153 13: comp.sources.unix
4158 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
4159 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
4160 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
4161 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
4162 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
4163 . "religion.SCORE")}.
4165 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
4166 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
4167 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
4168 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
4169 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
4171 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
4172 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
4173 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
4174 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
4175 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
4176 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
4177 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
4178 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
4181 @node Non-ASCII Group Names
4182 @section Accessing groups of non-English names
4183 @cindex non-ascii group names
4185 There are some news servers that provide groups of which the names are
4186 expressed with their native languages in the world. For instance, in a
4187 certain news server there are some newsgroups of which the names are
4188 spelled in Chinese, where people are talking in Chinese. You can, of
4189 course, subscribe to such news groups using Gnus. Currently Gnus
4190 supports non-@acronym{ASCII} group names not only with the @code{nntp}
4191 back end but also with the @code{nnml} back end and the @code{nnrss}
4194 Every such group name is encoded by a certain charset in the server
4195 side (in an @acronym{NNTP} server its administrator determines the
4196 charset, but for groups in the other back ends it is determined by you).
4197 Gnus has to display the decoded ones for you in the group buffer and the
4198 article buffer, and needs to use the encoded ones when communicating
4199 with servers. However, Gnus doesn't know what charset is used for each
4200 non-@acronym{ASCII} group name. The following two variables are just
4201 the ones for telling Gnus what charset should be used for each group:
4204 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4205 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4206 An alist of select methods and charsets. The default value is
4207 @code{nil}. The names of groups in the server specified by that select
4208 method are all supposed to use the corresponding charset. For example:
4211 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4212 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4215 Charsets specified for groups with this variable are preferred to the
4216 ones specified for the same groups with the
4217 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist} variable (see below).
4219 A select method can be very long, like:
4223 (nntp-address "news.gmane.org")
4224 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
4225 (nntp-open-connection-function
4226 nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
4227 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
4228 (nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
4229 ("-C" "-t" "-e" "none"))
4230 (nntp-via-address @dots{}))
4233 In that case, you can truncate it into @code{(nntp "gmane")} in this
4234 variable. That is, it is enough to contain only the back end name and
4237 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4238 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4239 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4240 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names.
4241 @code{((".*" . utf-8))} is the default value if UTF-8 is supported,
4242 otherwise the default is @code{nil}. For example:
4245 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4246 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)
4250 Note that this variable is ignored if the match is made with
4251 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist}.
4254 Those two variables are used also to determine the charset for encoding
4255 and decoding non-@acronym{ASCII} group names that are in the back ends
4256 other than @code{nntp}. It means that it is you who determine it. If
4257 you do nothing, the charset used for group names in those back ends will
4258 all be @code{utf-8} because of the last element of
4259 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist}.
4261 There is one more important variable for non-@acronym{ASCII} group
4265 @item nnmail-pathname-coding-system
4266 @vindex nnmail-pathname-coding-system
4267 The value of this variable should be a coding system or @code{nil}. The
4268 default is @code{nil} in Emacs, or is the aliasee of the coding system
4269 named @code{file-name} (a certain coding system of which an alias is
4270 @code{file-name}) in XEmacs.
4272 The @code{nnml} back end, the @code{nnrss} back end, the @acronym{NNTP}
4273 marks feature (@pxref{NNTP marks}), the agent, and the cache use
4274 non-@acronym{ASCII} group names in those files and directories. This
4275 variable overrides the value of @code{file-name-coding-system} which
4276 specifies the coding system used when encoding and decoding those file
4277 names and directory names.
4279 In XEmacs (with the @code{mule} feature), @code{file-name-coding-system}
4280 is the only means to specify the coding system used to encode and decode
4281 file names. On the other hand, Emacs uses the value of
4282 @code{default-file-name-coding-system} if @code{file-name-coding-system}
4283 is @code{nil} or it is bound to the value of
4284 @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system} which is @code{nil}.
4286 Normally the value of @code{default-file-name-coding-system} in Emacs or
4287 @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system} in XEmacs is initialized according
4288 to the locale, so you will need to do nothing if the value is suitable
4289 to encode and decode non-@acronym{ASCII} group names.
4291 The value of this variable (or @code{default-file-name-coding-system})
4292 does not necessarily need to be the same value that is determined by
4293 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist} and
4294 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist}.
4296 If @code{default-file-name-coding-system} or this variable is
4297 initialized by default to @code{iso-latin-1} for example, although you
4298 want to subscribe to the groups spelled in Chinese, that is the most
4299 typical case where you have to customize
4300 @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system}. The @code{utf-8} coding system is
4301 a good candidate for it. Otherwise, you may change the locale in your
4302 system so that @code{default-file-name-coding-system} or this variable
4303 may be initialized to an appropriate value.
4306 Note that when you copy or move articles from a non-@acronym{ASCII}
4307 group to another group, the charset used to encode and decode group
4308 names should be the same in both groups. Otherwise the Newsgroups
4309 header will be displayed incorrectly in the article buffer.
4316 * nnir:: Searching on IMAP, with swish, namazu, etc.
4317 * nnmairix:: Searching maildir, MH or mbox with Mairix.
4322 FIXME: This node is a stub.
4324 FIXME: Add a brief overview of Gnus search capabilities. A brief
4325 comparison of nnir, nnmairix, contrib/gnus-namazu would be nice
4328 FIXME: Explain difference to @ref{Searching for Articles}, add reference
4334 FIXME: As a first step, convert the commentary of @file{nnir} to texi.
4338 @subsection nnmairix
4342 This paragraph describes how to set up mairix and the back end
4343 @code{nnmairix} for indexing and searching your mail from within
4344 Gnus. Additionally, you can create permanent ``smart'' groups which are
4345 bound to mairix searches and are automatically updated.
4348 * About mairix:: About the mairix mail search engine
4349 * nnmairix requirements:: What you will need for using nnmairix
4350 * What nnmairix does:: What does nnmairix actually do?
4351 * Setting up mairix:: Set up your mairix installation
4352 * Configuring nnmairix:: Set up the nnmairix back end
4353 * nnmairix keyboard shortcuts:: List of available keyboard shortcuts
4354 * Propagating marks:: How to propagate marks from nnmairix groups
4355 * nnmairix tips and tricks:: Some tips, tricks and examples
4356 * nnmairix caveats:: Some more stuff you might want to know
4359 @c FIXME: The markup in this section might need improvement.
4360 @c E.g. adding @samp, @var, @file, @command, etc.
4361 @c Cf. (info "(texinfo)Indicating")
4364 @subsubsection About mairix
4366 Mairix is a tool for indexing and searching words in locally stored
4367 mail. It was written by Richard Curnow and is licensed under the
4368 GPL. Mairix comes with most popular GNU/Linux distributions, but it also
4369 runs under Windows (with cygwin), Mac OS X and Solaris. The homepage can
4371 @uref{http://www.rpcurnow.force9.co.uk/mairix/index.html}
4373 Though mairix might not be as flexible as other search tools like
4374 swish++ or namazu, which you can use via the @code{nnir} back end, it
4375 has the prime advantage of being incredibly fast. On current systems, it
4376 can easily search through headers and message bodies of thousands and
4377 thousands of mails in well under a second. Building the database
4378 necessary for searching might take a minute or two, but only has to be
4379 done once fully. Afterwards, the updates are done incrementally and
4380 therefore are really fast, too. Additionally, mairix is very easy to set
4383 For maximum speed though, mairix should be used with mails stored in
4384 @code{Maildir} or @code{MH} format (this includes the @code{nnml} back
4385 end), although it also works with mbox. Mairix presents the search
4386 results by populating a @emph{virtual} maildir/MH folder with symlinks
4387 which point to the ``real'' message files (if mbox is used, copies are
4388 made). Since mairix already presents search results in such a virtual
4389 mail folder, it is very well suited for using it as an external program
4390 for creating @emph{smart} mail folders, which represent certain mail
4393 @node nnmairix requirements
4394 @subsubsection nnmairix requirements
4396 Mairix searches local mail---that means, mairix absolutely must have
4397 direct access to your mail folders. If your mail resides on another
4398 server (e.g. an @acronym{IMAP} server) and you happen to have shell
4399 access, @code{nnmairix} supports running mairix remotely, e.g. via ssh.
4401 Additionally, @code{nnmairix} only supports the following Gnus back
4402 ends: @code{nnml}, @code{nnmaildir}, and @code{nnimap}. You must use
4403 one of these back ends for using @code{nnmairix}. Other back ends, like
4404 @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnfolder} or @code{nnmh}, won't work.
4406 If you absolutely must use mbox and still want to use @code{nnmairix},
4407 you can set up a local @acronym{IMAP} server, which you then access via
4408 @code{nnimap}. This is a rather massive setup for accessing some mbox
4409 files, so just change to MH or Maildir already... However, if you're
4410 really, really passionate about using mbox, you might want to look into
4411 the package @file{mairix.el}, which comes with Emacs 23.
4413 @node What nnmairix does
4414 @subsubsection What nnmairix does
4416 The back end @code{nnmairix} enables you to call mairix from within Gnus,
4417 either to query mairix with a search term or to update the
4418 database. While visiting a message in the summary buffer, you can use
4419 several pre-defined shortcuts for calling mairix, e.g. to quickly
4420 search for all mails from the sender of the current message or to
4421 display the whole thread associated with the message, even if the
4422 mails are in different folders.
4424 Additionally, you can create permanent @code{nnmairix} groups which are bound
4425 to certain mairix searches. This way, you can easily create a group
4426 containing mails from a certain sender, with a certain subject line or
4427 even for one specific thread based on the Message-ID. If you check for
4428 new mail in these folders (e.g. by pressing @kbd{g} or @kbd{M-g}), they
4429 automatically update themselves by calling mairix.
4431 You might ask why you need @code{nnmairix} at all, since mairix already
4432 creates the group, populates it with links to the mails so that you can
4433 then access it with Gnus, right? Well, this @emph{might} work, but often
4434 does not---at least not without problems. Most probably you will get
4435 strange article counts, and sometimes you might see mails which Gnus
4436 claims have already been canceled and are inaccessible. This is due to
4437 the fact that Gnus isn't really amused when things are happening behind
4438 its back. Another problem can be the mail back end itself, e.g. if you
4439 use mairix with an @acronym{IMAP} server (I had Dovecot complaining
4440 about corrupt index files when mairix changed the contents of the search
4441 group). Using @code{nnmairix} should circumvent these problems.
4443 @code{nnmairix} is not really a mail back end---it's actually more like
4444 a wrapper, sitting between a ``real'' mail back end where mairix stores
4445 the searches and the Gnus front end. You can choose between three
4446 different mail back ends for the mairix folders: @code{nnml},
4447 @code{nnmaildir} or @code{nnimap}. @code{nnmairix} will call the mairix
4448 binary so that the search results are stored in folders named
4449 @code{zz_mairix-<NAME>-<NUMBER>} on this mail back end, but it will
4450 present these folders in the Gnus front end only with @code{<NAME>}.
4451 You can use an existing mail back end where you already store your mail,
4452 but if you're uncomfortable with @code{nnmairix} creating new mail
4453 groups alongside your other mail, you can also create e.g. a new
4454 @code{nnmaildir} or @code{nnml} server exclusively for mairix, but then
4455 make sure those servers do not accidentally receive your new mail
4456 (@pxref{nnmairix caveats}). A special case exists if you want to use
4457 mairix remotely on an IMAP server with @code{nnimap}---here the mairix
4458 folders and your other mail must be on the same @code{nnimap} back end.
4460 @node Setting up mairix
4461 @subsubsection Setting up mairix
4463 First: create a backup of your mail folders (@pxref{nnmairix caveats}).
4465 Setting up mairix is easy: simply create a @file{.mairixrc} file with
4466 (at least) the following entries:
4469 # Your Maildir/MH base folder
4473 This is the base folder for your mails. All the following directories
4474 are relative to this base folder. If you want to use @code{nnmairix}
4475 with @code{nnimap}, this base directory has to point to the mail
4476 directory where the @acronym{IMAP} server stores the mail folders!
4479 maildir= ... your maildir folders which should be indexed ...
4480 mh= ... your nnml/mh folders which should be indexed ...
4481 mbox = ... your mbox files which should be indexed ...
4484 This specifies all your mail folders and mbox files (relative to the
4485 base directory!) you want to index with mairix. Note that the
4486 @code{nnml} back end saves mails in MH format, so you have to put those
4487 directories in the @code{mh} line. See the example at the end of this
4488 section and mairixrc's man-page for further details.
4494 @vindex nnmairix-group-prefix
4495 This should make sure that you don't accidentally index the mairix
4496 search results. You can change the prefix of these folders with the
4497 variable @code{nnmairix-group-prefix}.
4500 mformat= ... 'maildir' or 'mh' ...
4501 database= ... location of database file ...
4504 The @code{format} setting specifies the output format for the mairix
4505 search folder. Set this to @code{mh} if you want to access search results
4506 with @code{nnml}. Otherwise choose @code{maildir}.
4508 To summarize, here is my shortened @file{.mairixrc} file as an example:
4512 maildir=.personal:.work:.logcheck:.sent
4513 mh=../Mail/nnml/*...
4514 mbox=../mboxmail/mailarchive_year*
4517 database=~/.mairixdatabase
4520 In this case, the base directory is @file{~/Maildir}, where all my Maildir
4521 folders are stored. As you can see, the folders are separated by
4522 colons. If you wonder why every folder begins with a dot: this is
4523 because I use Dovecot as @acronym{IMAP} server, which again uses
4524 @code{Maildir++} folders. For testing nnmairix, I also have some
4525 @code{nnml} mail, which is saved in @file{~/Mail/nnml}. Since this has
4526 to be specified relative to the @code{base} directory, the @code{../Mail}
4527 notation is needed. Note that the line ends in @code{*...}, which means
4528 to recursively scan all files under this directory. Without the three
4529 dots, the wildcard @code{*} will not work recursively. I also have some
4530 old mbox files with archived mail lying around in @file{~/mboxmail}.
4531 The other lines should be obvious.
4533 See the man page for @code{mairixrc} for details and further options,
4534 especially regarding wildcard usage, which may be a little different
4535 than you are used to.
4537 Now simply call @code{mairix} to create the index for the first time.
4538 Note that this may take a few minutes, but every following index will do
4539 the updates incrementally and hence is very fast.
4541 @node Configuring nnmairix
4542 @subsubsection Configuring nnmairix
4544 In group mode, type @kbd{G b c}
4545 (@code{nnmairix-create-server-and-default-group}). This will ask you for all
4546 necessary information and create a @code{nnmairix} server as a foreign
4547 server. You will have to specify the following:
4552 The @strong{name} of the @code{nnmairix} server---choose whatever you
4556 The name of the @strong{back end server} where mairix should store its
4557 searches. This must be a full server name, like @code{nnml:mymail}.
4558 Just hit @kbd{TAB} to see the available servers. Currently, servers
4559 which are accessed through @code{nnmaildir}, @code{nnimap} and
4560 @code{nnml} are supported. As explained above, for locally stored
4561 mails, this can be an existing server where you store your mails.
4562 However, you can also create e.g. a new @code{nnmaildir} or @code{nnml}
4563 server exclusively for @code{nnmairix} in your secondary select methods
4564 (@pxref{Finding the News}). If you use a secondary @code{nnml} server
4565 just for mairix, make sure that you explicitly set the server variable
4566 @code{nnml-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}, or you might loose mail
4567 (@pxref{nnmairix caveats}). If you want to use mairix remotely on an
4568 @acronym{IMAP} server, you have to choose the corresponding
4569 @code{nnimap} server here.
4572 @vindex nnmairix-mairix-search-options
4573 The @strong{command} to call the mairix binary. This will usually just
4574 be @code{mairix}, but you can also choose something like @code{ssh
4575 SERVER mairix} if you want to call mairix remotely, e.g. on your
4576 @acronym{IMAP} server. If you want to add some default options to
4577 mairix, you could do this here, but better use the variable
4578 @code{nnmairix-mairix-search-options} instead.
4581 The name of the @strong{default search group}. This will be the group
4582 where all temporary mairix searches are stored, i.e. all searches which
4583 are not bound to permanent @code{nnmairix} groups. Choose whatever you
4587 If the mail back end is @code{nnimap} or @code{nnmaildir}, you will be
4588 asked if you work with @strong{Maildir++}, i.e. with hidden maildir
4589 folders (=beginning with a dot). For example, you have to answer
4590 @samp{yes} here if you work with the Dovecot @acronym{IMAP}
4591 server. Otherwise, you should answer @samp{no} here.
4595 @node nnmairix keyboard shortcuts
4596 @subsubsection nnmairix keyboard shortcuts
4603 @kindex G b c (Group)
4604 @findex nnmairix-create-server-and-default-group
4605 Creates @code{nnmairix} server and default search group for this server
4606 (@code{nnmairix-create-server-and-default-group}). You should have done
4607 this by now (@pxref{Configuring nnmairix}).
4610 @kindex G b s (Group)
4611 @findex nnmairix-search
4612 Prompts for query which is then sent to the mairix binary. Search
4613 results are put into the default search group which is automatically
4614 displayed (@code{nnmairix-search}).
4617 @kindex G b m (Group)
4618 @findex nnmairix-widget-search
4619 Allows you to create a mairix search or a permanent group more
4620 comfortably using graphical widgets, similar to a customization
4621 group. Just try it to see how it works (@code{nnmairix-widget-search}).
4624 @kindex G b i (Group)
4625 @findex nnmairix-search-interactive
4626 Another command for creating a mairix query more comfortably, but uses
4627 only the minibuffer (@code{nnmairix-search-interactive}).
4630 @kindex G b g (Group)
4631 @findex nnmairix-create-search-group
4632 Creates a permanent group which is associated with a search query
4633 (@code{nnmairix-create-search-group}). The @code{nnmairix} back end
4634 automatically calls mairix when you update this group with @kbd{g} or
4638 @kindex G b q (Group)
4639 @findex nnmairix-group-change-query-this-group
4640 Changes the search query for the @code{nnmairix} group under cursor
4641 (@code{nnmairix-group-change-query-this-group}).
4644 @kindex G b t (Group)
4645 @findex nnmairix-group-toggle-threads-this-group
4646 Toggles the 'threads' parameter for the @code{nnmairix} group under cursor,
4647 i.e. if you want see the whole threads of the found messages
4648 (@code{nnmairix-group-toggle-threads-this-group}).
4651 @kindex G b u (Group)
4652 @findex nnmairix-update-database
4653 @vindex nnmairix-mairix-update-options
4654 Calls mairix binary for updating the database
4655 (@code{nnmairix-update-database}). The default parameters are @code{-F}
4656 and @code{-Q} for making this as fast as possible (see variable
4657 @code{nnmairix-mairix-update-options} for defining these default
4661 @kindex G b r (Group)
4662 @findex nnmairix-group-toggle-readmarks-this-group
4663 Keep articles in this @code{nnmairix} group always read or unread, or leave the
4664 marks unchanged (@code{nnmairix-group-toggle-readmarks-this-group}).
4667 @kindex G b d (Group)
4668 @findex nnmairix-group-delete-recreate-this-group
4669 Recreate @code{nnmairix} group on the ``real'' mail back end
4670 (@code{nnmairix-group-delete-recreate-this-group}). You can do this if
4671 you always get wrong article counts with a @code{nnmairix} group.
4674 @kindex G b a (Group)
4675 @findex nnmairix-group-toggle-allowfast-this-group
4676 Toggles the @code{allow-fast} parameters for group under cursor
4677 (@code{nnmairix-group-toggle-allowfast-this-group}). The default
4678 behavior of @code{nnmairix} is to do a mairix search every time you
4679 update or enter the group. With the @code{allow-fast} parameter set,
4680 mairix will only be called when you explicitly update the group, but not
4681 upon entering. This makes entering the group faster, but it may also
4682 lead to dangling symlinks if something changed between updating and
4683 entering the group which is not yet in the mairix database.
4686 @kindex G b p (Group)
4687 @findex nnmairix-group-toggle-propmarks-this-group
4688 Toggle marks propagation for this group
4689 (@code{nnmairix-group-toggle-propmarks-this-group}). (@pxref{Propagating
4693 @kindex G b o (Group)
4694 @findex nnmairix-propagate-marks
4695 Manually propagate marks (@code{nnmairix-propagate-marks}); needed only when
4696 @code{nnmairix-propagate-marks-upon-close} is set to @code{nil}.
4705 @kindex $ m (Summary)
4706 @findex nnmairix-widget-search-from-this-article
4707 Allows you to create a mairix query or group based on the current
4708 message using graphical widgets (same as @code{nnmairix-widget-search})
4709 (@code{nnmairix-widget-search-from-this-article}).
4712 @kindex $ g (Summary)
4713 @findex nnmairix-create-search-group-from-message
4714 Interactively creates a new search group with query based on the current
4715 message, but uses the minibuffer instead of graphical widgets
4716 (@code{nnmairix-create-search-group-from-message}).
4719 @kindex $ t (Summary)
4720 @findex nnmairix-search-thread-this-article
4721 Searches thread for the current article
4722 (@code{nnmairix-search-thread-this-article}). This is effectively a
4723 shortcut for calling @code{nnmairix-search} with @samp{m:msgid} of the
4724 current article and enabled threads.
4727 @kindex $ f (Summary)
4728 @findex nnmairix-search-from-this-article
4729 Searches all messages from sender of the current article
4730 (@code{nnmairix-search-from-this-article}). This is a shortcut for
4731 calling @code{nnmairix-search} with @samp{f:From}.
4734 @kindex $ o (Summary)
4735 @findex nnmairix-goto-original-article
4736 (Only in @code{nnmairix} groups!) Tries determine the group this article
4737 originally came from and displays the article in this group, so that
4738 e.g. replying to this article the correct posting styles/group
4739 parameters are applied (@code{nnmairix-goto-original-article}). This
4740 function will use the registry if available, but can also parse the
4741 article file name as a fallback method.
4744 @kindex $ u (Summary)
4745 @findex nnmairix-remove-tick-mark-original-article
4746 Remove possibly existing tick mark from original article
4747 (@code{nnmairix-remove-tick-mark-original-article}). (@pxref{nnmairix
4752 @node Propagating marks
4753 @subsubsection Propagating marks
4755 First of: you really need a patched mairix binary for using the marks
4756 propagation feature efficiently. Otherwise, you would have to update
4757 the mairix database all the time. You can get the patch at
4759 @uref{http://www.randomsample.de/mairix-maildir-patch.tar}
4761 You need the mairix v0.21 source code for this patch; everything else
4762 is explained in the accompanied readme file. If you don't want to use
4763 marks propagation, you don't have to apply these patches, but they also
4764 fix some annoyances regarding changing maildir flags, so it might still
4767 With the patched mairix binary, you can use @code{nnmairix} as an
4768 alternative to mail splitting (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}). For
4769 example, instead of splitting all mails from @samp{david@@foobar.com}
4770 into a group, you can simply create a search group with the query
4771 @samp{f:david@@foobar.com}. This is actually what ``smart folders'' are
4772 all about: simply put everything in one mail folder and dynamically
4773 create searches instead of splitting. This is more flexible, since you
4774 can dynamically change your folders any time you want to. This also
4775 implies that you will usually read your mails in the @code{nnmairix}
4776 groups instead of your ``real'' mail groups.
4778 There is one problem, though: say you got a new mail from
4779 @samp{david@@foobar.com}; it will now show up in two groups, the
4780 ``real'' group (your INBOX, for example) and in the @code{nnmairix}
4781 search group (provided you have updated the mairix database). Now you
4782 enter the @code{nnmairix} group and read the mail. The mail will be
4783 marked as read, but only in the @code{nnmairix} group---in the ``real''
4784 mail group it will be still shown as unread.
4786 You could now catch up the mail group (@pxref{Group Data}), but this is
4787 tedious and error prone, since you may overlook mails you don't have
4788 created @code{nnmairix} groups for. Of course, you could first use
4789 @code{nnmairix-goto-original-article} (@pxref{nnmairix keyboard
4790 shortcuts}) and then read the mail in the original group, but that's
4791 even more cumbersome.
4793 Clearly, the easiest way would be if marks could somehow be
4794 automatically set for the original article. This is exactly what
4795 @emph{marks propagation} is about.
4797 Marks propagation is deactivated by default. You can activate it for a
4798 certain @code{nnmairix} group with
4799 @code{nnmairix-group-toggle-propmarks-this-group} (bound to @kbd{G b
4800 p}). This function will warn you if you try to use it with your default
4801 search group; the reason is that the default search group is used for
4802 temporary searches, and it's easy to accidentally propagate marks from
4803 this group. However, you can ignore this warning if you really want to.
4805 With marks propagation enabled, all the marks you set in a @code{nnmairix}
4806 group should now be propagated to the original article. For example,
4807 you can now tick an article (by default with @kbd{!}) and this mark should
4808 magically be set for the original article, too.
4810 A few more remarks which you may or may not want to know:
4812 @vindex nnmairix-propagate-marks-upon-close
4813 Marks will not be set immediately, but only upon closing a group. This
4814 not only makes marks propagation faster, it also avoids problems with
4815 dangling symlinks when dealing with maildir files (since changing flags
4816 will change the file name). You can also control when to propagate marks
4817 via @code{nnmairix-propagate-marks-upon-close} (see the doc-string for
4820 Obviously, @code{nnmairix} will have to look up the original group for every
4821 article you want to set marks for. If available, @code{nnmairix} will first use
4822 the registry for determining the original group. The registry is very
4823 fast, hence you should really, really enable the registry when using
4824 marks propagation. If you don't have to worry about RAM and disc space,
4825 set @code{gnus-registry-max-entries} to a large enough value; to be on
4826 the safe side, choose roughly the amount of mails you index with mairix.
4828 @vindex nnmairix-only-use-registry
4829 If you don't want to use the registry or the registry hasn't seen the
4830 original article yet, @code{nnmairix} will use an additional mairix
4831 search for determining the file name of the article. This, of course, is
4832 way slower than the registry---if you set hundreds or even thousands of
4833 marks this way, it might take some time. You can avoid this situation by
4834 setting @code{nnmairix-only-use-registry} to t.
4836 Maybe you also want to propagate marks the other way round, i.e. if you
4837 tick an article in a "real" mail group, you'd like to have the same
4838 article in a @code{nnmairix} group ticked, too. For several good
4839 reasons, this can only be done efficiently if you use maildir. To
4840 immediately contradict myself, let me mention that it WON'T work with
4841 @code{nnmaildir}, since @code{nnmaildir} stores the marks externally and
4842 not in the file name. Therefore, propagating marks to @code{nnmairix}
4843 groups will usually only work if you use an IMAP server which uses
4844 maildir as its file format.
4846 @vindex nnmairix-propagate-marks-to-nnmairix-groups
4847 If you work with this setup, just set
4848 @code{nnmairix-propagate-marks-to-nnmairix-groups} to @code{t} and see what
4849 happens. If you don't like what you see, just set it to @code{nil} again. One
4850 problem might be that you get a wrong number of unread articles; this
4851 usually happens when you delete or expire articles in the original
4852 groups. When this happens, you can recreate the @code{nnmairix} group on the
4853 back end using @kbd{G b d}.
4855 @node nnmairix tips and tricks
4856 @subsubsection nnmairix tips and tricks
4862 @findex nnmairix-update-groups
4863 I put all my important mail groups at group level 1. The mairix groups
4864 have group level 5, so they do not get checked at start up (@pxref{Group
4867 I use the following to check for mails:
4870 (defun my-check-mail-mairix-update (level)
4872 ;; if no prefix given, set level=1
4873 (gnus-group-get-new-news (or level 1))
4874 (nnmairix-update-groups "mairixsearch" t t)
4875 (gnus-group-list-groups))
4877 (define-key gnus-group-mode-map "g" 'my-check-mail-mairix-update)
4880 Instead of @samp{"mairixsearch"} use the name of your @code{nnmairix}
4881 server. See the doc string for @code{nnmairix-update-groups} for
4885 Example: search group for ticked articles
4887 For example, you can create a group for all ticked articles, where the
4888 articles always stay unread:
4890 Hit @kbd{G b g}, enter group name (e.g. @samp{important}), use
4891 @samp{F:f} as query and do not include threads.
4893 Now activate marks propagation for this group by using @kbd{G b p}. Then
4894 activate the always-unread feature by using @kbd{G b r} twice.
4896 So far so good---but how do you remove the tick marks in the @code{nnmairix}
4897 group? There are two options: You may simply use
4898 @code{nnmairix-remove-tick-mark-original-article} (bound to @kbd{$ u}) to remove
4899 tick marks from the original article. The other possibility is to set
4900 @code{nnmairix-propagate-marks-to-nnmairix-groups} to @code{t}, but see the above
4901 comments about this option. If it works for you, the tick marks should
4902 also exist in the @code{nnmairix} group and you can remove them as usual,
4903 e.g. by marking an article as read.
4905 When you have removed a tick mark from the original article, this
4906 article should vanish from the @code{nnmairix} group after you have updated the
4907 mairix database and updated the group. Fortunately, there is a function
4908 for doing exactly that: @code{nnmairix-update-groups}. See the previous code
4909 snippet and the doc string for details.
4912 Dealing with auto-subscription of mail groups
4914 As described before, all @code{nnmairix} groups are in fact stored on
4915 the mail back end in the form @samp{zz_mairix-<NAME>-<NUMBER>}. You can
4916 see them when you enter the back end server in the server buffer. You
4917 should not subscribe these groups! Unfortunately, these groups will
4918 usually get @emph{auto-subscribed} when you use @code{nnmaildir} or
4919 @code{nnml}, i.e. you will suddenly see groups of the form
4920 @samp{zz_mairix*} pop up in your group buffer. If this happens to you,
4921 simply kill these groups with C-k. For avoiding this, turn off
4922 auto-subscription completely by setting the variable
4923 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups} to @code{nil} (@pxref{Filtering New
4924 Groups}), or if you like to keep this feature use the following kludge
4925 for turning it off for all groups beginning with @samp{zz_}:
4928 (setq gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
4929 "^\\(nnml\\|nnfolder\\|nnmbox\\|nnmh\\|nnbabyl\\|nnmaildir\\).*:\\([^z]\\|z$\\|\\z[^z]\\|zz$\\|zz[^_]\\|zz_$\\).*")
4934 @node nnmairix caveats
4935 @subsubsection nnmairix caveats
4939 You can create a secondary @code{nnml} server just for nnmairix, but then
4940 you have to explicitly set the corresponding server variable
4941 @code{nnml-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}. Otherwise, new mail might get
4942 put into this secondary server (and would never show up again). Here's
4943 an example server definition:
4946 (nnml "mairix" (nnml-directory "mairix") (nnml-get-new-mail nil))
4949 (The @code{nnmaildir} back end also has a server variabe
4950 @code{get-new-mail}, but its default value is @code{nil}, so you don't
4951 have to explicitly set it if you use a @code{nnmaildir} server just for
4955 If you use the Gnus registry: don't use the registry with
4956 @code{nnmairix} groups (put them in
4957 @code{gnus-registry-unfollowed-groups}). Be @emph{extra careful} if
4958 you use @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent}; mails which are
4959 split into @code{nnmairix} groups are usually gone for good as soon as
4960 you check the group for new mail (yes, it has happened to me...).
4963 Therefore: @emph{Never ever} put ``real'' mails into @code{nnmairix}
4964 groups (you shouldn't be able to, anyway).
4967 If you use the Gnus agent (@pxref{Gnus Unplugged}): don't agentize
4968 @code{nnmairix} groups (though I have no idea what happens if you do).
4971 mairix does only support us-ascii characters.
4974 @code{nnmairix} uses a rather brute force method to force Gnus to
4975 completely reread the group on the mail back end after mairix was
4976 called---it simply deletes and re-creates the group on the mail
4977 back end. So far, this has worked for me without any problems, and I
4978 don't see how @code{nnmairix} could delete other mail groups than its
4979 own, but anyway: you really should have a backup of your mail
4983 All necessary information is stored in the group parameters
4984 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). This has the advantage that no active file
4985 is needed, but also implies that when you kill a @code{nnmairix} group,
4986 it is gone for good.
4989 @findex nnmairix-purge-old-groups
4990 If you create and kill a lot of @code{nnmairix} groups, the
4991 ``zz_mairix-*'' groups will accumulate on the mail back end server. To
4992 delete old groups which are no longer needed, call
4993 @code{nnmairix-purge-old-groups}. Note that this assumes that you don't
4994 save any ``real'' mail in folders of the form
4995 @code{zz_mairix-<NAME>-<NUMBER>}. You can change the prefix of
4996 @code{nnmairix} groups by changing the variable
4997 @code{nnmairix-group-prefix}.
5000 The following only applies if you @emph{don't} use the mentioned patch
5001 for mairix (@pxref{Propagating marks}):
5003 A problem can occur when using @code{nnmairix} with maildir folders and
5004 comes with the fact that maildir stores mail flags like @samp{Seen} or
5005 @samp{Replied} by appending chars @samp{S} and @samp{R} to the message
5006 file name, respectively. This implies that currently you would have to
5007 update the mairix database not only when new mail arrives, but also when
5008 mail flags are changing. The same applies to new mails which are indexed
5009 while they are still in the @samp{new} folder but then get moved to
5010 @samp{cur} when Gnus has seen the mail. If you don't update the database
5011 after this has happened, a mairix query can lead to symlinks pointing to
5012 non-existing files. In Gnus, these messages will usually appear with
5013 ``(none)'' entries in the header and can't be accessed. If this happens
5014 to you, using @kbd{G b u} and updating the group will usually fix this.
5018 @node Misc Group Stuff
5019 @section Misc Group Stuff
5022 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
5023 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
5024 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
5025 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
5026 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
5033 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Group)
5034 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
5035 command or better use it as a prefix key. For example:
5038 (define-key gnus-group-mode-map (kbd "v j d")
5041 (gnus-group-jump-to-group "nndraft:drafts")))
5044 On keys reserved for users in Emacs and on keybindings in general
5045 @xref{Keymaps, Keymaps, , emacs, The Emacs Editor}.
5049 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
5050 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
5051 @xref{Server Buffer}.
5055 @findex gnus-group-post-news
5056 Start composing a message (a news by default)
5057 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
5058 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5059 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
5060 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
5061 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
5065 @findex gnus-group-mail
5066 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
5067 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
5068 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5069 @xref{Composing Messages}.
5073 @findex gnus-group-news
5074 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
5075 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
5076 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
5078 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5079 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
5080 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5081 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5082 for this to work though.
5086 @findex gnus-group-compact-group
5088 Compact the group under point (@code{gnus-group-compact-group}).
5089 Currently implemented only in nnml (@pxref{Mail Spool}). This removes
5090 gaps between article numbers, hence getting a correct total article
5095 Variables for the group buffer:
5099 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
5100 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
5101 is called after the group buffer has been
5104 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
5105 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
5106 is called after the group buffer is
5107 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
5110 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
5111 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
5112 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
5113 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
5115 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
5116 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
5117 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
5118 whether they are empty or not.
5122 @node Scanning New Messages
5123 @subsection Scanning New Messages
5124 @cindex new messages
5125 @cindex scanning new news
5131 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
5132 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
5133 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
5134 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
5135 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
5136 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
5141 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
5142 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
5143 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
5144 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
5145 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
5146 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
5147 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
5149 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
5150 @cindex activating groups
5152 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
5153 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
5158 @findex gnus-group-restart
5159 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
5160 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
5161 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
5165 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
5166 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
5168 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
5169 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
5173 @node Group Information
5174 @subsection Group Information
5175 @cindex group information
5176 @cindex information on groups
5183 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
5184 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
5187 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} for the current group
5188 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the @acronym{FAQ}
5189 from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on
5190 a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
5191 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
5192 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be
5193 used for fetching the file.
5195 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
5196 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
5200 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
5201 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
5202 @cindex control message
5203 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
5204 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
5205 group if given a prefix argument.
5207 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-@code{nil},
5208 Gnus will open the control messages in a browser using
5209 @code{browse-url}. Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp}
5210 and displayed in an ephemeral group.
5212 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
5213 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed
5214 Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
5218 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
5220 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
5221 @cindex describing groups
5222 @cindex group description
5223 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
5224 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
5225 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
5229 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
5230 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
5231 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
5238 @findex gnus-version
5239 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
5243 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
5244 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
5247 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
5250 @findex gnus-info-find-node
5251 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
5255 @node Group Timestamp
5256 @subsection Group Timestamp
5258 @cindex group timestamps
5260 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
5261 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
5262 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
5265 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
5268 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
5270 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
5271 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
5274 (setq gnus-group-line-format
5275 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
5278 This will result in lines looking like:
5281 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
5282 0: custom 19961002T012713
5285 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
5286 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
5290 (setq gnus-group-line-format
5291 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
5294 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
5295 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
5299 (setq gnus-group-line-format
5300 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
5301 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
5302 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
5304 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
5310 @subsection File Commands
5311 @cindex file commands
5317 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
5318 @vindex gnus-init-file
5319 @cindex reading init file
5320 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
5321 @file{~/.gnus.el}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
5325 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
5326 @cindex saving .newsrc
5327 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
5328 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
5329 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
5332 @c @kindex Z (Group)
5333 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
5334 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
5339 @node Sieve Commands
5340 @subsection Sieve Commands
5341 @cindex group sieve commands
5343 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
5344 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
5345 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
5346 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
5347 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
5349 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
5350 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
5351 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
5352 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
5353 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
5354 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
5355 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
5356 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
5357 regenerate the Sieve script.
5359 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
5360 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
5361 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
5362 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
5363 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
5364 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
5365 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
5366 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
5367 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
5368 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
5371 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
5372 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
5377 @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve, Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
5383 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
5384 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
5385 @cindex generating sieve script
5386 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
5387 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
5391 @findex gnus-sieve-update
5392 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
5393 @cindex updating sieve script
5394 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
5395 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
5396 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
5401 @node Summary Buffer
5402 @chapter Summary Buffer
5403 @cindex summary buffer
5405 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
5406 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
5408 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
5409 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
5411 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
5413 You can customize the Summary Mode tool bar, see @kbd{M-x
5414 customize-apropos RET gnus-summary-tool-bar}. This feature is only
5418 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Summary)
5419 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
5420 command or better use it as a prefix key. For example:
5422 (define-key gnus-summary-mode-map (kbd "v -") "LrS") ;; lower subthread
5426 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
5427 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
5428 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
5429 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
5430 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
5431 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
5432 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
5433 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
5434 * Threading:: How threads are made.
5435 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
5436 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
5437 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
5438 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
5439 * Sticky Articles:: Article buffers that are not reused.
5440 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
5441 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
5442 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
5443 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
5444 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
5445 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
5446 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
5447 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
5448 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
5449 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
5450 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
5451 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
5452 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
5453 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
5454 or reselecting the current group.
5455 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
5456 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
5457 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
5458 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
5462 @node Summary Buffer Format
5463 @section Summary Buffer Format
5464 @cindex summary buffer format
5468 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
5469 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
5470 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
5476 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
5477 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
5478 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
5479 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
5482 @findex mail-extract-address-components
5483 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
5484 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
5485 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
5486 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
5487 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
5488 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
5489 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
5490 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
5491 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
5492 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
5495 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
5496 'mail-extract-address-components)
5499 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
5500 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
5501 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
5502 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
5505 @node Summary Buffer Lines
5506 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
5508 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
5509 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
5510 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
5511 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
5512 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
5514 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
5515 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
5516 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
5517 possible to change this. Just write a new function
5518 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
5519 @xref{Positioning Point}.
5521 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
5523 The following format specification characters and extended format
5524 specification(s) are understood:
5530 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
5531 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
5533 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
5534 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
5535 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
5537 Full @code{From} header.
5539 The name (from the @code{From} header).
5541 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
5544 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
5545 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
5546 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
5547 may be more thorough.
5549 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
5552 Number of lines in the article.
5554 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
5555 in some methods (like nnfolder).
5557 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
5558 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
5560 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
5562 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
5563 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
5576 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
5577 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
5578 replacing the default @acronym{ASCII} characters with graphic
5579 line-drawing glyphs.
5581 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
5582 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
5583 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
5584 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
5586 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
5587 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
5588 Used for the false root of a thread (@pxref{Loose Threads}). If
5589 @code{nil}, use subject instead. The default is @samp{> }.
5591 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
5592 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
5593 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
5594 instead. The default is @samp{}.
5596 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
5597 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
5598 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
5600 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
5601 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
5602 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
5604 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
5605 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
5606 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
5608 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
5609 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
5610 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
5615 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
5616 pushes everything after it off the screen).
5618 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
5619 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
5621 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
5622 for adopted articles.
5624 One space for each thread level.
5626 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
5628 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
5631 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
5632 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
5633 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
5636 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
5638 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
5639 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
5640 default level. If the difference between
5641 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
5642 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
5650 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
5652 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
5658 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
5659 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
5661 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
5662 article has any children.
5668 Desired cursor position (instead of after first colon).
5670 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
5671 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
5673 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
5674 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
5675 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{x}}, where @var{x} is the letter
5676 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
5677 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
5678 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
5681 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
5682 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
5683 There can only be one such area.
5685 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
5686 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
5687 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
5688 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
5689 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
5690 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
5692 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
5693 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
5695 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
5698 @node To From Newsgroups
5699 @subsection To From Newsgroups
5703 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
5704 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
5705 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
5706 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
5707 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
5711 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
5712 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
5713 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
5717 (setq gnus-extra-headers
5718 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
5721 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
5722 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
5725 @findex gnus-extra-header
5726 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
5727 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
5728 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
5731 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
5735 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
5736 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
5737 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
5738 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
5739 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
5740 headers are used instead.
5742 To distinguish regular articles from those where the @code{From} field
5743 has been swapped, a string is prefixed to the @code{To} or
5744 @code{Newsgroups} header in the summary line. By default the string is
5745 @samp{-> } for @code{To} and @samp{=> } for @code{Newsgroups}, you can
5746 customize these strings with @code{gnus-summary-to-prefix} and
5747 @code{gnus-summary-newsgroup-prefix}.
5751 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
5752 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
5753 to include extra headers when generating overview (@acronym{NOV}) files.
5754 If you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after
5755 changing this variable, by entering the server buffer using @kbd{^},
5756 and then @kbd{g} on the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause
5759 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
5760 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
5761 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
5762 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
5764 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
5768 (setq gnus-extra-headers
5770 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
5771 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
5772 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
5773 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
5777 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
5780 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
5781 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
5784 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
5785 the @acronym{NOV} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
5786 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
5792 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
5793 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
5796 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
5797 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
5799 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
5800 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
5801 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
5802 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
5804 Here are the elements you can play with:
5810 Unprefixed group name.
5812 Current article number.
5814 Current article score.
5818 Number of unread articles in this group.
5820 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
5823 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
5824 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
5825 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
5826 and no unselected ones.
5828 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
5829 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
5831 Subject of the current article.
5833 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
5835 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
5837 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
5839 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
5841 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
5843 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
5847 @node Summary Highlighting
5848 @subsection Summary Highlighting
5852 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
5853 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
5854 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
5855 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
5856 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
5858 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
5859 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
5860 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
5861 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
5863 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
5864 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
5865 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
5866 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
5868 @item gnus-summary-highlight
5869 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
5870 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
5871 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
5872 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
5873 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
5876 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
5877 ((> score default) . bold))
5879 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
5880 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
5884 @node Summary Maneuvering
5885 @section Summary Maneuvering
5886 @cindex summary movement
5888 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
5889 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
5891 None of these commands select articles.
5896 @kindex M-n (Summary)
5897 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
5898 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
5899 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
5900 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
5904 @kindex M-p (Summary)
5905 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
5906 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
5907 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
5908 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
5911 @kindex G g (Summary)
5912 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
5913 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
5914 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
5917 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
5918 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
5919 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
5920 to the group buffer.
5922 Variables related to summary movement:
5926 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
5927 @item gnus-auto-select-next
5928 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
5929 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
5930 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
5931 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
5932 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
5933 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
5934 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
5935 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
5936 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
5937 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
5938 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
5939 @pxref{Group Levels}.
5941 @item gnus-auto-select-same
5942 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
5943 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
5944 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
5945 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
5946 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
5947 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
5949 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
5951 @item gnus-summary-check-current
5952 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
5953 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
5954 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
5955 Instead, they will choose the current article.
5957 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
5958 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
5959 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
5960 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
5961 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
5962 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
5963 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
5964 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
5967 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
5968 the given number of lines from the top.
5970 @item gnus-summary-stop-at-end-of-message
5971 @vindex gnus-summary-stop-at-end-of-message
5972 If non-@code{nil}, don't go to the next article when hitting
5973 @kbd{SPC}, and you're at the end of the article.
5978 @node Choosing Articles
5979 @section Choosing Articles
5980 @cindex selecting articles
5983 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
5984 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
5988 @node Choosing Commands
5989 @subsection Choosing Commands
5991 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
5992 and they all select and display an article.
5994 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
5995 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
5999 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
6000 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
6001 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
6002 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
6004 If you have an article window open already and you press @kbd{SPACE}
6005 again, the article will be scrolled. This lets you conveniently
6006 @kbd{SPACE} through an entire newsgroup. @xref{Paging the Article}.
6011 @kindex G n (Summary)
6012 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
6013 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
6014 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
6019 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
6020 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
6021 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
6026 @kindex G N (Summary)
6027 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
6028 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
6033 @kindex G P (Summary)
6034 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
6035 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
6038 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
6039 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
6040 Go to the next article with the same subject
6041 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
6044 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
6045 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
6046 Go to the previous article with the same subject
6047 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
6051 @kindex G f (Summary)
6053 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
6054 Go to the first unread article
6055 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
6059 @kindex G b (Summary)
6061 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
6062 Go to the unread article with the highest score
6063 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
6064 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
6069 @kindex G l (Summary)
6070 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
6071 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
6074 @kindex G o (Summary)
6075 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
6077 @cindex article history
6078 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
6079 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
6080 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
6081 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
6082 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
6083 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
6088 @kindex G j (Summary)
6089 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
6090 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
6091 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
6096 @node Choosing Variables
6097 @subsection Choosing Variables
6099 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
6102 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
6103 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
6104 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
6105 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
6106 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
6107 the server and display it in the article buffer.
6109 @item gnus-select-article-hook
6110 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
6111 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. The default is
6112 @code{nil}. If you would like each article to be saved in the Agent as
6113 you read it, putting @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this
6116 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
6117 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
6118 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
6119 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
6120 @findex gnus-unread-mark
6121 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
6122 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
6123 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
6124 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-read-mark}. The only
6125 articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
6126 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
6127 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
6128 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
6129 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
6134 @node Paging the Article
6135 @section Scrolling the Article
6136 @cindex article scrolling
6141 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
6142 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
6143 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
6144 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
6145 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
6147 @vindex gnus-article-boring-faces
6148 @vindex gnus-article-skip-boring
6149 If @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} is non-@code{nil} and the rest of
6150 the article consists only of citations and signature, then it will be
6151 skipped; the next article will be shown instead. You can customize
6152 what is considered uninteresting with
6153 @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}. You can manually view the article's
6154 pages, no matter how boring, using @kbd{C-M-v}.
6157 @kindex DEL (Summary)
6158 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
6159 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
6162 @kindex RET (Summary)
6163 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
6164 Scroll the current article one line forward
6165 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
6168 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
6169 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
6170 Scroll the current article one line backward
6171 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
6175 @kindex A g (Summary)
6177 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
6178 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
6179 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
6180 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
6181 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
6182 the way it came from the server.
6184 @cindex charset, view article with different charset
6185 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
6186 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
6187 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
6190 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
6195 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
6200 @kindex A < (Summary)
6201 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
6202 Scroll to the beginning of the article
6203 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
6208 @kindex A > (Summary)
6209 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
6210 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
6214 @kindex A s (Summary)
6216 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
6217 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
6218 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
6222 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
6223 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
6228 @node Reply Followup and Post
6229 @section Reply, Followup and Post
6232 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
6233 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
6234 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
6235 * Canceling and Superseding::
6239 @node Summary Mail Commands
6240 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
6242 @cindex composing mail
6244 Commands for composing a mail message:
6250 @kindex S r (Summary)
6252 @findex gnus-summary-reply
6253 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
6254 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
6255 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
6256 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
6261 @kindex S R (Summary)
6262 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
6263 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
6264 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
6265 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
6266 command uses the process/prefix convention.
6269 @kindex S w (Summary)
6270 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
6271 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
6272 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
6273 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
6274 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers. If @code{Mail-Followup-To} is
6275 present, that's used instead.
6278 @kindex S W (Summary)
6279 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
6280 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
6281 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
6282 the process/prefix convention, but only uses the headers from the
6283 first article to determine the recipients.
6286 @kindex S v (Summary)
6287 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
6288 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
6289 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
6290 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
6291 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
6292 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
6295 @kindex S V (Summary)
6296 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
6297 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
6298 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
6299 command uses the process/prefix convention.
6302 @kindex S B r (Summary)
6303 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
6304 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
6305 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
6306 If you need this because a mailing list incorrectly sets a
6307 @code{Reply-To} header pointing to the list, you probably want to set
6308 the @code{broken-reply-to} group parameter instead, so things will work
6309 correctly. @xref{Group Parameters}.
6312 @kindex S B R (Summary)
6313 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
6314 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
6315 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
6316 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
6320 @kindex S o m (Summary)
6321 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
6322 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
6323 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
6324 Forward the current article to some other person
6325 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
6326 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
6327 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
6328 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
6329 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
6330 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
6331 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
6332 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
6333 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME}
6339 @kindex S m (Summary)
6340 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
6341 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
6342 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
6343 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
6344 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
6347 @kindex S i (Summary)
6348 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
6349 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
6350 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
6351 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
6353 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
6354 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
6355 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
6356 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
6357 for this to work though.
6360 @kindex S D b (Summary)
6361 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
6362 @cindex bouncing mail
6363 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
6364 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
6365 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
6366 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
6367 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
6368 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
6369 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
6370 very well fail, though.
6373 @kindex S D r (Summary)
6374 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
6375 Not to be confused with the previous command,
6376 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
6377 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
6378 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
6379 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
6380 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
6381 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
6382 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
6384 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
6385 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
6386 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
6387 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
6388 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
6390 This command understands the process/prefix convention
6391 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6394 @kindex S D e (Summary)
6395 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message-edit
6397 Like the previous command, but will allow you to edit the message as
6398 if it were a new message before resending.
6401 @kindex S O m (Summary)
6402 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
6403 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
6404 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
6405 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6408 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
6409 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
6410 @cindex crossposting
6411 @cindex excessive crossposting
6412 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
6413 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
6415 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
6416 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
6417 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
6418 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
6419 command understands the process/prefix convention
6420 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
6424 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
6425 Manual}, for more information.
6428 @node Summary Post Commands
6429 @subsection Summary Post Commands
6431 @cindex composing news
6433 Commands for posting a news article:
6439 @kindex S p (Summary)
6440 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
6441 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
6442 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
6443 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
6444 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
6449 @kindex S f (Summary)
6450 @findex gnus-summary-followup
6451 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
6452 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
6456 @kindex S F (Summary)
6458 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
6459 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
6460 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
6461 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
6462 process/prefix convention.
6465 @kindex S n (Summary)
6466 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
6467 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
6468 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
6471 @kindex S N (Summary)
6472 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
6473 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
6474 message through mail and include the original message
6475 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
6476 the process/prefix convention.
6479 @kindex S o p (Summary)
6480 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
6481 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
6482 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
6483 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
6484 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
6485 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
6486 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
6487 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
6488 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
6489 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
6490 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
6491 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section.
6494 @kindex S O p (Summary)
6495 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
6497 @cindex making digests
6498 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
6499 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-post-forward}). This command uses the
6500 process/prefix convention.
6503 @kindex S u (Summary)
6504 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
6505 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
6506 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
6507 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
6510 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
6511 Manual}, for more information.
6514 @node Summary Message Commands
6515 @subsection Summary Message Commands
6519 @kindex S y (Summary)
6520 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
6521 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
6522 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
6523 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
6524 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6529 @node Canceling and Superseding
6530 @subsection Canceling Articles
6531 @cindex canceling articles
6532 @cindex superseding articles
6534 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
6535 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
6537 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
6539 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
6541 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
6542 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
6543 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
6544 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
6545 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
6546 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6548 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
6549 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
6552 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
6553 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
6554 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
6556 Gnus ensures that only you can cancel your own messages using a
6557 @code{Cancel-Lock} header (@pxref{Canceling News, Canceling News, ,
6558 message, Message Manual}).
6560 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
6561 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
6562 your original article.
6564 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
6566 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
6567 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
6568 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
6571 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
6572 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
6573 have posted almost the same article twice.
6575 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
6576 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
6577 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
6578 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
6579 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
6580 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
6581 header by substituting one of those words for the word
6582 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
6583 you would do normally. The previous article will be
6584 canceled/superseded.
6586 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
6588 @node Delayed Articles
6589 @section Delayed Articles
6590 @cindex delayed sending
6591 @cindex send delayed
6593 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
6594 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
6595 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
6596 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
6599 (gnus-delay-initialize)
6602 @findex gnus-delay-article
6603 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
6604 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
6605 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
6606 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
6610 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
6611 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
6612 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
6613 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
6616 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
6617 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
6618 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
6621 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
6622 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
6623 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
6624 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
6625 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
6626 that means a time tomorrow.
6629 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
6630 couple of variables:
6633 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
6634 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
6635 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
6636 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
6638 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
6639 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
6640 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
6641 formats described above.
6643 @item gnus-delay-group
6644 @vindex gnus-delay-group
6645 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
6646 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
6647 value is @code{"delayed"}.
6649 @item gnus-delay-header
6650 @vindex gnus-delay-header
6651 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
6652 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
6653 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
6656 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
6657 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
6658 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
6659 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
6660 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
6662 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
6663 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
6664 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
6665 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
6666 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
6667 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
6668 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
6671 @item gnus-delay-initialize
6672 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
6673 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
6674 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
6675 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
6676 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
6677 argument is ignored.
6679 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
6680 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
6681 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
6684 When delaying an article with @kbd{C-c C-j}, Message mode will
6685 automatically add a @code{"Date"} header with the current time. In
6686 many cases you probably want the @code{"Date"} header to reflect the
6687 time the message is sent instead. To do this, you have to delete
6688 @code{Date} from @code{message-draft-headers}.
6691 @node Marking Articles
6692 @section Marking Articles
6693 @cindex article marking
6694 @cindex article ticking
6697 There are several marks you can set on an article.
6699 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
6700 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
6701 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
6703 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
6706 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks.
6710 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
6711 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
6712 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
6713 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
6714 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
6715 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
6719 @node Unread Articles
6720 @subsection Unread Articles
6722 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
6727 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
6728 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
6730 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
6731 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
6732 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
6733 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
6734 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
6735 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
6736 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
6739 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
6740 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
6742 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
6743 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
6744 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
6745 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
6749 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
6750 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
6752 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
6757 @subsection Read Articles
6758 @cindex expirable mark
6760 All the following marks mark articles as read.
6765 @vindex gnus-del-mark
6766 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
6767 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
6770 @vindex gnus-read-mark
6771 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
6774 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
6775 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
6776 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
6779 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
6780 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
6783 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
6784 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
6787 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
6788 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
6791 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
6792 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
6795 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
6796 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
6799 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
6800 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
6804 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
6805 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
6806 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
6810 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
6811 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
6813 One more special mark, though:
6817 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
6818 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
6820 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
6821 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
6822 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
6823 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
6829 @subsection Other Marks
6830 @cindex process mark
6833 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
6839 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
6840 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
6841 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
6842 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
6843 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
6846 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
6847 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
6848 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
6849 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
6852 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
6853 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
6854 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
6857 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
6858 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
6859 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
6862 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
6863 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
6864 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
6865 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
6868 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
6869 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
6870 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
6871 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
6872 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
6873 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
6876 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
6877 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
6878 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
6879 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
6882 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
6883 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), articles may be
6884 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
6885 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
6886 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
6890 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
6891 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), some articles might
6892 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
6893 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
6894 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
6895 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
6898 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
6899 The Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}) downloads some articles
6900 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
6901 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
6902 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
6903 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
6907 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
6908 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
6909 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
6910 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
6911 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
6914 @vindex gnus-process-mark
6915 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
6916 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
6917 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
6918 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
6919 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
6923 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
6924 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
6925 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
6927 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
6928 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
6929 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
6933 @subsection Setting Marks
6934 @cindex setting marks
6936 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
6941 @kindex M c (Summary)
6942 @kindex M-u (Summary)
6943 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
6944 @cindex mark as unread
6945 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
6946 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
6952 @kindex M t (Summary)
6953 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
6954 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
6955 @xref{Article Caching}.
6960 @kindex M ? (Summary)
6961 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
6962 Mark the current article as dormant
6963 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
6967 @kindex M d (Summary)
6969 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
6970 Mark the current article as read
6971 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
6975 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
6976 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
6977 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
6982 @kindex M k (Summary)
6983 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
6984 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
6985 and then select the next unread article
6986 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
6990 @kindex M K (Summary)
6991 @kindex C-k (Summary)
6992 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
6993 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
6994 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
6997 @kindex M C (Summary)
6998 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
6999 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
7000 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
7003 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
7004 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
7005 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
7006 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
7009 @kindex M H (Summary)
7010 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
7011 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
7012 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
7015 @kindex M h (Summary)
7016 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
7017 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
7018 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
7021 @kindex C-w (Summary)
7022 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
7023 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
7024 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
7027 @kindex M V k (Summary)
7028 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
7029 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
7030 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
7034 @kindex M e (Summary)
7036 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
7037 Mark the current article as expirable
7038 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
7041 @kindex M b (Summary)
7042 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
7043 Set a bookmark in the current article
7044 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
7047 @kindex M B (Summary)
7048 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
7049 Remove the bookmark from the current article
7050 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
7053 @kindex M V c (Summary)
7054 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
7055 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
7056 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
7059 @kindex M V u (Summary)
7060 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
7061 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
7062 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
7065 @kindex M V m (Summary)
7066 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
7067 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
7068 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
7069 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
7072 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
7073 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
7074 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
7075 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
7076 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
7077 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
7078 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
7079 The default is @code{t}.
7082 @node Generic Marking Commands
7083 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
7085 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
7086 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
7087 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
7088 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
7089 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
7092 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
7093 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
7096 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
7097 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
7098 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
7099 to list in this manual.
7101 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
7102 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
7103 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
7104 article, you could say something like:
7108 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
7109 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
7110 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
7118 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
7119 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
7123 @node Setting Process Marks
7124 @subsection Setting Process Marks
7125 @cindex setting process marks
7127 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
7128 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
7129 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
7130 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
7131 articles into the cache. For more information,
7132 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
7139 @kindex M P p (Summary)
7140 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
7141 Mark the current article with the process mark
7142 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
7143 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
7147 @kindex M P u (Summary)
7148 @kindex M-# (Summary)
7149 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
7150 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
7153 @kindex M P U (Summary)
7154 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
7155 Remove the process mark from all articles
7156 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
7159 @kindex M P i (Summary)
7160 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
7161 Invert the list of process marked articles
7162 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
7165 @kindex M P R (Summary)
7166 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
7167 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
7168 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
7171 @kindex M P G (Summary)
7172 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
7173 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
7174 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
7177 @kindex M P r (Summary)
7178 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
7179 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
7182 @kindex M P g (Summary)
7183 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
7184 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
7187 @kindex M P t (Summary)
7188 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
7189 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
7190 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
7193 @kindex M P T (Summary)
7194 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
7195 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
7196 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
7199 @kindex M P v (Summary)
7200 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
7201 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
7202 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
7205 @kindex M P s (Summary)
7206 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
7207 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
7210 @kindex M P S (Summary)
7211 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
7212 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
7213 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
7216 @kindex M P a (Summary)
7217 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
7218 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}).
7221 @kindex M P b (Summary)
7222 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
7223 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
7224 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
7227 @kindex M P k (Summary)
7228 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
7229 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
7230 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
7233 @kindex M P y (Summary)
7234 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
7235 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
7236 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
7239 @kindex M P w (Summary)
7240 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
7241 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
7242 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
7246 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @ref{Searching for Articles}, for how to
7247 set process marks based on article body contents.
7254 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
7255 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
7256 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
7259 Limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched from
7260 the servers. These commands don't query the server for additional
7267 @kindex / / (Summary)
7268 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
7269 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
7270 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
7274 @kindex / a (Summary)
7275 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
7276 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
7277 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
7281 @kindex / R (Summary)
7282 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient
7283 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some recipient
7284 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient}). If given a prefix, exclude
7288 @kindex / A (Summary)
7289 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-address
7290 Limit the summary buffer to articles in which contents of From, To or Cc
7291 header match a given address (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-address}). If
7292 given a prefix, exclude matching articles.
7295 @kindex / S (Summary)
7296 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-singletons
7297 Limit the summary buffer to articles that aren't part of any displayed
7298 threads (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-singletons}). If given a prefix,
7299 limit to articles that are part of displayed threads.
7302 @kindex / x (Summary)
7303 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
7304 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
7305 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
7306 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
7311 @kindex / u (Summary)
7313 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
7314 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
7315 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
7316 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
7317 dormant articles will also be excluded.
7320 @kindex / m (Summary)
7321 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
7322 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
7323 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
7326 @kindex / t (Summary)
7327 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
7328 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
7329 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
7330 articles younger than that number of days.
7333 @kindex / n (Summary)
7334 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
7335 With prefix @samp{n}, limit the summary buffer to the next @samp{n}
7336 articles. If not given a prefix, use the process marked articles
7337 instead. (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}).
7340 @kindex / w (Summary)
7341 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
7342 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
7343 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
7347 @kindex / . (Summary)
7348 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
7349 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
7350 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
7353 @kindex / v (Summary)
7354 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
7355 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
7356 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
7359 @kindex / p (Summary)
7360 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
7361 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
7362 group parameter predicate
7363 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). @xref{Group
7364 Parameters}, for more on this predicate.
7367 @kindex / r (Summary)
7368 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-replied
7369 Limit the summary buffer to replied articles
7370 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-replied}). If given a prefix, exclude
7375 @kindex M S (Summary)
7376 @kindex / E (Summary)
7377 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
7378 Include all expunged articles in the limit
7379 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
7382 @kindex / D (Summary)
7383 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
7384 Include all dormant articles in the limit
7385 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
7388 @kindex / * (Summary)
7389 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
7390 Include all cached articles in the limit
7391 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
7394 @kindex / d (Summary)
7395 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
7396 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
7397 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
7400 @kindex / M (Summary)
7401 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
7402 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
7405 @kindex / T (Summary)
7406 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
7407 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
7410 @kindex / c (Summary)
7411 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
7412 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit@*
7413 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
7416 @kindex / C (Summary)
7417 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
7418 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
7419 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
7420 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
7423 @kindex / b (Summary)
7424 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-bodies
7425 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have bodies that match a
7426 certain regexp (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-bodies}). If given a
7427 prefix, reverse the limit. This command is quite slow since it
7428 requires selecting each article to find the matches.
7431 @kindex / h (Summary)
7432 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-headers
7433 Like the previous command, only limit to headers instead
7434 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-headers}).
7439 The following commands aren't limiting commands, but use the @kbd{/}
7444 @kindex / N (Summary)
7445 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
7446 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
7447 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
7450 @kindex / o (Summary)
7451 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
7452 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
7453 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
7461 @cindex article threading
7463 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
7464 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
7465 hierarchical fashion.
7467 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
7468 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
7469 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
7470 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
7471 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
7472 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
7473 @ref{Customizing Threading}.
7475 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
7479 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
7482 A tree-like article structure.
7485 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
7488 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
7489 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
7490 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
7491 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
7492 called loose threads.
7494 @item thread gathering
7495 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
7497 @item sparse threads
7498 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
7499 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
7505 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
7506 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
7510 @node Customizing Threading
7511 @subsection Customizing Threading
7512 @cindex customizing threading
7515 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
7516 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
7517 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
7518 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
7523 @subsubsection Loose Threads
7526 @cindex loose threads
7529 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
7530 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
7531 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
7532 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
7533 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
7534 read or killed the root in a previous session.
7536 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
7537 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
7538 There are four possible values:
7542 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
7543 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
7544 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
7545 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
7546 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
7551 @cindex adopting articles
7556 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
7557 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
7558 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
7559 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
7562 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
7563 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
7564 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
7565 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
7566 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
7567 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
7568 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
7569 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
7570 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
7571 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
7574 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
7575 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
7576 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
7580 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
7581 display them after one another.
7584 Don't gather loose threads.
7587 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
7588 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
7589 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
7590 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
7591 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
7592 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
7593 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
7594 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
7595 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
7596 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
7597 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
7599 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
7600 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
7601 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
7604 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
7605 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
7606 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
7607 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
7608 simplification is used.
7610 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
7611 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
7612 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
7613 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
7615 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
7617 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
7623 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
7624 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
7625 "answer" "reference" "announce"
7626 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
7631 (mapconcat 'identity
7632 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
7634 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
7637 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
7640 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
7641 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
7642 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
7643 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
7644 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
7645 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
7647 Useful functions to put in this list include:
7650 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
7651 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
7652 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
7654 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
7655 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
7658 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
7659 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
7660 Remove excessive whitespace.
7662 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
7663 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
7664 Remove all whitespace.
7667 You may also write your own functions, of course.
7670 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
7671 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
7672 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
7673 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
7674 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
7675 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
7676 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
7677 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
7679 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
7680 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
7681 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
7682 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
7683 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
7684 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
7685 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
7686 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
7687 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
7691 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
7692 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
7693 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
7694 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
7696 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
7697 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
7698 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
7701 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
7705 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
7706 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
7712 @node Filling In Threads
7713 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
7716 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
7717 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
7718 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
7719 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you would
7720 like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still connect as
7721 many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable to
7722 @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than that
7723 number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case, fetching
7724 old headers only works if the back end you are using carries overview
7725 files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
7726 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
7727 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can
7730 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
7731 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
7732 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
7734 The server has to support @acronym{NOV} for any of this to work.
7736 @cindex Gmane, gnus-fetch-old-headers
7737 This feature can seriously impact performance it ignores all locally
7738 cached header entries. Setting it to @code{t} for groups for a server
7739 that doesn't expire articles (such as news.gmane.org), leads to very
7740 slow summary generation.
7742 @item gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
7743 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
7744 Same as @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}, but only used for ephemeral
7747 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
7748 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
7749 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
7750 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
7751 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
7752 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
7753 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
7754 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
7755 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
7756 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
7757 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
7758 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
7759 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
7760 @code{nil} by default.
7762 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
7763 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
7764 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
7765 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
7766 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
7767 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
7770 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
7771 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
7772 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
7777 @node More Threading
7778 @subsubsection More Threading
7781 @item gnus-show-threads
7782 @vindex gnus-show-threads
7783 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
7784 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
7785 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
7786 slower and more awkward.
7788 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
7789 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
7790 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
7793 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
7794 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
7795 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}.
7800 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
7801 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
7802 gnus-article-unseen-p))
7805 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
7806 unread, but you get my drift.)
7809 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
7810 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
7811 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
7812 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
7813 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
7814 threads are expunged.
7816 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
7817 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
7818 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
7821 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
7822 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
7823 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
7824 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
7825 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
7826 result in a new thread.
7828 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
7829 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
7830 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
7833 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
7834 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
7835 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
7836 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
7837 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
7838 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
7839 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
7840 Setting this variable to an alternate value
7841 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
7842 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
7843 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
7848 @node Low-Level Threading
7849 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
7853 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
7854 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
7855 Hook run before parsing any headers.
7857 @item gnus-alter-header-function
7858 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
7859 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
7860 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
7861 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
7862 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
7863 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
7864 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
7865 meaningful. Here's one example:
7868 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
7870 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
7871 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
7873 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
7875 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
7882 @node Thread Commands
7883 @subsection Thread Commands
7884 @cindex thread commands
7890 @kindex T k (Summary)
7891 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
7892 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
7893 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
7894 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
7895 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
7900 @kindex T l (Summary)
7901 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
7902 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
7903 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
7904 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
7907 @kindex T i (Summary)
7908 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
7909 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
7910 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
7913 @kindex T # (Summary)
7914 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
7915 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
7916 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
7919 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
7920 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
7921 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
7922 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
7925 @kindex T T (Summary)
7926 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
7927 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
7930 @kindex T s (Summary)
7931 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
7932 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any@*
7933 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
7936 @kindex T h (Summary)
7937 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
7938 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
7941 @kindex T S (Summary)
7942 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
7943 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
7946 @kindex T H (Summary)
7947 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
7948 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
7951 @kindex T t (Summary)
7952 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
7953 Re-thread the current article's thread
7954 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
7955 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
7958 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
7959 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
7960 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
7961 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
7964 @kindex T M-^ (Summary)
7965 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-children
7966 Make the current article the parent of the marked articles
7967 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-children}).
7971 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
7972 understand the numeric prefix.
7977 @kindex T n (Summary)
7979 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
7981 @kindex M-down (Summary)
7982 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
7983 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
7986 @kindex T p (Summary)
7988 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
7990 @kindex M-up (Summary)
7991 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
7992 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
7995 @kindex T d (Summary)
7996 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
7997 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
8000 @kindex T u (Summary)
8001 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
8002 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
8005 @kindex T o (Summary)
8006 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
8007 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
8010 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
8011 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
8012 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
8013 a command like @kbd{T k} (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
8014 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
8015 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
8016 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
8017 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
8018 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
8019 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
8020 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
8021 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
8025 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
8026 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
8028 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
8029 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
8030 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
8031 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
8032 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
8033 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient
8034 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
8035 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
8036 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
8037 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number
8038 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date
8039 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
8040 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
8041 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
8042 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
8044 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
8045 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
8046 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient},
8047 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
8048 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date},
8049 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
8050 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
8051 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
8052 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
8053 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
8055 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
8056 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
8057 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
8059 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
8060 last function in the list. You should probably always include
8061 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
8062 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
8063 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
8064 ascending article order.
8066 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
8067 by number, you could do something like:
8070 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
8071 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
8072 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
8073 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
8076 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
8077 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
8078 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
8079 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
8080 which the articles arrived.
8082 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
8086 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
8087 '((not gnus-thread-sort-by-number)
8088 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
8091 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
8092 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
8093 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
8094 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
8097 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
8098 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
8099 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-most-recent-date
8100 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
8101 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
8102 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
8103 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
8104 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
8105 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-most-recent-number
8106 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
8107 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
8108 variable. It is very similar to the
8109 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
8110 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
8111 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
8112 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
8113 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
8114 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
8115 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
8117 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
8121 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
8122 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
8123 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
8126 You can define group specific sorting via @code{gnus-parameters},
8127 @xref{Group Parameters}.
8130 @node Asynchronous Fetching
8131 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
8132 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
8133 @cindex article pre-fetch
8136 If you read your news from an @acronym{NNTP} server that's far away, the
8137 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
8138 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
8139 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
8140 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
8142 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
8143 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
8145 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
8146 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
8147 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
8148 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
8149 connection is blocked.
8151 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
8152 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
8153 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
8154 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
8156 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
8157 the link between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server will become more
8158 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
8159 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
8162 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing@dots{} unless
8165 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
8166 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
8167 happen automatically.
8169 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
8170 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
8171 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
8172 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
8173 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
8174 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
8175 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
8177 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
8178 @findex gnus-async-unread-p
8179 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
8180 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p}
8181 variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This
8182 function should return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is
8183 to be pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-unread-p}, which
8184 returns @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an
8185 article data structure as the only parameter.
8187 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
8188 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
8191 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
8192 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
8193 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
8194 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
8197 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
8200 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
8201 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
8202 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
8204 @vindex gnus-async-post-fetch-function
8205 @findex gnus-html-prefetch-images
8206 After an article has been prefetched, this
8207 @code{gnus-async-post-fetch-function} will be called. The buffer will
8208 be narrowed to the region of the article that was fetched. A useful
8209 value would be @code{gnus-html-prefetch-images}, which will prefetch
8210 and store images referenced in the article, so that you don't have to
8211 wait for them to be fetched when you read the article. This is useful
8212 for @acronym{HTML} messages that have external images.
8214 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
8215 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
8216 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
8217 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
8221 Remove articles when they are read.
8224 Remove articles when exiting the group.
8227 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
8229 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
8230 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
8231 @c from the next group.
8234 @node Article Caching
8235 @section Article Caching
8236 @cindex article caching
8239 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @acronym{NNTP} connection, you may
8240 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
8241 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
8242 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
8243 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
8245 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
8247 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
8248 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
8249 @vindex gnus-use-cache
8250 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
8251 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
8252 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
8253 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
8254 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
8256 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
8257 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
8258 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
8259 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
8260 as dormant, and don't worry.
8262 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
8264 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
8265 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
8266 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
8267 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
8268 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
8269 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
8270 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
8271 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
8272 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
8273 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
8275 @findex gnus-jog-cache
8276 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
8277 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
8278 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
8279 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
8280 command if 1) your connection to the @acronym{NNTP} server is really, really,
8281 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
8282 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
8283 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
8284 not then be downloaded by this command.
8286 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
8287 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
8288 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
8289 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
8290 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
8291 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
8293 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
8294 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
8295 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
8296 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
8297 variables, the group is not cached.
8299 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
8300 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
8301 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
8302 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
8303 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
8304 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
8305 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
8306 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @acronym{NOV}
8307 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
8310 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
8311 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
8312 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
8313 where, isn't that cool?
8315 @node Persistent Articles
8316 @section Persistent Articles
8317 @cindex persistent articles
8319 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
8320 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
8321 useful in my opinion.
8323 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
8324 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
8325 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
8326 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
8327 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
8328 the expiry going on at the news server.
8330 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
8331 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
8332 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
8338 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
8339 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
8342 @kindex M-* (Summary)
8343 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
8344 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
8345 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
8349 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
8351 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
8352 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
8353 interested in persistent articles:
8356 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
8359 @node Sticky Articles
8360 @section Sticky Articles
8361 @cindex sticky articles
8363 When you select an article the current article buffer will be reused
8364 according to the value of the variable
8365 @code{gnus-single-article-buffer}. If its value is non-@code{nil} (the
8366 default) all articles reuse the same article buffer. Else each group
8367 has its own article buffer.
8369 This implies that it's not possible to have more than one article buffer
8370 in a group at a time. But sometimes you might want to display all the
8371 latest emails from your mother, your father, your aunt, your uncle and
8372 your 17 cousins to coordinate the next christmas party.
8374 That's where sticky articles come in handy. A sticky article buffer
8375 basically is a normal article buffer, but it won't be reused when you
8376 select another article. You can make an article sticky with:
8380 @kindex A S (Summary)
8381 @findex gnus-sticky-article
8382 Make the current article sticky. If a prefix arg is given, ask for a
8383 name for this sticky article buffer.
8386 To close a sticky article buffer you can use these commands:
8392 Puts this sticky article buffer at the end of the list of all buffers.
8396 @findex gnus-kill-sticky-article-buffer
8397 Kills this sticky article buffer.
8400 To kill all sticky article buffers you can use:
8402 @defun gnus-kill-sticky-article-buffers ARG
8403 Kill all sticky article buffers.
8404 If a prefix ARG is given, ask for confirmation.
8407 @node Article Backlog
8408 @section Article Backlog
8410 @cindex article backlog
8412 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
8413 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
8414 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
8415 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
8416 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
8417 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
8418 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
8419 increase memory usage some.
8421 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
8422 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
8423 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
8424 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
8425 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
8426 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
8427 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
8429 The default value is 20.
8432 @node Saving Articles
8433 @section Saving Articles
8434 @cindex saving articles
8436 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
8437 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
8438 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
8439 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
8440 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
8442 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
8443 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
8444 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
8446 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
8447 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
8448 unwanted headers before saving the article.
8450 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
8451 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
8452 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
8453 deleted before saving.
8459 @kindex O o (Summary)
8461 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
8462 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
8463 Save the current article using the default article saver
8464 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
8467 @kindex O m (Summary)
8468 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
8469 Save the current article in a Unix mail box (mbox) file
8470 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
8473 @kindex O r (Summary)
8474 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
8475 Save the current article in Rmail format
8476 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}). This is mbox since Emacs 23,
8477 Babyl in older versions.
8480 @kindex O f (Summary)
8481 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
8482 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
8483 Save the current article in plain file format
8484 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
8487 @kindex O F (Summary)
8488 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
8489 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
8490 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
8493 @kindex O b (Summary)
8494 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
8495 Save the current article body in plain file format
8496 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
8499 @kindex O h (Summary)
8500 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
8501 Save the current article in mh folder format
8502 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
8505 @kindex O v (Summary)
8506 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
8507 Save the current article in a VM folder
8508 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
8512 @kindex O p (Summary)
8514 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
8515 @vindex gnus-summary-pipe-output-default-command
8516 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
8517 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
8518 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
8519 complete headers in the piped output. The symbolic prefix @code{r} is
8520 special; it lets this command pipe a raw article including all headers.
8521 The @code{gnus-summary-pipe-output-default-command} variable can be set
8522 to a string containing the default command and options (default
8526 @kindex O P (Summary)
8527 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
8528 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
8529 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
8530 external program @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/,
8531 Muttprint}. The program name and options to use is controlled by the
8532 variable @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}.
8533 (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
8537 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
8538 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
8539 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
8540 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
8541 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
8542 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
8543 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
8544 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
8545 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
8546 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
8547 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
8548 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
8552 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
8553 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
8554 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the eight ready-made
8555 functions below, or you can create your own.
8559 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
8560 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
8561 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
8562 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
8563 This is the default format, that used by the Rmail package. Since Emacs
8564 23, Rmail uses standard mbox format. Before this, it used the
8565 @dfn{Babyl} format. Accordingly, this command writes mbox format since
8566 Emacs 23, unless appending to an existing Babyl file. In older versions
8567 of Emacs, it always uses Babyl format. Uses the function in the
8568 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
8569 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
8571 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
8572 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
8573 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
8574 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
8575 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
8576 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
8578 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
8579 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
8580 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
8581 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
8582 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
8583 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
8584 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
8586 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
8587 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
8588 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
8589 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
8590 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
8591 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
8593 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
8594 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
8595 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
8596 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
8597 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
8599 @item gnus-summary-write-body-to-file
8600 @findex gnus-summary-write-body-to-file
8601 Write the article body straight to an ordinary file. The file is
8602 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
8603 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
8604 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
8606 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
8607 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
8608 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
8609 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
8610 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
8613 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
8614 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
8615 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
8616 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
8617 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
8619 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
8620 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
8621 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
8622 reader to use this setting.
8624 @item gnus-summary-save-in-pipe
8625 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-pipe
8626 Pipe the article to a shell command. This function takes optional two
8627 arguments COMMAND and RAW. Valid values for COMMAND include:
8631 The executable command name and possibly arguments.
8633 You will be prompted for the command in the minibuffer.
8634 @item the symbol @code{default}@*
8635 It will be replaced with the command which the variable
8636 @code{gnus-summary-pipe-output-default-command} holds or the command
8637 last used for saving.
8640 Non-@code{nil} value for RAW overrides @code{:decode} and
8641 @code{:headers} properties (see below) and the raw article including all
8642 headers will be piped.
8645 The symbol of each function may have the following properties:
8649 The value non-@code{nil} means save decoded articles. This is
8650 meaningful only with @code{gnus-summary-save-in-file},
8651 @code{gnus-summary-save-body-in-file},
8652 @code{gnus-summary-write-to-file},
8653 @code{gnus-summary-write-body-to-file}, and
8654 @code{gnus-summary-save-in-pipe}.
8657 The value specifies an alternative function which appends, not
8658 overwrites, articles to a file. This implies that when saving many
8659 articles at a time, @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} is bound to
8660 @code{t} and all articles are saved in a single file. This is
8661 meaningful only with @code{gnus-summary-write-to-file} and
8662 @code{gnus-summary-write-body-to-file}.
8665 The value specifies the symbol of a variable of which the value
8666 specifies headers to be saved. If it is omitted,
8667 @code{gnus-save-all-headers} and @code{gnus-saved-headers} control what
8668 headers should be saved.
8671 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
8672 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
8673 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
8674 @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
8677 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
8678 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
8679 available functions that generate names:
8683 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
8684 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
8685 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
8687 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
8688 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
8689 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
8691 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
8692 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
8693 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
8695 @item gnus-plain-save-name
8696 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
8697 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
8699 @item gnus-sender-save-name
8700 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
8701 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
8704 @vindex gnus-split-methods
8705 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
8706 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
8707 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
8708 related to VM in @file{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
8712 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
8713 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
8714 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
8715 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
8718 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
8719 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
8720 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
8721 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
8722 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
8723 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
8724 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
8725 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
8726 called returns a string or a list of strings.
8728 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
8729 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
8730 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
8731 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
8733 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
8734 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
8735 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
8738 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
8739 lots of mail groups called things like
8740 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
8741 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
8742 following will do just that:
8745 (defun my-save-name (group)
8746 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
8747 (substring group (match-end 0))))
8749 (setq gnus-split-methods
8750 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
8755 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
8756 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
8757 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
8758 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
8759 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
8760 all the files in the top level directory
8761 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
8762 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
8763 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
8764 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
8766 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
8767 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
8768 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
8769 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
8770 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
8773 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
8777 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; @r{to get a hierarchy}
8778 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
8779 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; @r{no encoding}
8782 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
8783 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
8784 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
8785 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
8788 @node Decoding Articles
8789 @section Decoding Articles
8790 @cindex decoding articles
8792 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
8793 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
8796 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
8797 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
8798 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
8799 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
8800 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
8801 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
8805 @cindex article series
8806 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
8807 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
8808 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
8809 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
8810 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
8812 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
8813 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
8814 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
8816 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
8817 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
8818 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
8820 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
8821 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
8822 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
8825 @node Uuencoded Articles
8826 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
8828 @cindex uuencoded articles
8833 @kindex X u (Summary)
8834 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
8835 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
8836 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
8839 @kindex X U (Summary)
8840 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
8841 Uudecodes and saves the current series
8842 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
8845 @kindex X v u (Summary)
8846 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
8847 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
8850 @kindex X v U (Summary)
8851 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
8852 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
8853 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
8857 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
8858 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
8859 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
8860 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
8861 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
8863 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
8864 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
8865 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
8866 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
8869 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
8870 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
8871 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
8872 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
8873 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
8874 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
8878 @node Shell Archives
8879 @subsection Shell Archives
8881 @cindex shell archives
8882 @cindex shared articles
8884 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
8885 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
8886 some commands to deal with these:
8891 @kindex X s (Summary)
8892 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
8893 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
8896 @kindex X S (Summary)
8897 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
8898 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
8901 @kindex X v s (Summary)
8902 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
8903 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
8906 @kindex X v S (Summary)
8907 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
8908 Unshars, views and saves the current series
8909 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
8913 @node PostScript Files
8914 @subsection PostScript Files
8920 @kindex X p (Summary)
8921 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
8922 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
8925 @kindex X P (Summary)
8926 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
8927 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
8928 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
8931 @kindex X v p (Summary)
8932 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
8933 View the current PostScript series
8934 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
8937 @kindex X v P (Summary)
8938 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
8939 View and save the current PostScript series
8940 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
8945 @subsection Other Files
8949 @kindex X o (Summary)
8950 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
8951 Save the current series
8952 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
8955 @kindex X b (Summary)
8956 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
8957 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
8958 doesn't really work yet.
8961 @kindex X Y (Summary)
8962 @findex gnus-uu-decode-yenc
8963 yEnc-decode the current series and save it (@code{gnus-uu-decode-yenc}).
8967 @node Decoding Variables
8968 @subsection Decoding Variables
8970 Adjective, not verb.
8973 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
8974 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
8975 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
8979 @node Rule Variables
8980 @subsubsection Rule Variables
8981 @cindex rule variables
8983 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
8984 variables are of the form
8987 (list '(regexp1 command2)
8994 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8995 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8997 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
8998 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @file{.au} sound file, you could
9001 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
9002 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
9005 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
9006 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
9007 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
9008 user and default view rules.
9010 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
9011 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
9012 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
9017 @node Other Decode Variables
9018 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
9021 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
9023 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
9024 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
9025 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
9026 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
9027 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
9031 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
9032 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
9035 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
9036 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
9037 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
9040 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
9041 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
9042 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
9043 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
9044 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
9047 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
9048 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
9049 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
9051 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
9052 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
9053 Files with a @acronym{MIME} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
9054 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
9055 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @acronym{MIME} package (yet), so this is slightly
9058 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
9059 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
9060 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
9062 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
9063 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
9064 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
9065 looking for files to display.
9067 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
9068 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
9069 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
9072 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
9073 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
9074 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
9077 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
9078 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
9079 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
9082 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
9083 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
9084 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
9087 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
9088 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
9089 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
9090 decoded articles as unread.
9092 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
9093 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
9094 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
9095 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
9097 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
9098 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
9099 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
9101 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
9102 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
9104 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
9105 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @acronym{MIME}
9106 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
9107 @code{metamail} for viewing.
9109 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
9110 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
9111 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
9112 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
9113 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
9114 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
9115 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
9116 simply dropped them.
9121 @node Uuencoding and Posting
9122 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
9126 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
9127 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
9128 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
9129 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
9130 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
9131 for you when you post the article.
9133 @item gnus-uu-post-length
9134 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
9135 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
9136 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
9138 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
9139 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
9140 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
9141 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
9142 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
9143 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
9144 think that counts@dots{}) Default is @code{nil}.
9146 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
9147 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
9148 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
9149 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
9150 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
9151 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
9152 Default is @code{t}.
9158 @subsection Viewing Files
9159 @cindex viewing files
9160 @cindex pseudo-articles
9162 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
9163 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
9164 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
9165 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
9166 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
9167 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
9168 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
9170 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
9171 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
9172 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
9173 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
9175 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
9176 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
9177 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
9179 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
9180 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
9181 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
9182 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
9183 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
9185 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
9186 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
9187 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
9188 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
9189 a list of parameters to that command.
9191 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
9192 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
9193 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
9195 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
9196 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
9197 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
9200 @node Article Treatment
9201 @section Article Treatment
9203 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
9204 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
9205 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
9206 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
9207 these articles easier.
9210 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
9211 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
9212 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
9213 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
9214 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
9215 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
9216 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
9217 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
9218 * Article Display:: Display various stuff:
9219 X-Face, Picons, Gravatars, Smileys.
9220 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
9221 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
9225 @node Article Highlighting
9226 @subsection Article Highlighting
9227 @cindex highlighting
9229 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
9230 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
9235 @kindex W H a (Summary)
9236 @findex gnus-article-highlight
9237 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
9238 Do much highlighting of the current article
9239 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
9240 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
9243 @kindex W H h (Summary)
9244 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
9245 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
9246 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
9247 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
9248 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
9249 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
9250 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
9251 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
9252 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
9253 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
9254 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
9257 @kindex W H c (Summary)
9258 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
9259 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
9261 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
9264 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
9266 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
9267 If the article size in bytes is bigger than this variable (which is
9268 25000 by default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
9270 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
9271 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
9272 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
9274 @item gnus-cite-face-list
9275 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
9276 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
9277 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
9278 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
9279 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
9281 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
9282 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
9283 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
9285 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
9286 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
9287 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
9289 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
9290 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
9291 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
9292 that it's a citation.
9294 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
9295 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
9296 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
9298 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
9299 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
9300 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
9302 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
9303 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
9304 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
9305 cited text belonging to the attribution.
9307 @item gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
9308 @vindex gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
9309 If non-@code{nil}, no citation highlighting will be performed on lines
9310 beginning with @samp{>From }. Those lines may have been quoted by MTAs
9311 in order not to mix up with the envelope From line. The default value
9318 @kindex W H s (Summary)
9319 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
9320 @vindex gnus-signature-face
9321 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
9322 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
9323 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
9324 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
9325 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
9330 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
9333 @node Article Fontisizing
9334 @subsection Article Fontisizing
9336 @cindex article emphasis
9338 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
9339 @kindex W e (Summary)
9340 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
9341 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
9342 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
9343 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
9345 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
9346 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
9347 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
9348 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
9349 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
9350 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
9351 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
9352 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
9356 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
9357 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
9358 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
9367 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
9368 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
9369 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
9370 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
9371 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
9372 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
9373 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
9374 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
9375 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
9376 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
9377 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
9378 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
9379 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
9381 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
9382 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
9383 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
9387 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
9390 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
9392 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
9393 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
9394 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
9395 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
9397 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
9400 @node Article Hiding
9401 @subsection Article Hiding
9402 @cindex article hiding
9404 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
9405 too much cruft in most articles.
9410 @kindex W W a (Summary)
9411 @findex gnus-article-hide
9412 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
9413 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
9414 headers, @acronym{PGP}, cited text and the signature.
9417 @kindex W W h (Summary)
9418 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
9419 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
9423 @kindex W W b (Summary)
9424 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
9425 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
9426 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
9429 @kindex W W s (Summary)
9430 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
9431 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
9435 @kindex W W l (Summary)
9436 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
9437 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
9438 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
9439 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
9440 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
9441 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
9442 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
9446 @item gnus-list-identifiers
9447 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
9448 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
9449 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
9454 @kindex W W P (Summary)
9455 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
9456 Hide @acronym{PEM} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
9457 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
9460 @kindex W W B (Summary)
9461 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
9462 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
9463 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
9466 @cindex stripping advertisements
9467 @cindex advertisements
9468 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
9469 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
9470 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
9471 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
9472 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
9473 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
9474 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
9475 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
9476 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
9477 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
9480 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
9481 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
9482 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
9486 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
9487 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
9488 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
9489 @code{(@var{address} . @var{banner})}, where @var{address} is a regexp
9490 matching a mail address in the From header, @var{banner} is one of a
9491 symbol @code{signature}, an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist},
9492 a regexp and @code{nil}. If @var{address} matches author's mail
9493 address, it will remove things like advertisements. For example, if a
9494 sender has the mail address @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a
9495 banner something like @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he
9496 sends, you can use the following element to remove them:
9499 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" .
9500 "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
9506 @kindex W W c (Summary)
9507 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
9508 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
9509 customizing the hiding:
9513 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
9514 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
9515 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
9516 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
9517 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
9518 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
9519 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
9524 Starting point of the hidden text.
9526 Ending point of the hidden text.
9528 Number of characters in the hidden region.
9530 Number of lines of hidden text.
9533 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
9534 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
9535 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
9536 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
9537 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
9542 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
9543 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
9545 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
9546 following two variables:
9549 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
9550 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
9551 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
9552 50), hide the cited text.
9554 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
9555 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
9556 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
9561 @kindex W W C (Summary)
9562 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
9563 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
9564 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
9565 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
9566 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
9570 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
9571 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
9572 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
9574 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
9575 citation customization.
9577 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
9581 @node Article Washing
9582 @subsection Article Washing
9584 @cindex article washing
9586 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
9587 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
9589 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
9590 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
9593 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
9594 articles by default.
9599 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
9600 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
9604 Force redisplaying of the current article
9605 (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). This is also not really washing.
9606 If you type this, you see the article without any previously applied
9607 interactive Washing functions but with all default treatments
9608 (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
9611 @kindex W l (Summary)
9612 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
9613 Remove page breaks from the current article
9614 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
9618 @kindex W r (Summary)
9619 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
9620 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
9621 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
9622 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
9623 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
9624 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
9626 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
9627 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
9628 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
9629 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
9632 @kindex W m (Summary)
9633 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
9634 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
9637 @kindex W i (Summary)
9638 @findex gnus-summary-idna-message
9639 Decode IDNA encoded domain names in the current articles. IDNA
9640 encoded domain names looks like @samp{xn--bar}. If a string remain
9641 unencoded after running invoking this, it is likely an invalid IDNA
9642 string (@samp{xn--bar} is invalid). You must have GNU Libidn
9643 (@url{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/}) installed for this command
9648 @kindex W t (Summary)
9650 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
9651 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
9652 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
9655 @kindex W v (Summary)
9656 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
9657 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
9658 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
9661 @kindex W o (Summary)
9662 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
9663 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
9666 @kindex W d (Summary)
9667 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
9668 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
9670 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
9672 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
9673 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
9674 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
9675 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
9678 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
9679 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
9680 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
9681 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
9684 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
9685 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
9686 @cindex Outlook Express
9687 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
9688 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
9689 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
9692 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
9693 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
9694 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min
9695 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max
9696 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
9697 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
9698 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
9699 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the minimum and
9700 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
9701 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines}).
9704 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
9705 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
9706 Repair a broken attribution line.@*
9707 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
9710 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
9711 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
9712 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
9713 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
9716 @kindex W w (Summary)
9717 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
9718 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
9720 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
9724 @kindex W Q (Summary)
9725 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
9726 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
9729 @kindex W C (Summary)
9730 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
9731 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
9732 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
9735 @kindex W c (Summary)
9736 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
9737 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
9738 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
9739 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
9740 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
9743 @kindex W q (Summary)
9744 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
9745 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
9746 Quoted-Printable is one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when
9747 sending non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. It typically
9748 makes strings like @samp{d@'ej@`a vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu},
9749 which doesn't look very readable to me. Note that this is usually
9750 done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
9751 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
9752 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
9755 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
9756 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
9757 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}). Base64 is
9758 one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when sending
9759 non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is
9760 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
9761 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
9762 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
9765 @kindex W Z (Summary)
9766 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
9767 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
9768 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
9769 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
9772 @kindex W A (Summary)
9773 @findex gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences
9774 @cindex @acronym{ANSI} control sequences
9775 Translate @acronym{ANSI} SGR control sequences into overlays or
9776 extents (@code{gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences}). @acronym{ANSI}
9777 sequences are used in some Chinese hierarchies for highlighting.
9780 @kindex W u (Summary)
9781 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
9782 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
9783 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
9784 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
9785 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
9788 @kindex W h (Summary)
9789 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
9790 Treat @acronym{HTML} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
9791 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
9792 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @acronym{HTML}.
9794 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for. If it is a number,
9795 the charset defined in @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist}
9796 (@pxref{Paging the Article}) will be used.
9798 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
9799 The default is to use the function specified by
9800 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display
9801 Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) to convert the
9802 @acronym{HTML}, but this is controlled by the
9803 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
9807 @item gnus-article-html
9808 Use Gnus rendered based on w3m.
9814 Use @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/, emacs-w3m}.
9816 @item w3m-standalone
9817 Use @uref{http://w3m.sourceforge.net/, w3m}.
9820 Use @uref{http://links.sf.net/, Links}.
9823 Use @uref{http://lynx.isc.org/, Lynx}.
9826 Use html2text---a simple @acronym{HTML} converter included with Gnus.
9831 @kindex W b (Summary)
9832 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
9833 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
9834 @xref{Article Buttons}.
9837 @kindex W B (Summary)
9838 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
9839 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
9840 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
9843 @kindex W p (Summary)
9844 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
9845 Verify a signed control message
9846 (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}). Control messages such as
9847 @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are usually signed by the
9848 hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the @acronym{PGP} public key of
9849 the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
9850 message.@footnote{@acronym{PGP} keys for many hierarchies are
9851 available at @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
9854 @kindex W s (Summary)
9855 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
9856 Verify a signed (@acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME} or
9857 @acronym{S/MIME}) message
9858 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
9861 @kindex W a (Summary)
9862 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
9863 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
9864 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
9867 @kindex W E l (Summary)
9868 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
9869 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
9870 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
9873 @kindex W E m (Summary)
9874 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
9875 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
9876 lines with a single empty line.
9877 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
9880 @kindex W E t (Summary)
9881 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
9882 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
9883 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
9886 @kindex W E a (Summary)
9887 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
9888 Do all the three commands above
9889 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
9892 @kindex W E A (Summary)
9893 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
9894 Remove all blank lines
9895 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
9898 @kindex W E s (Summary)
9899 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
9900 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
9901 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
9904 @kindex W E e (Summary)
9905 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
9906 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
9907 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
9911 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
9914 @node Article Header
9915 @subsection Article Header
9917 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
9922 @kindex W G u (Summary)
9923 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
9924 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
9927 @kindex W G n (Summary)
9928 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
9929 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
9930 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
9933 @kindex W G f (Summary)
9934 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
9935 Fold all the message headers
9936 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
9939 @kindex W E w (Summary)
9940 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
9941 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
9942 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
9947 @node Article Buttons
9948 @subsection Article Buttons
9951 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
9952 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
9953 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
9954 button on these references.
9956 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
9957 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
9958 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man pages and
9959 Emacs or Gnus related references. This is controlled by two variables,
9960 one that handles article bodies and one that handles article heads:
9964 @item gnus-button-alist
9965 @vindex gnus-button-alist
9966 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
9969 (@var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
9975 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
9976 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
9977 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
9978 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
9979 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp} and @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp}.
9982 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
9983 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
9984 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
9987 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
9988 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
9989 avoid false matches. Often variables named
9990 @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} are used here, @xref{Article Button
9991 Levels}, but any other form may be used too.
9993 @c @code{use-p} is @code{eval}ed only if @code{regexp} matches.
9996 This function will be called when you click on this button.
9999 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
10000 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
10004 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
10007 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
10010 @item gnus-header-button-alist
10011 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
10012 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
10013 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
10014 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
10017 (@var{header} @var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
10020 @var{header} is a regular expression.
10023 @subsubsection Related variables and functions
10026 @item gnus-button-@var{*}-level
10027 @xref{Article Button Levels}.
10029 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-browse-level
10031 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
10032 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
10033 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
10034 default values of the variables above.
10036 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-man-level
10038 @item gnus-button-man-handler
10039 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
10040 The function to use for displaying man pages. It must take at least one
10041 argument with a string naming the man page.
10043 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-message-level
10045 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
10046 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
10047 Regular expression that matches a message ID or a mail address.
10049 @item gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
10050 @vindex gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
10051 This variable determines what to do when the button on a string as
10052 @samp{foo123@@bar.invalid} is pushed. Strings like this can be either a
10053 message ID or a mail address. If it is one of the symbols @code{mid} or
10054 @code{mail}, Gnus will always assume that the string is a message ID or
10055 a mail address, respectively. If this variable is set to the symbol
10056 @code{ask}, always query the user what to do. If it is a function, this
10057 function will be called with the string as its only argument. The
10058 function must return @code{mid}, @code{mail}, @code{invalid} or
10059 @code{ask}. The default value is the function
10060 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
10062 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
10063 @findex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
10064 Function that guesses whether its argument is a message ID or a mail
10065 address. Returns @code{mid} if it's a message IDs, @code{mail} if
10066 it's a mail address, @code{ask} if unsure and @code{invalid} if the
10069 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
10070 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
10071 An alist of @code{(RATE . REGEXP)} pairs used by the function
10072 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
10076 @item gnus-article-button-face
10077 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
10078 Face used on buttons.
10080 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
10081 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
10082 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
10086 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
10089 @node Article Button Levels
10090 @subsection Article button levels
10091 @cindex button levels
10092 The higher the value of the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level},
10093 the more buttons will appear. If the level is zero, no corresponding
10094 buttons are displayed. With the default value (which is 5) you should
10095 already see quite a lot of buttons. With higher levels, you will see
10096 more buttons, but you may also get more false positives. To avoid them,
10097 you can set the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} local to
10098 specific groups (@pxref{Group Parameters}). Here's an example for the
10099 variable @code{gnus-parameters}:
10102 ;; @r{increase @code{gnus-button-*-level} in some groups:}
10103 (setq gnus-parameters
10104 '(("\\<\\(emacs\\|gnus\\)\\>" (gnus-button-emacs-level 10))
10105 ("\\<unix\\>" (gnus-button-man-level 10))
10106 ("\\<tex\\>" (gnus-button-tex-level 10))))
10111 @item gnus-button-browse-level
10112 @vindex gnus-button-browse-level
10113 Controls the display of references to message IDs, mail addresses and
10114 news URLs. Related variables and functions include
10115 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}, @code{browse-url}, and
10116 @code{browse-url-browser-function}.
10118 @item gnus-button-emacs-level
10119 @vindex gnus-button-emacs-level
10120 Controls the display of Emacs or Gnus references. Related functions are
10121 @code{gnus-button-handle-custom},
10122 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-function},
10123 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-variable},
10124 @code{gnus-button-handle-symbol},
10125 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-key},
10126 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos},
10127 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-command},
10128 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-variable},
10129 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-documentation}, and
10130 @code{gnus-button-handle-library}.
10132 @item gnus-button-man-level
10133 @vindex gnus-button-man-level
10134 Controls the display of references to (Unix) man pages.
10135 See @code{gnus-button-man-handler}.
10137 @item gnus-button-message-level
10138 @vindex gnus-button-message-level
10139 Controls the display of message IDs, mail addresses and news URLs.
10140 Related variables and functions include
10141 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp},
10142 @code{gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail},
10143 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}, and
10144 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist}.
10150 @subsection Article Date
10152 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
10153 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
10154 when the article was sent.
10159 @kindex W T u (Summary)
10160 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
10161 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
10162 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
10165 @kindex W T i (Summary)
10166 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
10168 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
10169 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
10172 @kindex W T l (Summary)
10173 @findex gnus-article-date-local
10174 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
10177 @kindex W T p (Summary)
10178 @findex gnus-article-date-english
10179 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
10180 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
10183 @kindex W T s (Summary)
10184 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
10185 @findex gnus-article-date-user
10186 @findex format-time-string
10187 Display the date using a user-defined format
10188 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
10189 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
10190 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
10191 for a list of possible format specs.
10194 @kindex W T e (Summary)
10195 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
10196 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
10197 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
10198 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
10199 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
10202 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
10205 @vindex gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header
10206 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
10207 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
10210 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
10211 into wonderful absurdities.
10213 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
10216 (gnus-start-date-timer)
10219 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
10220 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
10224 @kindex W T o (Summary)
10225 @findex gnus-article-date-original
10226 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
10227 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
10228 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
10229 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
10230 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
10234 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
10235 preferred format automatically.
10238 @node Article Display
10239 @subsection Article Display
10245 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
10246 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
10248 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
10249 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
10251 @code{Face} headers are small colored images supplied by the message
10252 headers (@pxref{Face}).
10254 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
10255 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
10257 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
10258 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
10260 Gravatars reside on-line and are fetched from
10261 @uref{http://www.gravatar.com/} (@pxref{Gravatars}).
10263 All these functions are toggles---if the elements already exist,
10264 they'll be removed.
10268 @kindex W D x (Summary)
10269 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
10270 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
10271 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
10274 @kindex W D d (Summary)
10275 @findex gnus-article-display-face
10276 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
10277 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
10280 @kindex W D s (Summary)
10281 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
10282 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
10285 @kindex W D f (Summary)
10286 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
10287 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
10290 @kindex W D m (Summary)
10291 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
10292 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
10293 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
10296 @kindex W D n (Summary)
10297 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
10298 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
10299 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
10302 @kindex W D g (Summary)
10303 @findex gnus-treat-from-gravatar
10304 Gravatarify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-gravatar}).
10307 @kindex W D h (Summary)
10308 @findex gnus-treat-mail-gravatar
10309 Gravatarify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
10310 (@code{gnus-treat-from-gravatar}).
10313 @kindex W D D (Summary)
10314 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
10315 Remove all images from the article buffer
10316 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
10319 @kindex W D W (Summary)
10320 @findex gnus-html-show-images
10321 If you're reading an @acronym{HTML} article rendered with
10322 @code{gnus-article-html}, then you can insert any blocked images in
10323 the buffer with this command.
10324 (@code{gnus-html-show-images}).
10330 @node Article Signature
10331 @subsection Article Signature
10333 @cindex article signature
10335 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
10336 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
10337 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
10338 that says what is to be considered a signature is
10339 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
10340 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
10341 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
10342 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
10343 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
10346 (setq gnus-signature-separator
10347 '("^-- $" ; @r{The standard}
10348 "^-- *$" ; @r{A common mangling}
10349 "^-------*$" ; @r{Many people just use a looong}
10350 ; @r{line of dashes. Shame!}
10351 "^ *--------*$" ; @r{Double-shame!}
10352 "^________*$" ; @r{Underscores are also popular}
10353 "^========*$")) ; @r{Pervert!}
10356 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
10359 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
10360 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
10361 signature when displaying articles.
10365 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
10368 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
10371 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
10372 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
10374 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
10375 in question is not a signature.
10378 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
10379 listed above. Here's an example:
10382 (setq gnus-signature-limit
10383 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
10386 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
10387 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
10388 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
10389 signature after all.
10392 @node Article Miscellanea
10393 @subsection Article Miscellanea
10397 @kindex A t (Summary)
10398 @findex gnus-article-babel
10399 Translate the article from one language to another
10400 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
10405 @node MIME Commands
10406 @section MIME Commands
10407 @cindex MIME decoding
10408 @cindex attachments
10409 @cindex viewing attachments
10411 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
10412 instance, @kbd{3 K v} means ``view the third @acronym{MIME} part''.
10417 @kindex b (Summary)
10418 @kindex K v (Summary)
10419 View the @acronym{MIME} part.
10422 @kindex K o (Summary)
10423 Save the @acronym{MIME} part.
10426 @kindex K O (Summary)
10427 Prompt for a file name, then save the @acronym{MIME} part and strip it
10428 from the article. The stripped @acronym{MIME} object will be referred
10429 via the message/external-body @acronym{MIME} type.
10432 @kindex K r (Summary)
10433 Replace the @acronym{MIME} part with an external body.
10436 @kindex K d (Summary)
10437 Delete the @acronym{MIME} part and add some information about the
10441 @kindex K c (Summary)
10442 Copy the @acronym{MIME} part.
10445 @kindex K e (Summary)
10446 View the @acronym{MIME} part externally.
10449 @kindex K i (Summary)
10450 View the @acronym{MIME} part internally.
10453 @kindex K | (Summary)
10454 Pipe the @acronym{MIME} part to an external command.
10457 The rest of these @acronym{MIME} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
10462 @kindex K H (Summary)
10463 @findex gnus-article-browse-html-article
10464 View @samp{text/html} parts of the current article with a WWW browser.
10465 Inline images embedded in a message using the @code{cid} scheme, as they
10466 are generally considered to be safe, will be processed properly. The
10467 message header is added to the beginning of every @acronym{HTML} part
10468 unless the prefix argument is given.
10470 Warning: Spammers use links to images (using the @code{http} scheme) in
10471 @acronym{HTML} articles to verify whether you have read the message. As
10472 this command passes the @acronym{HTML} content to the browser without
10473 eliminating these ``web bugs'' you should only use it for mails from
10476 If you always want to display @acronym{HTML} parts in the browser, set
10477 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} to @code{nil}.
10479 This command creates temporary files to pass @acronym{HTML} contents
10480 including images if any to the browser, and deletes them when exiting
10481 the group (if you want).
10484 @kindex K b (Summary)
10485 Make all the @acronym{MIME} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
10486 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
10490 @kindex K m (Summary)
10491 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
10492 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
10493 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
10494 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
10495 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
10498 @kindex X m (Summary)
10499 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
10500 Save all parts matching a @acronym{MIME} type to a directory
10501 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
10502 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10505 @kindex M-t (Summary)
10506 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
10507 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
10508 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
10511 @kindex W M w (Summary)
10512 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
10513 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
10514 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
10517 @kindex W M c (Summary)
10518 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
10519 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
10520 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
10522 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
10523 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
10524 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
10525 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
10526 include @acronym{MIME} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
10527 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
10530 @kindex W M v (Summary)
10531 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
10532 View all the @acronym{MIME} parts in the current article
10533 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
10537 Relevant variables:
10540 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
10541 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
10542 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
10543 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
10546 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
10549 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
10553 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
10554 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
10555 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't require the @samp{MIME-Version} header
10556 before interpreting the message as a @acronym{MIME} message. This helps
10557 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
10558 default is @code{t}.
10560 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
10561 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
10564 There are other, non-@acronym{MIME} encoding methods used. The most common
10565 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
10566 this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
10567 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
10568 Gnus @acronym{MIME} machinery. The default is @code{t}. Only
10569 single-part yEnc encoded attachments can be decoded. There's no support
10570 for encoding in Gnus.
10572 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
10573 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
10574 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
10575 this list won't have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
10576 displayed or this variable is overridden by
10577 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
10578 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
10579 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is @code{nil}.
10581 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
10582 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
10583 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
10584 this list will have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
10585 displayed. This variable overrides
10586 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
10587 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
10590 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
10591 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
10592 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
10594 You could also add @code{"multipart/alternative"} to this list to
10595 display radio buttons that allow you to choose one of two media types
10596 those mails include. See also @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}
10597 (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The
10598 Emacs MIME Manual}).
10600 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
10601 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
10602 If this is non-@code{nil}, then all @acronym{MIME} parts get buttons. The
10603 default value is @code{nil}.
10605 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
10606 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
10607 For each @acronym{MIME} part, this function will be called with the @acronym{MIME}
10608 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
10609 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
10610 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
10611 save all jpegs into some directory).
10613 Here's an example function the does the latter:
10616 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
10617 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
10619 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
10620 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
10621 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
10622 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
10623 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
10626 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
10627 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
10628 Alist of @acronym{MIME} multipart types and functions to handle them.
10630 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
10631 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
10632 Display "multipart/alternative" parts as "multipart/mixed".
10634 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
10635 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
10636 Display "multipart/related" parts as "multipart/mixed".
10638 If displaying @samp{text/html} is discouraged, see
10639 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}, images or other material inside a
10640 "multipart/related" part might be overlooked when this variable is
10641 @code{nil}. @ref{Display Customization, Display Customization, ,
10642 emacs-mime, Emacs-Mime Manual}.
10644 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
10645 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
10646 Display "multipart" parts as "multipart/mixed". If @code{t}, it
10647 overrides @code{nil} values of
10648 @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed} and
10649 @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed}.
10651 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
10652 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
10653 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @acronym{MIME} parts.
10654 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
10656 Ready-made functions include@*
10657 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
10658 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
10659 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
10660 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
10661 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
10662 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
10663 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
10664 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
10665 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
10666 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
10667 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
10668 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
10670 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
10671 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
10673 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
10674 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
10675 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
10678 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
10679 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
10680 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
10681 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
10685 to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
10694 People use different charsets, and we have @acronym{MIME} to let us know what
10695 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
10696 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @acronym{MIME}, and
10697 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
10698 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
10699 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
10700 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp}.
10702 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
10703 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
10704 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
10705 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
10707 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets
10708 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @acronym{MIME}-aware agents that
10709 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
10710 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
10711 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
10712 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
10713 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
10714 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
10715 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
10717 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
10718 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
10719 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @acronym{MIME}
10720 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
10721 quoted-printable header encoding.
10723 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
10724 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
10725 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
10729 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
10732 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
10733 means encode all charsets),
10735 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
10736 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
10737 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
10744 @cindex coding system aliases
10745 @cindex preferred charset
10747 @xref{Encoding Customization, , Encoding Customization, emacs-mime,
10748 The Emacs MIME Manual}, for additional variables that control which
10749 MIME charsets are used when sending messages.
10751 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
10753 If there are several @acronym{MIME} charsets that encode the same Emacs
10754 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
10757 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
10758 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
10761 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
10762 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @acronym{MIME} charset.
10764 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
10767 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
10770 This will almost do the right thing.
10772 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
10776 (codepage-setup 1251)
10777 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
10781 @node Article Commands
10782 @section Article Commands
10789 @kindex A P (Summary)
10790 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
10791 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
10792 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
10793 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
10794 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
10795 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
10798 @vindex gnus-fetch-partial-articles
10799 @findex gnus-summary-show-complete-article
10800 If @code{gnus-fetch-partial-articles} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
10801 fetch partial articles, if the backend it fetches them from supports
10802 it. Currently only @code{nnimap} does. If you're looking at a
10803 partial article, and want to see the complete article instead, then
10804 the @kbd{A C} command (@code{gnus-summary-show-complete-article}) will
10810 @node Summary Sorting
10811 @section Summary Sorting
10812 @cindex summary sorting
10814 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
10815 can't really see why you'd want that.
10820 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
10821 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
10822 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
10824 @item C-c C-s C-m C-n
10825 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
10826 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-most-recent-number
10827 Sort by most recent article number
10828 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-most-recent-number}).
10831 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
10832 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
10833 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
10836 @kindex C-c C-s C-t (Summary)
10837 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-recipient
10838 Sort by recipient (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-recipient}).
10841 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
10842 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
10843 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
10846 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
10847 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
10848 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
10850 @item C-c C-s C-m C-d
10851 @kindex C-c C-s C-m C-d (Summary)
10852 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-most-recent-date
10853 Sort by most recent date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-most-recent-date}).
10856 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
10857 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
10858 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
10861 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
10862 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
10863 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
10866 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
10867 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
10868 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
10871 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
10872 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
10873 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
10876 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
10877 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
10878 Sort using the default sorting method
10879 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
10882 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
10883 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
10884 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
10885 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
10886 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
10889 If a prefix argument if given, the sort order is reversed.
10892 @node Finding the Parent
10893 @section Finding the Parent
10894 @cindex parent articles
10895 @cindex referring articles
10899 @kindex ^ (Summary)
10900 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
10901 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
10902 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
10903 if the current group is fetched by @acronym{NNTP}, the parent hasn't expired
10904 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
10905 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
10906 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
10907 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
10908 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
10910 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
10911 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
10912 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
10913 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
10914 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
10917 @item A R (Summary)
10918 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
10919 @kindex A R (Summary)
10920 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
10921 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
10923 @item A T (Summary)
10924 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
10925 @kindex A T (Summary)
10926 Display the full thread where the current article appears
10927 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
10928 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
10929 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
10930 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
10931 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
10932 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
10934 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
10935 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
10936 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
10937 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
10938 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
10939 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
10941 @item M-^ (Summary)
10942 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
10943 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
10945 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
10946 You can also ask Gnus for an arbitrary article, no matter what group it
10947 belongs to. @kbd{M-^} (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you
10948 for a @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read
10949 thingies that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}.
10950 You have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
10952 Gnus looks for the @code{Message-ID} in the headers that have already
10953 been fetched, but also tries all the select methods specified by
10954 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} if it is not found.
10957 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
10958 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
10959 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
10960 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @acronym{NNTP} method. It
10961 would, perhaps, be best if the @acronym{NNTP} server you consult is the one
10962 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
10965 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
10966 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
10967 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
10970 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
10971 then ask Google if that fails:
10974 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
10976 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
10979 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
10980 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
10981 @code{nnbabyl}, @code{nnmaildir}, @code{nnml}, are able to locate
10982 articles from any groups, while @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
10983 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current
10984 group. (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does
10985 not support this at all.
10988 @node Alternative Approaches
10989 @section Alternative Approaches
10991 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
10992 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
10995 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
10996 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
11000 @node Pick and Read
11001 @subsection Pick and Read
11002 @cindex pick and read
11004 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
11005 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
11006 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
11007 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
11009 @findex gnus-pick-mode
11010 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
11011 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
11012 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
11013 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
11014 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
11016 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
11021 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
11022 Pick the article or thread on the current line
11023 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
11024 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
11025 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
11026 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
11027 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
11028 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
11031 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
11032 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
11033 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
11034 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
11038 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
11039 Unpick the thread or article
11040 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
11041 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
11042 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
11043 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
11044 the thread or article at that line.
11048 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
11049 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
11050 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
11051 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
11052 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
11053 will still be visible when you are reading.
11057 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
11058 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
11059 which is mapped to the same function
11060 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
11062 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
11065 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
11068 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
11069 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
11071 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
11072 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
11073 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
11075 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
11076 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
11077 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
11078 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
11079 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
11080 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
11081 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
11084 @node Binary Groups
11085 @subsection Binary Groups
11086 @cindex binary groups
11088 @findex gnus-binary-mode
11089 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
11090 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
11091 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
11092 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
11093 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
11094 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
11097 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
11098 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
11099 command, when you have turned on this mode
11100 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
11102 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
11103 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
11107 @section Tree Display
11110 @vindex gnus-use-trees
11111 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
11112 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
11113 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
11114 in the tree buffer.
11116 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
11119 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
11120 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
11121 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
11123 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
11124 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
11125 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
11126 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
11127 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
11129 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
11130 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
11131 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
11132 default is @code{modeline}.
11134 @item gnus-tree-line-format
11135 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
11136 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
11137 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
11138 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
11139 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
11140 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
11146 The name of the poster.
11148 The @code{From} header.
11150 The number of the article.
11152 The opening bracket.
11154 The closing bracket.
11159 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
11161 Variables related to the display are:
11164 @item gnus-tree-brackets
11165 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
11166 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
11167 ``sparse'' articles. The format is
11169 ((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
11170 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close})
11171 (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))
11173 and the default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
11175 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
11176 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
11177 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
11178 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
11182 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
11183 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
11184 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
11185 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
11186 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
11187 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
11188 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
11189 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
11190 other windows displayed next to it.
11192 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
11196 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
11197 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
11200 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
11201 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
11202 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
11203 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
11204 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
11205 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
11206 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
11210 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
11213 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
11223 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
11228 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
11229 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
11231 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
11233 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
11239 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
11240 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
11241 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
11244 (setq gnus-use-trees t
11245 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
11246 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
11247 (gnus-add-configuration
11251 (summary 0.75 point)
11256 @xref{Window Layout}.
11259 @node Mail Group Commands
11260 @section Mail Group Commands
11261 @cindex mail group commands
11263 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
11264 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
11266 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
11267 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
11272 @kindex B e (Summary)
11273 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
11274 @cindex expiring mail
11275 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
11276 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
11277 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
11278 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
11281 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
11282 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
11283 @cindex expiring mail
11284 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
11285 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
11286 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
11287 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
11290 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
11291 @cindex deleting mail
11292 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
11293 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
11294 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
11295 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
11296 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
11299 @kindex B m (Summary)
11301 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
11302 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
11303 Move the article from one mail group to another
11304 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
11305 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
11308 @kindex B c (Summary)
11310 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
11311 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
11312 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
11313 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
11314 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
11317 @kindex B B (Summary)
11318 @cindex crosspost mail
11319 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
11320 Crosspost the current article to some other group
11321 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
11322 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
11323 be properly updated.
11326 @kindex B i (Summary)
11327 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
11328 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
11329 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
11330 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
11333 @kindex B I (Summary)
11334 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
11335 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
11336 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
11337 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
11340 @kindex B r (Summary)
11341 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
11342 @vindex gnus-summary-respool-default-method
11343 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
11344 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
11345 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
11346 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
11347 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
11348 (which is the default).
11352 @kindex B w (Summary)
11353 @kindex e (Summary)
11354 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
11355 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
11356 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
11357 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
11358 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
11359 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
11360 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
11363 @kindex B q (Summary)
11364 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
11365 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
11366 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
11367 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
11370 @kindex B t (Summary)
11371 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
11372 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
11373 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
11376 @kindex B p (Summary)
11377 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
11378 Some people have a tendency to send you ``courtesy'' copies when they
11379 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
11380 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
11381 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
11382 article from your news server (or rather, from
11383 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
11384 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
11385 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
11386 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
11387 just not have arrived yet.
11390 @kindex K E (Summary)
11391 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
11392 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
11393 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
11394 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
11395 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
11399 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
11400 @cindex moving articles
11401 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
11402 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
11403 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
11404 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
11405 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
11406 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
11407 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
11410 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
11411 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
11412 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
11413 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
11417 @node Various Summary Stuff
11418 @section Various Summary Stuff
11421 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
11422 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
11423 * Summary Generation Commands::
11424 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
11428 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
11429 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
11430 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
11431 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
11432 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
11433 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
11435 @vindex gnus-summary-display-arrow
11436 @item gnus-summary-display-arrow
11437 If non-@code{nil}, display an arrow in the fringe to indicate the
11440 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
11441 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
11442 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
11444 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
11445 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
11446 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
11447 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
11448 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
11449 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
11452 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
11453 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
11454 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
11455 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
11456 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
11458 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
11459 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
11460 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
11463 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
11464 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
11465 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
11466 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
11467 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
11468 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
11469 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
11470 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
11471 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
11472 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
11474 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
11475 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
11476 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
11477 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
11478 list of articles to be selected.
11480 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
11481 the list in one particular group:
11484 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
11485 (if (string= group "some.group")
11486 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
11490 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
11491 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
11492 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
11493 variables and their default expressions to be evalled (when the default
11494 values are not @code{nil}), that should be made global while the summary
11497 Note: The default expressions will be evaluated (using function
11498 @code{eval}) before assignment to the local variable rather than just
11499 assigned to it. If the default expression is the symbol @code{global},
11500 that symbol will not be evaluated but the global value of the local
11501 variable will be used instead.
11503 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
11504 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
11505 buffers. For example:
11508 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
11509 '(message-use-followup-to
11510 (gnus-visible-headers .
11511 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
11514 Also @pxref{Group Parameters}.
11516 @vindex gnus-propagate-marks
11517 @item gnus-propagate-marks
11518 If non-@code{nil}, propagate marks to the backends for possible
11519 storing. @xref{NNTP marks}, and friends, for a more fine-grained
11525 @node Summary Group Information
11526 @subsection Summary Group Information
11531 @kindex H d (Summary)
11532 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
11533 Give a brief description of the current group
11534 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
11535 rereading the description from the server.
11538 @kindex H h (Summary)
11539 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
11540 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
11541 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
11544 @kindex H i (Summary)
11545 @findex gnus-info-find-node
11546 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
11550 @node Searching for Articles
11551 @subsection Searching for Articles
11556 @kindex M-s (Summary)
11557 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
11558 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
11559 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
11562 @kindex M-r (Summary)
11563 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
11564 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
11565 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
11568 @kindex M-S (Summary)
11569 @findex gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-forward
11570 Repeat the previous search forwards
11571 (@code{gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-forward}).
11574 @kindex M-R (Summary)
11575 @findex gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-backward
11576 Repeat the previous search backwards
11577 (@code{gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-backward}).
11580 @kindex & (Summary)
11581 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
11582 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
11583 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
11584 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
11585 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
11586 search backward instead.
11588 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string RET #} will put the process mark on
11589 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
11592 @kindex M-& (Summary)
11593 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
11594 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
11595 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
11598 @node Summary Generation Commands
11599 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
11604 @kindex Y g (Summary)
11605 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
11606 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
11609 @kindex Y c (Summary)
11610 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
11611 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
11612 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
11615 @kindex Y d (Summary)
11616 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
11617 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
11618 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
11621 @kindex Y t (Summary)
11622 @findex gnus-summary-insert-ticked-articles
11623 Pull all ticked articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
11624 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-ticked-articles}).
11629 @node Really Various Summary Commands
11630 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
11636 @kindex C-d (Summary)
11637 @kindex A D (Summary)
11638 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
11639 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
11640 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
11641 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
11642 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
11643 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
11644 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
11645 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
11648 @vindex gnus-auto-select-on-ephemeral-exit
11649 The variable @code{gnus-auto-select-on-ephemeral-exit} controls what
11650 article should be selected after exiting a digest group. Valid values
11655 Select the next article.
11658 Select the next unread article.
11660 @item next-noselect
11661 Move the cursor to the next article. This is the default.
11663 @item next-unread-noselect
11664 Move the cursor to the next unread article.
11667 If it has any other value or there is no next (unread) article, the
11668 article selected before entering to the digest group will appear.
11671 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
11672 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
11673 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
11674 several documents into one biiig group
11675 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
11676 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
11677 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
11678 command understands the process/prefix convention
11679 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
11682 @kindex C-t (Summary)
11683 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
11684 Toggle truncation of summary lines
11685 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
11686 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
11687 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
11690 @kindex = (Summary)
11691 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
11692 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
11693 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
11696 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
11697 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
11698 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
11699 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
11702 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
11703 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
11704 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
11705 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
11710 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
11711 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
11712 @cindex summary exit
11713 @cindex exiting groups
11715 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
11716 group and return you to the group buffer.
11723 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
11724 @kindex Z Q (Summary)
11725 @kindex q (Summary)
11726 @findex gnus-summary-exit
11727 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
11728 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
11729 @vindex gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook
11730 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
11731 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
11732 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
11733 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
11734 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
11735 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
11736 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
11737 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
11741 @kindex Z E (Summary)
11742 @kindex Q (Summary)
11743 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
11744 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
11745 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
11749 @kindex Z c (Summary)
11750 @kindex c (Summary)
11751 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
11752 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
11753 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
11754 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
11757 @kindex Z C (Summary)
11758 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
11759 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
11760 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
11763 @kindex Z n (Summary)
11764 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
11765 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
11766 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
11769 @kindex Z p (Summary)
11770 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-prev-group
11771 Mark all articles as read and go to the previous group
11772 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-prev-group}).
11776 @kindex Z R (Summary)
11777 @kindex C-x C-s (Summary)
11778 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
11779 Exit this group, and then enter it again
11780 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
11781 all articles, both read and unread.
11785 @kindex Z G (Summary)
11786 @kindex M-g (Summary)
11787 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
11788 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
11789 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
11790 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
11791 articles, both read and unread.
11794 @kindex Z N (Summary)
11795 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
11796 Exit the group and go to the next group
11797 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
11800 @kindex Z P (Summary)
11801 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
11802 Exit the group and go to the previous group
11803 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
11806 @kindex Z s (Summary)
11807 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
11808 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
11809 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
11810 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
11811 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
11814 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
11815 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
11816 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
11817 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
11819 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
11820 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
11821 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
11822 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
11823 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
11824 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
11825 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
11826 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
11827 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
11828 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
11829 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
11830 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
11832 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
11834 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
11835 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
11836 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
11837 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
11838 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
11839 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
11840 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
11841 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
11842 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
11845 @node Crosspost Handling
11846 @section Crosspost Handling
11850 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
11851 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
11852 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
11853 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
11854 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
11857 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
11858 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
11859 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
11860 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
11861 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
11863 @cindex cross-posting
11865 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
11866 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
11867 correctly is if you use an @acronym{NNTP} server that supports @sc{xover}
11868 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
11869 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @acronym{NOV} lines. This is
11870 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
11871 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
11872 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
11873 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
11874 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
11875 the cross reference mechanism.
11877 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
11878 @cindex overview.fmt
11879 To check whether your @acronym{NNTP} server includes the @code{Xref} header
11880 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
11881 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
11882 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
11883 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
11884 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
11887 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
11888 set @code{nntp-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
11889 considerably. Also @pxref{Slow/Expensive Connection}.
11893 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
11896 @node Duplicate Suppression
11897 @section Duplicate Suppression
11899 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
11900 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
11901 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
11902 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
11907 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
11908 is evil and not very common.
11911 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
11912 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
11915 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
11916 different @acronym{NNTP} servers.
11919 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
11922 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
11923 well, but these four are the most common situations.
11925 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
11926 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
11927 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
11928 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
11929 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
11930 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
11931 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
11934 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
11935 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
11936 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
11937 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
11938 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
11939 saw the article in.
11942 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
11943 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
11944 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
11946 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
11947 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
11948 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
11949 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
11950 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
11951 session are suppressed.
11953 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
11954 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
11955 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
11956 suppression list. The default is 10000.
11958 @item gnus-duplicate-file
11959 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
11960 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
11961 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
11964 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
11965 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
11966 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
11967 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
11968 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
11969 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
11970 to you to figure out, I think.
11975 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
11976 The formats that are supported are @acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME}
11977 and @acronym{S/MIME}, however you need some external programs to get
11982 To handle @acronym{PGP} and @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages, you have to
11983 install an OpenPGP implementation such as GnuPG. The Lisp interface
11984 to GnuPG included with Emacs is called EasyPG (@pxref{Top, ,EasyPG,
11985 epa, EasyPG Assistant user's manual}), but PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg,
11986 PGG Manual}), and Mailcrypt are also supported.
11989 To handle @acronym{S/MIME} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
11990 or newer is recommended.
11994 The variables that control security functionality on reading/composing
11998 @item mm-verify-option
11999 @vindex mm-verify-option
12000 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
12001 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
12002 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
12004 @item mm-decrypt-option
12005 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
12006 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
12007 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
12008 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
12010 @item mm-sign-option
12011 @vindex mm-sign-option
12012 Option of creating signed parts. @code{nil}, use default signing
12013 keys; @code{guided}, ask user to select signing keys from the menu.
12015 @item mm-encrypt-option
12016 @vindex mm-encrypt-option
12017 Option of creating encrypted parts. @code{nil}, use the first
12018 public-key matching the @samp{From:} header as the recipient;
12019 @code{guided}, ask user to select recipient keys from the menu.
12022 @vindex mml1991-use
12023 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
12024 @acronym{PGP} messages. The default is @code{epg}, but @code{pgg},
12025 and @code{mailcrypt} are also supported although
12026 deprecated. By default, Gnus uses the first available interface in
12030 @vindex mml2015-use
12031 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
12032 @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages. The default is @code{epg}, but
12033 @code{pgg}, and @code{mailcrypt} are also supported
12034 although deprecated. By default, Gnus uses the first available
12035 interface in this order.
12039 By default the buttons that display security information are not
12040 shown, because they clutter reading the actual e-mail. You can type
12041 @kbd{K b} manually to display the information. Use the
12042 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types} and
12043 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} variables to control this
12044 permanently. @ref{MIME Commands} for further details, and hints on
12045 how to customize these variables to always display security
12048 @cindex snarfing keys
12049 @cindex importing PGP keys
12050 @cindex PGP key ring import
12051 Snarfing OpenPGP keys (i.e., importing keys from articles into your
12052 key ring) is not supported explicitly through a menu item or command,
12053 rather Gnus do detect and label keys as @samp{application/pgp-keys},
12054 allowing you to specify whatever action you think is appropriate
12055 through the usual @acronym{MIME} infrastructure. You can use a
12056 @file{~/.mailcap} entry (@pxref{mailcap, , mailcap, emacs-mime, The
12057 Emacs MIME Manual}) such as the following to import keys using GNU
12058 Privacy Guard when you click on the @acronym{MIME} button
12059 (@pxref{Using MIME}).
12062 application/pgp-keys; gpg --import --interactive --verbose; needsterminal
12065 This happens to also be the default action defined in
12066 @code{mailcap-mime-data}.
12068 More information on how to set things for sending outgoing signed and
12069 encrypted messages up can be found in the message manual
12070 (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
12073 @section Mailing List
12074 @cindex mailing list
12077 @kindex A M (summary)
12078 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
12079 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
12080 add a @code{to-list} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
12081 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
12084 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
12089 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
12090 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
12091 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
12094 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
12095 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
12096 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
12099 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
12100 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
12101 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
12105 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
12106 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
12107 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
12110 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
12111 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
12112 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
12115 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
12116 @findex gnus-mailing-list-archive
12117 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
12122 @node Article Buffer
12123 @chapter Article Buffer
12124 @cindex article buffer
12126 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
12127 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
12128 tell Gnus otherwise.
12131 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
12132 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
12133 * HTML:: Reading @acronym{HTML} messages.
12134 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
12135 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
12136 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
12140 @node Hiding Headers
12141 @section Hiding Headers
12142 @cindex hiding headers
12143 @cindex deleting headers
12145 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
12146 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
12148 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
12149 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
12150 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
12151 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
12152 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
12153 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
12154 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseam---and you'll probably want to get rid
12155 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
12156 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
12158 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
12162 @item gnus-visible-headers
12163 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
12164 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
12165 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
12166 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
12168 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
12169 the article and the subject, you'd say:
12172 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
12175 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
12178 @item gnus-ignored-headers
12179 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
12180 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
12181 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
12182 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
12183 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
12185 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
12186 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
12189 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
12192 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
12195 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
12196 variable will have no effect.
12200 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
12201 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
12202 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
12203 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
12204 the headers are to be displayed.
12206 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
12207 and then the subject, you might say something like:
12210 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
12213 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
12214 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
12216 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
12217 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
12218 You can hide further boring headers by setting
12219 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
12220 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
12221 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead it
12222 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
12225 These conditions are:
12228 Remove all empty headers.
12230 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
12231 @code{Newsgroups} header.
12233 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same addresses as
12234 the @code{From} header, or if the @code{broken-reply-to} group
12237 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
12240 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
12241 the current group's @code{to-address} parameter.
12243 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
12244 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
12246 Remove the @code{Cc} header if it only contains the address identical to
12247 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
12249 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
12252 Remove the @code{To} and/or @code{Cc} header if it is very long.
12254 Remove all @code{To} and/or @code{Cc} headers if there are more than one.
12257 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
12260 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
12261 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
12264 This is also the default value for this variable.
12268 @section Using MIME
12269 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
12271 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
12272 while people stand around yawning.
12274 @acronym{MIME}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
12275 while all newsreaders die of fear.
12277 @acronym{MIME} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
12278 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
12279 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
12281 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
12282 @findex gnus-display-mime
12283 Gnus pushes @acronym{MIME} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
12284 to display the @acronym{MIME} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
12285 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
12286 display, save and manipulate the @acronym{MIME} objects.
12288 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
12289 @acronym{MIME} button:
12292 @findex gnus-article-press-button
12293 @item RET (Article)
12294 @kindex RET (Article)
12295 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
12296 Toggle displaying of the @acronym{MIME} object
12297 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}). If built-in viewers can not display
12298 the object, Gnus resorts to external viewers in the @file{mailcap}
12299 files. If a viewer has the @samp{copiousoutput} specification, the
12300 object is displayed inline.
12302 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
12303 @item M-RET (Article)
12304 @kindex M-RET (Article)
12306 Prompt for a method, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
12307 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
12309 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
12311 @kindex t (Article)
12312 View the @acronym{MIME} object as if it were a different @acronym{MIME} media type
12313 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
12315 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
12317 @kindex C (Article)
12318 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
12319 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
12321 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
12323 @kindex o (Article)
12324 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @acronym{MIME} object
12325 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
12327 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
12328 @item C-o (Article)
12329 @kindex C-o (Article)
12330 Prompt for a file name, then save the @acronym{MIME} object and strip it from
12331 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
12332 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
12333 like. The stripped @acronym{MIME} object will be referred via the
12334 message/external-body @acronym{MIME} type.
12335 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
12337 @findex gnus-mime-replace-part
12339 @kindex r (Article)
12340 Prompt for a file name, replace the @acronym{MIME} object with an
12341 external body refering to the file via the message/external-body
12342 @acronym{MIME} type. (@code{gnus-mime-replace-part}).
12344 @findex gnus-mime-delete-part
12346 @kindex d (Article)
12347 Delete the @acronym{MIME} object from the article and replace it with some
12348 information about the removed @acronym{MIME} object
12349 (@code{gnus-mime-delete-part}).
12351 @c FIXME: gnus-auto-select-part should be documented here
12353 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
12355 @kindex c (Article)
12356 Copy the @acronym{MIME} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
12357 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}). If given a prefix, copy the raw contents
12358 without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual
12359 charset stuff (see @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in
12360 @ref{Paging the Article}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and
12361 @file{.bz2} are automatically decompressed if
12362 @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled (@pxref{Compressed Files,,
12363 Accessing Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
12365 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
12367 @kindex p (Article)
12368 Print the @acronym{MIME} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
12369 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
12370 @file{.mailcap} file.
12372 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
12374 @kindex i (Article)
12375 Insert the contents of the @acronym{MIME} object into the buffer
12376 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as @samp{text/plain}. If given a prefix, insert
12377 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
12378 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
12379 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @ref{Paging the
12380 Article}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and @file{.bz2} are
12381 automatically decompressed depending on @code{jka-compr} regardless of
12382 @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed Files,, Accessing
12383 Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
12385 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-internally
12387 @kindex E (Article)
12388 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
12389 viewer is available, use an external viewer
12390 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-internally}).
12392 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-externally
12394 @kindex e (Article)
12395 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an external viewer.
12396 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-externally}).
12398 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
12400 @kindex | (Article)
12401 Output the @acronym{MIME} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
12403 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
12405 @kindex . (Article)
12406 Interactively run an action on the @acronym{MIME} object
12407 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
12411 Gnus will display some @acronym{MIME} objects automatically. The way Gnus
12412 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs
12413 @acronym{MIME} manual.
12415 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
12416 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
12417 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @acronym{MIME} has
12418 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
12419 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
12420 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
12421 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
12422 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
12423 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
12425 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
12427 Also @pxref{MIME Commands}.
12431 @section @acronym{HTML}
12432 @cindex @acronym{HTML}
12434 If you have @code{w3m} installed on your system, Gnus can display
12435 @acronym{HTML} articles in the article buffer. There are many Gnus
12436 add-ons for doing this, using various approaches, but there's one
12437 (sort of) built-in method that's used by default.
12439 For a complete overview, consult @xref{Display Customization,
12440 ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}. This
12441 section only describes the default method.
12444 @item mm-text-html-renderer
12445 @vindex mm-text-html-renderer
12446 If set to @code{gnus-article-html}, Gnus will use the built-in method,
12447 that's based on @code{curl} and @code{w3m}.
12449 @item gnus-blocked-images
12450 @vindex gnus-blocked-images
12451 Images that have @acronym{URL}s that match this regexp won't be
12452 fetched and displayed. For instance, do block all @acronym{URL}s that
12453 have the string ``ads'' in them, do the following:
12456 (setq gnus-blocked-images "ads")
12459 The default is to block all external images.
12461 @item gnus-html-cache-directory
12462 @vindex gnus-html-cache-directory
12463 Gnus will download and cache images according to how
12464 @code{gnus-blocked-images} is set. These images will be stored in
12467 @item gnus-html-cache-size
12468 @vindex gnus-html-cache-size
12469 When @code{gnus-html-cache-size} bytes have been used in that
12470 directory, the oldest files will be deleted. The default is 500MB.
12472 @item gnus-html-frame-width
12473 @vindex gnus-html-frame-width
12474 The width to use when rendering HTML. The default is 70.
12476 @item gnus-max-image-proportion
12477 @vindex gnus-max-image-proportion
12478 How big pictures displayed are in relation to the window they're in.
12479 A value of 0.7 (the default) means that they are allowed to take up
12480 70% of the width and height of the window. If they are larger than
12481 this, and Emacs supports it, then the images will be rescaled down to
12482 fit these criteria.
12486 To use this, make sure that you have @code{w3m} and @code{curl}
12487 installed. If you have, then Gnus should display @acronym{HTML}
12492 @node Customizing Articles
12493 @section Customizing Articles
12494 @cindex article customization
12496 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
12497 exist. You can call these functions interactively
12498 (@pxref{Article Washing}), or you can have them
12499 called automatically when you select the articles.
12501 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
12502 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
12503 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
12504 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
12506 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
12507 for sensible values.
12511 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
12514 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
12517 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
12520 @code{first}: Do this treatment on the first body part.
12523 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last body part.
12526 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
12530 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
12531 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
12532 regexps in the list.
12535 A list where the first element is not a string:
12537 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
12538 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
12539 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
12543 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
12548 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
12549 to the fact that some messages are @acronym{MIME} multipart articles that may
12550 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
12551 considered to contain just a single part.
12553 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
12554 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
12555 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
12556 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
12557 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
12558 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
12559 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
12562 @c Avoid sort of redundant entries in the same section for the printed
12563 @c manual, but add them in info to allow `i gnus-treat-foo-bar RET' or
12565 @vindex gnus-treat-buttonize
12566 @vindex gnus-treat-buttonize-head
12567 @vindex gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences
12568 @vindex gnus-treat-overstrike
12569 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-cr
12570 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body
12571 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines
12572 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines
12573 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-pem
12574 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines
12575 @vindex gnus-treat-unsplit-urls
12576 @vindex gnus-treat-wash-html
12577 @vindex gnus-treat-date-english
12578 @vindex gnus-treat-date-iso8601
12579 @vindex gnus-treat-date-lapsed
12580 @vindex gnus-treat-date-local
12581 @vindex gnus-treat-date-original
12582 @vindex gnus-treat-date-user-defined
12583 @vindex gnus-treat-date-ut
12584 @vindex gnus-treat-from-picon
12585 @vindex gnus-treat-mail-picon
12586 @vindex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
12587 @vindex gnus-treat-from-gravatar
12588 @vindex gnus-treat-mail-gravatar
12589 @vindex gnus-treat-display-smileys
12590 @vindex gnus-treat-body-boundary
12591 @vindex gnus-treat-display-x-face
12592 @vindex gnus-treat-display-face
12593 @vindex gnus-treat-emphasize
12594 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-article
12595 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-long-lines
12596 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers
12597 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation
12598 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe
12599 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-headers
12600 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-signature
12601 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-banner
12602 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers
12603 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-citation
12604 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-headers
12605 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-signature
12606 @vindex gnus-treat-play-sounds
12607 @vindex gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig
12608 @vindex gnus-treat-unfold-headers
12609 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-headers
12610 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups
12611 @vindex gnus-treat-leading-whitespace
12614 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
12615 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
12616 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
12617 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
12620 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
12621 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
12623 @xref{Article Buttons}.
12625 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
12626 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
12627 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
12628 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
12629 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, first, integer)
12630 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
12631 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
12632 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
12633 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
12634 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
12636 @xref{Article Washing}.
12638 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
12639 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
12640 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
12641 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
12642 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
12643 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
12644 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
12646 @xref{Article Date}.
12648 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
12649 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
12650 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
12654 @item gnus-treat-from-gravatar (head)
12655 @item gnus-treat-mail-gravatar (head)
12659 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
12661 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
12663 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
12664 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
12665 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
12669 @vindex gnus-treat-display-x-face
12670 @item gnus-treat-display-x-face (head)
12674 @vindex gnus-treat-display-face
12675 @item gnus-treat-display-face (head)
12679 @vindex gnus-treat-emphasize
12680 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
12681 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-article
12682 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
12683 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-long-lines
12684 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
12685 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers
12686 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
12687 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation
12688 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
12689 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe
12690 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
12691 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-headers
12692 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
12693 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-signature
12694 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
12695 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-banner
12696 @item gnus-treat-strip-banner (t, last)
12697 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers
12698 @item gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers (head)
12700 @xref{Article Hiding}.
12702 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-citation
12703 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
12704 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-headers
12705 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
12706 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-signature
12707 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
12709 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
12711 @vindex gnus-treat-play-sounds
12712 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
12713 @item gnus-treat-ansi-sequences (t)
12714 @vindex gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig
12715 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
12717 @vindex gnus-treat-unfold-headers
12718 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
12719 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-headers
12720 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
12721 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups
12722 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
12723 @vindex gnus-treat-leading-whitespace
12724 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
12726 @xref{Article Header}.
12731 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
12732 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
12733 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
12734 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
12735 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
12739 @node Article Keymap
12740 @section Article Keymap
12742 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
12743 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
12744 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
12745 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
12748 @kindex v (Article)
12749 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Article)
12750 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
12751 command or better use it as a prefix key.
12753 A few additional keystrokes are available:
12758 @kindex SPACE (Article)
12759 @findex gnus-article-next-page
12760 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
12761 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h SPACE h}.
12764 @kindex DEL (Article)
12765 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
12766 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
12767 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h DEL h}.
12770 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
12771 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
12772 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
12773 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
12774 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
12777 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
12778 @findex gnus-article-mail
12779 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
12780 given a prefix, include the mail.
12783 @kindex s (Article)
12784 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
12785 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
12786 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
12789 @kindex ? (Article)
12790 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
12791 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
12792 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
12795 @kindex TAB (Article)
12796 @findex gnus-article-next-button
12797 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
12798 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
12801 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
12802 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
12803 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
12806 @kindex R (Article)
12807 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
12808 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
12809 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If the region is active,
12810 only yank the text in the region.
12813 @kindex S W (Article)
12814 @findex gnus-article-wide-reply-with-original
12815 Send a wide reply to the current article and yank the current article
12816 (@code{gnus-article-wide-reply-with-original}). If the region is
12817 active, only yank the text in the region.
12820 @kindex F (Article)
12821 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
12822 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
12823 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If the region is active,
12824 only yank the text in the region.
12831 @section Misc Article
12835 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
12836 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
12837 @cindex article buffers, several
12838 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
12839 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
12842 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
12843 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
12844 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
12845 Hook used to decode @acronym{MIME} articles. The default value is
12846 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
12848 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
12849 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
12850 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
12851 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
12852 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
12853 the contents of the article buffer.
12855 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
12856 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
12857 Hook called in article mode buffers.
12859 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
12860 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
12861 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
12862 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
12864 @vindex gnus-article-over-scroll
12865 @item gnus-article-over-scroll
12866 If non-@code{nil}, allow scrolling the article buffer even when there
12867 no more new text to scroll in. The default is @code{nil}.
12869 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
12870 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
12871 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
12872 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Summary Buffer Mode
12873 Line}). It accepts the same format specifications as that variable,
12874 with two extensions:
12879 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
12880 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
12881 performed. The characters and their meaning:
12886 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
12889 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
12892 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
12893 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
12894 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
12897 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
12900 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
12903 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasized strings in the article buffer.
12908 The number of @acronym{MIME} parts in the article.
12912 @vindex gnus-break-pages
12914 @item gnus-break-pages
12915 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
12916 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
12917 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
12918 paging will not be done.
12920 @item gnus-page-delimiter
12921 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
12922 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
12926 @cindex internationalized domain names
12927 @vindex gnus-use-idna
12928 @item gnus-use-idna
12929 This variable controls whether Gnus performs IDNA decoding of
12930 internationalized domain names inside @samp{From}, @samp{To} and
12931 @samp{Cc} headers. @xref{IDNA, ,IDNA,message, The Message Manual},
12932 for how to compose such messages. This requires
12933 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU Libidn}, and this
12934 variable is only enabled if you have installed it.
12939 @node Composing Messages
12940 @chapter Composing Messages
12941 @cindex composing messages
12944 @cindex sending mail
12949 @cindex using s/mime
12950 @cindex using smime
12952 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
12953 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
12954 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
12955 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
12956 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
12957 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
12960 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
12961 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
12962 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
12963 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
12964 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
12965 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
12966 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
12967 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
12968 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
12971 Also @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
12972 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
12978 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
12981 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
12982 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
12983 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
12984 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
12985 @code{nil} include all headers.
12987 @item gnus-add-to-list
12988 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
12989 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
12990 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
12992 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
12993 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
12994 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you for a confirmation when you are
12995 about to reply to news articles by mail. If it is @code{nil}, nothing
12996 interferes in what you want to do. This can also be a function
12997 receiving the group name as the only parameter which should return
12998 non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is needed, or a regular expression
12999 matching group names, where confirmation should be asked for.
13001 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
13002 press @kbd{R} anyway, this variable might be for you.
13004 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
13005 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
13006 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
13007 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
13008 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
13013 @node Posting Server
13014 @section Posting Server
13016 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
13017 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
13019 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
13021 It can be quite complicated.
13023 @vindex gnus-post-method
13024 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
13025 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
13026 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
13027 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
13028 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
13029 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
13030 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
13031 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
13032 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
13035 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
13038 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
13039 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
13040 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
13041 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
13043 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
13044 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
13046 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
13047 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
13050 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
13051 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
13053 @vindex message-send-mail-function
13054 When sending mail, Message invokes the function specified by the
13055 variable @code{message-send-mail-function}. Gnus tries to set it to a
13056 value suitable for your system.
13057 @xref{Mail Variables, ,Mail Variables,message,Message manual}, for more
13060 @node POP before SMTP
13061 @section POP before SMTP
13062 @cindex pop before smtp
13063 @findex message-smtpmail-send-it
13064 @findex mail-source-touch-pop
13066 Does your @acronym{ISP} require the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP}
13067 authentication? It is whether you need to connect to the @acronym{POP}
13068 mail server within a certain time before sending mails. If so, there is
13069 a convenient way. To do that, put the following lines in your
13070 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
13073 (setq message-send-mail-function 'message-smtpmail-send-it)
13074 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook 'mail-source-touch-pop)
13078 It means to let Gnus connect to the @acronym{POP} mail server in advance
13079 whenever you send a mail. The @code{mail-source-touch-pop} function
13080 does only a @acronym{POP} authentication according to the value of
13081 @code{mail-sources} without fetching mails, just before sending a mail.
13082 Note that you have to use @code{message-smtpmail-send-it} which runs
13083 @code{message-send-mail-hook} rather than @code{smtpmail-send-it} and
13084 set the value of @code{mail-sources} for a @acronym{POP} connection
13085 correctly. @xref{Mail Sources}.
13087 If you have two or more @acronym{POP} mail servers set in
13088 @code{mail-sources}, you may want to specify one of them to
13089 @code{mail-source-primary-source} as the @acronym{POP} mail server to be
13090 used for the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication. If it
13091 is your primary @acronym{POP} mail server (i.e., you are fetching mails
13092 mainly from that server), you can set it permanently as follows:
13095 (setq mail-source-primary-source
13096 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13097 :password "secret"))
13101 Otherwise, bind it dynamically only when performing the
13102 @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication as follows:
13105 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook
13107 (let ((mail-source-primary-source
13108 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13109 :password "secret")))
13110 (mail-source-touch-pop))))
13113 @node Mail and Post
13114 @section Mail and Post
13116 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
13120 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
13121 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
13122 @cindex mailing lists
13124 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
13125 gatewayed to the @acronym{NNTP} server, you can read those groups without
13126 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
13127 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
13128 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
13129 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
13130 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
13131 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
13132 still a pain, though.
13134 @item gnus-user-agent
13135 @vindex gnus-user-agent
13138 This variable controls which information should be exposed in the
13139 User-Agent header. It can be a list of symbols or a string. Valid
13140 symbols are @code{gnus} (show Gnus version) and @code{emacs} (show Emacs
13141 version). In addition to the Emacs version, you can add @code{codename}
13142 (show (S)XEmacs codename) or either @code{config} (show system
13143 configuration) or @code{type} (show system type). If you set it to a
13144 string, be sure to use a valid format, see RFC 2616.
13148 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
13149 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
13150 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
13153 @findex ispell-message
13155 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
13158 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
13159 you're in, you could say something like the following:
13162 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
13166 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
13167 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
13169 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
13172 Modify to suit your needs.
13174 @vindex gnus-message-highlight-citation
13175 If @code{gnus-message-highlight-citation} is t, different levels of
13176 citations are highlighted like in Gnus article buffers also in message
13179 @node Archived Messages
13180 @section Archived Messages
13181 @cindex archived messages
13182 @cindex sent messages
13184 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
13185 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
13186 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
13187 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
13190 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
13191 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
13194 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
13195 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
13196 use to store sent messages. The default is @code{"archive"}, and when
13197 actually being used it is expanded into:
13200 (nnfolder "archive"
13201 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
13202 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
13203 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
13204 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
13208 @vindex gnus-update-message-archive-method
13209 Note: a server like this is saved in the @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file first
13210 so that it may be used as a real method of the server which is named
13211 @code{"archive"} (that is, for the case where
13212 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} is set to @code{"archive"}) ever
13213 since. If it once has been saved, it will never be updated by default
13214 even if you change the value of @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
13215 afterward. Therefore, the server @code{"archive"} doesn't necessarily
13216 mean the @code{nnfolder} server like this at all times. If you want the
13217 saved method to reflect always the value of
13218 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, set the
13219 @code{gnus-update-message-archive-method} variable to a non-@code{nil}
13220 value. The default value of this variable is @code{nil}.
13223 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
13224 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
13225 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
13226 directory chosen, you could say something like:
13229 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
13230 '(nnfolder "archive"
13231 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
13232 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
13233 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
13236 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
13238 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
13239 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
13240 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
13242 This variable can be used to do the following:
13246 Messages will be saved in that group.
13248 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
13249 message will not be stored in the select method given by
13250 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
13251 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
13252 has the default value shown above. Then setting
13253 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
13254 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
13255 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
13258 @item a list of strings
13259 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
13261 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
13262 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
13265 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
13270 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
13272 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
13275 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
13277 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
13280 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
13282 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
13283 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
13284 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
13285 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
13288 More complex stuff:
13290 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
13291 '((if (message-news-p)
13296 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
13297 messages in one file per month:
13300 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
13301 '((if (message-news-p)
13303 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
13306 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
13307 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
13309 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
13310 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
13311 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
13312 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
13313 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
13314 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
13315 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
13316 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
13317 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
13318 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
13320 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
13321 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
13322 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
13323 this will disable archiving.
13326 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
13327 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
13328 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
13329 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
13330 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
13333 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
13334 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
13335 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
13338 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
13339 but the latter is the preferred method.
13341 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
13342 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
13343 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
13345 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
13346 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
13347 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
13348 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
13349 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
13350 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
13351 changed in the future.
13356 @node Posting Styles
13357 @section Posting Styles
13358 @cindex posting styles
13361 All them variables, they make my head swim.
13363 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
13364 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
13365 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
13368 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
13369 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
13370 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
13371 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
13372 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
13377 (signature "Peace and happiness")
13378 (organization "What me?"))
13380 (signature "Death to everybody"))
13381 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
13382 (organization "Emacs is it")))
13385 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
13386 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
13387 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
13388 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
13389 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
13390 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
13391 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
13392 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
13394 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
13395 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
13396 If it is the form @code{(header @var{match} @var{regexp})}, then Gnus
13397 will look in the original article for a header whose name is
13398 @var{match} and compare that @var{regexp}. @var{match} and
13399 @var{regexp} are strings. (The original article is the one you are
13400 replying or following up to. If you are not composing a reply or a
13401 followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
13402 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with
13403 no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
13404 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
13405 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is
13406 said to @dfn{match}.
13408 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
13409 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. In
13410 addition, you can also use the @code{(@var{name} :file @var{value})}
13411 form or the @code{(@var{name} :value @var{value})} form. Where
13412 @code{:file} signifies @var{value} represents a file name and its
13413 contents should be used as the attribute value, @code{:value} signifies
13414 @var{value} does not represent a file name explicitly. The attribute
13415 name can be one of:
13418 @item @code{signature}
13419 @item @code{signature-file}
13420 @item @code{x-face-file}
13421 @item @code{address}, overriding @code{user-mail-address}
13422 @item @code{name}, overriding @code{(user-full-name)}
13426 Note that the @code{signature-file} attribute honors the variable
13427 @code{message-signature-directory}.
13429 The attribute name can also be a string or a symbol. In that case,
13430 this will be used as a header name, and the value will be inserted in
13431 the headers of the article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header
13432 name will be removed. If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form
13433 is evaluated, and the result is thrown away.
13435 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
13436 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
13437 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
13438 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
13439 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
13440 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
13441 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
13442 references chars lines xref extra.
13444 @vindex message-reply-headers
13446 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
13447 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
13448 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
13450 @findex message-mail-p
13451 @findex message-news-p
13453 So here's a new example:
13456 (setq gnus-posting-styles
13458 (signature-file "~/.signature")
13460 (x-face-file "~/.xface")
13461 (x-url (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
13462 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
13464 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
13465 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; @r{A form}
13466 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
13467 (message-news-p ;; @r{A function symbol}
13468 (signature my-news-signature))
13469 (window-system ;; @r{A value symbol}
13470 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
13471 ;; @r{If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.}
13472 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
13473 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
13474 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; @r{A user defined function}
13475 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
13476 (address "user@@bar.foo")
13477 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
13478 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
13480 (From (with-current-buffer gnus-article-buffer
13481 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
13483 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
13486 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
13487 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
13488 if you fill many roles.
13489 You may also use @code{message-alternative-emails} instead.
13490 @xref{Message Headers, ,Message Headers, message, Message Manual}.
13496 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
13497 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
13498 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
13499 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
13500 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
13502 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
13503 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
13504 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
13505 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
13506 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
13510 @vindex nndraft-directory
13511 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
13512 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
13513 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
13514 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
13515 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
13516 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
13518 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
13519 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
13520 unsubscribe it. The special properties of the draft group comes from
13521 a group property (@pxref{Group Parameters}), and if lost the group
13522 behaves like any other group. This means the commands below will not
13523 be available. To restore the special properties of the group, the
13524 simplest way is to kill the group, using @kbd{C-k}, and restart
13525 Gnus. The group is automatically created again with the
13526 correct parameters. The content of the group is not lost.
13528 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
13529 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
13530 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
13531 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
13532 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
13533 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
13534 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
13535 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
13536 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
13537 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
13538 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
13539 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
13540 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
13541 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
13543 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
13544 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
13545 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
13547 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
13548 @kindex D e (Draft)
13549 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
13550 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
13551 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
13553 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
13556 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
13557 @kindex D s (Draft)
13558 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
13559 @kindex D S (Draft)
13560 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
13561 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
13562 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
13563 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
13564 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
13567 @findex gnus-draft-toggle-sending
13568 @kindex D t (Draft)
13569 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
13570 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
13571 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
13573 Finally, if you want to delete a draft, use the normal @kbd{B DEL}
13574 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
13577 @node Rejected Articles
13578 @section Rejected Articles
13579 @cindex rejected articles
13581 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
13582 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
13583 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
13584 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
13586 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
13587 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
13588 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
13589 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
13590 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
13592 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
13593 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
13594 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
13596 @node Signing and encrypting
13597 @section Signing and encrypting
13599 @cindex using s/mime
13600 @cindex using smime
13602 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla
13603 @acronym{PGP} format or @acronym{PGP/MIME} or @acronym{S/MIME}. For
13604 decoding such messages, see the @code{mm-verify-option} and
13605 @code{mm-decrypt-option} options (@pxref{Security}).
13607 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
13608 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
13609 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
13610 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
13611 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
13612 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
13613 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
13614 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
13615 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
13616 automatically encrypted messages.
13618 Instructing @acronym{MML} to perform security operations on a
13619 @acronym{MIME} part is done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for
13620 signing and the @kbd{C-c C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
13625 @kindex C-c C-m s s (Message)
13626 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
13628 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
13631 @kindex C-c C-m s o (Message)
13632 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
13634 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
13637 @kindex C-c C-m s p (Message)
13638 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
13640 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
13643 @kindex C-c C-m c s (Message)
13644 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
13646 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
13649 @kindex C-c C-m c o (Message)
13650 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
13652 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
13655 @kindex C-c C-m c p (Message)
13656 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
13658 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
13661 @kindex C-c C-m C-n (Message)
13662 @findex mml-unsecure-message
13663 Remove security related @acronym{MML} tags from message.
13667 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
13669 @node Select Methods
13670 @chapter Select Methods
13671 @cindex foreign groups
13672 @cindex select methods
13674 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
13675 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
13676 @acronym{NNTP} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
13677 personal mail group.
13679 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
13680 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
13681 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
13682 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
13683 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
13684 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
13686 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
13687 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
13689 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
13692 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @acronym{NNTP} server
13693 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
13694 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
13695 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
13696 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
13698 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
13701 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
13702 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
13703 * Using @acronym{IMAP}:: Reading mail from @acronym{IMAP}.
13704 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
13705 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
13706 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files.
13707 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
13708 * Email Based Diary:: Using mails to manage diary events in Gnus.
13709 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
13713 @node Server Buffer
13714 @section Server Buffer
13716 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
13717 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
13718 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
13719 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
13720 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
13721 back end represents a virtual server.
13723 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
13724 different actual @acronym{NNTP} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
13725 on the same actual @acronym{NNTP} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
13726 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
13728 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
13729 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
13730 @acronym{NNTP} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
13731 hangs if queried for @acronym{NOV} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
13732 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
13733 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
13734 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
13736 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
13737 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
13740 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
13741 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
13742 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
13743 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
13744 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
13745 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
13746 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
13749 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
13750 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
13753 @node Server Buffer Format
13754 @subsection Server Buffer Format
13755 @cindex server buffer format
13757 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
13758 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
13759 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
13760 variable, with some simple extensions:
13765 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
13768 The name of this server.
13771 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
13774 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
13777 Whether this server is agentized.
13780 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
13781 The mode line can also be customized by using the
13782 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
13783 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
13793 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
13796 @node Server Commands
13797 @subsection Server Commands
13798 @cindex server commands
13804 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Server)
13805 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
13806 command or better use it as a prefix key.
13810 @findex gnus-server-add-server
13811 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
13815 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
13816 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
13819 @kindex SPACE (Server)
13820 @findex gnus-server-read-server
13821 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
13825 @findex gnus-server-exit
13826 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
13830 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
13831 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
13835 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
13836 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
13840 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
13841 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
13845 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
13846 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
13850 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
13851 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
13852 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
13857 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
13858 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
13859 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
13860 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
13864 @findex gnus-server-compact-server
13866 Compact all groups in the server under point
13867 (@code{gnus-server-compact-server}). Currently implemented only in
13868 nnml (@pxref{Mail Spool}). This removes gaps between article numbers,
13869 hence getting a correct total article count.
13874 @node Example Methods
13875 @subsection Example Methods
13877 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
13880 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
13883 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
13889 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
13890 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
13893 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
13894 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
13896 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
13897 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
13901 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
13904 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
13905 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
13907 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
13908 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
13909 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
13913 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
13916 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
13919 Here's the method for a public spool:
13923 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
13924 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
13930 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @acronym{NNTP}
13931 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
13932 on the firewall machine and connect with
13933 @uref{http://netcat.sourceforge.net/, netcat} from there to the
13934 @acronym{NNTP} server.
13935 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
13936 should probably look something like this:
13940 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat)
13941 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
13942 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host"))
13945 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
13946 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
13947 configuration to the example above:
13950 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
13953 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}. Here's an example for
13954 an indirect connection:
13957 (setq gnus-select-method
13959 (nntp-address "news.server.example")
13960 (nntp-via-user-name "intermediate_user_name")
13961 (nntp-via-address "intermediate.host.example")
13962 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
13963 (nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches ("-C"))
13964 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat)))
13967 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
13968 provide automatic authorization, of course.
13970 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
13971 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
13972 netcat connection to the news server as follows:
13976 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
13977 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-netcat-stream)
13978 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
13982 @node Creating a Virtual Server
13983 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
13985 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
13986 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
13988 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
13989 would probably be best to use @code{nnml} to read the cache. You
13990 could also use @code{nnspool} or @code{nnmh}, though.
13992 Type @kbd{a nnml RET cache RET}.
13994 You should now have a brand new @code{nnml} virtual server called
13995 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
13996 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
13997 will contain the following:
14007 (nnml-directory "~/News/cache/")
14008 (nnml-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
14011 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
14012 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
14013 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
14016 @node Server Variables
14017 @subsection Server Variables
14018 @cindex server variables
14019 @cindex server parameters
14021 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
14022 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
14023 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
14024 change the ``base'' variable after the variables have been loaded, you
14025 won't change the ``derived'' variables.
14027 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
14028 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
14029 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
14030 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
14031 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
14032 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
14033 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
14034 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
14035 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
14039 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
14040 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
14041 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
14044 Server variables are often called @dfn{server parameters}.
14046 @node Servers and Methods
14047 @subsection Servers and Methods
14049 Wherever you would normally use a select method
14050 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
14051 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
14052 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
14056 @node Unavailable Servers
14057 @subsection Unavailable Servers
14059 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
14060 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
14061 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
14062 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
14063 actually the case or not.
14065 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
14066 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
14067 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
14068 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
14069 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
14070 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
14071 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
14072 it will regard that server as ``down''.
14074 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
14075 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
14077 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
14078 with the following commands:
14084 @findex gnus-server-open-server
14085 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
14086 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
14090 @findex gnus-server-close-server
14091 Close the connection (if any) to the server
14092 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
14096 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
14097 Mark the current server as unreachable
14098 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
14101 @kindex M-o (Server)
14102 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
14103 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
14104 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
14107 @kindex M-c (Server)
14108 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
14109 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
14110 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
14114 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
14115 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
14116 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
14120 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
14121 Copy a server and give it a new name
14122 (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}). This can be useful if you have a
14123 complex method definition, and want to use the same definition towards
14124 a different (physical) server.
14128 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
14129 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
14135 @section Getting News
14136 @cindex reading news
14137 @cindex news back ends
14139 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
14140 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @acronym{NNTP} server,
14141 or it can read from a local spool.
14144 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
14145 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
14153 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @acronym{NNTP} server is rather easy.
14154 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @acronym{NNTP}
14155 server as the, uhm, address.
14157 If the @acronym{NNTP} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
14158 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
14159 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
14160 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14162 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
14163 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
14164 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
14166 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
14171 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
14172 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
14173 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
14175 @cindex authentication
14176 @cindex nntp authentication
14177 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
14178 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
14179 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
14180 commands to the @acronym{NNTP} server after it has been contacted. By
14181 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
14182 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
14183 present in this hook.
14185 @item nntp-authinfo-function
14186 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
14187 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
14188 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
14189 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @acronym{NNTP}
14190 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
14191 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
14192 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
14193 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
14194 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
14195 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
14196 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
14200 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
14203 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
14205 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
14206 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
14207 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
14208 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
14209 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
14210 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
14211 @samp{force} is explained below.
14215 Here's an example file:
14218 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
14219 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
14222 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
14223 have to be first, for instance.
14225 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
14226 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
14227 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
14228 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
14229 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
14230 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
14231 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
14233 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
14234 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
14240 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
14241 previously mentioned.
14243 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
14245 @item nntp-server-action-alist
14246 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
14247 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
14248 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
14249 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
14252 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
14253 '(("innd" (ding))))
14256 You probably don't want to do that, though.
14258 The default value is
14261 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
14262 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
14263 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
14266 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
14267 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
14269 @item nntp-maximum-request
14270 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
14271 If the @acronym{NNTP} server doesn't support @acronym{NOV} headers, this back end
14272 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
14273 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
14274 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
14275 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
14276 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
14278 @item nntp-connection-timeout
14279 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
14280 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
14281 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @acronym{NNTP} servers not
14282 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
14283 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
14284 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
14285 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
14286 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
14287 no timeouts are done.
14289 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
14290 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
14291 If the @acronym{NNTP} server does not support @acronym{NOV}, you could set this
14292 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @acronym{NOV}
14295 @item nntp-xover-commands
14296 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
14297 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
14299 List of strings used as commands to fetch @acronym{NOV} lines from a
14300 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
14304 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
14305 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @acronym{NOV} lines to
14306 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
14307 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
14308 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @acronym{NOV}
14309 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
14310 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
14311 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
14312 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
14313 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
14314 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
14316 @item nntp-xref-number-is-evil
14317 @vindex nntp-xref-number-is-evil
14318 When Gnus refers to an article having the @code{Message-ID} that a user
14319 specifies or having the @code{Message-ID} of the parent article of the
14320 current one (@pxref{Finding the Parent}), Gnus sends a @code{HEAD}
14321 command to the @acronym{NNTP} server to know where it is, and the server
14322 returns the data containing the pairs of a group and an article number
14323 in the @code{Xref} header. Gnus normally uses the article number to
14324 refer to the article if the data shows that that article is in the
14325 current group, while it uses the @code{Message-ID} otherwise. However,
14326 some news servers, e.g., ones running Diablo, run multiple engines
14327 having the same articles but article numbers are not kept synchronized
14328 between them. In that case, the article number that appears in the
14329 @code{Xref} header varies by which engine is chosen, so you cannot refer
14330 to the parent article that is in the current group, for instance. If
14331 you connect to such a server, set this variable to a non-@code{nil}
14332 value, and Gnus never uses article numbers. For example:
14335 (setq gnus-select-method
14337 (nntp-address "newszilla.example.com")
14338 (nntp-xref-number-is-evil t)
14342 The default value of this server variable is @code{nil}.
14344 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
14345 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
14346 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @acronym{NNTP} server.
14348 @item nntp-record-commands
14349 @vindex nntp-record-commands
14350 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
14351 @acronym{NNTP} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
14352 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@acronym{NNTP} connection
14353 that doesn't seem to work.
14355 @item nntp-open-connection-function
14356 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
14357 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
14358 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
14359 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
14360 Seven pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped
14361 in two categories: direct connection functions (four pre-made), and
14362 indirect ones (three pre-made).
14364 @item nntp-never-echoes-commands
14365 @vindex nntp-never-echoes-commands
14366 Non-@code{nil} means the nntp server never echoes commands. It is
14367 reported that some nntps server doesn't echo commands. So, you may want
14368 to set this to non-@code{nil} in the method for such a server setting
14369 @code{nntp-open-connection-function} to @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream} for
14370 example. The default value is @code{nil}. Note that the
14371 @code{nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands} variable
14372 overrides the @code{nil} value of this variable.
14374 @item nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands
14375 @vindex nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands
14376 List of functions that never echo commands. Add or set a function which
14377 you set to @code{nntp-open-connection-function} to this list if it does
14378 not echo commands. Note that a non-@code{nil} value of the
14379 @code{nntp-never-echoes-commands} variable overrides this variable. The
14380 default value is @code{(nntp-open-network-stream)}.
14382 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
14383 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
14384 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
14385 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
14386 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
14387 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
14388 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
14391 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
14394 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
14395 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
14400 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
14401 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
14402 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
14403 * NNTP marks:: Storing marks for @acronym{NNTP} servers.
14407 @node Direct Functions
14408 @subsubsection Direct Functions
14409 @cindex direct connection functions
14411 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
14412 between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server. The behavior of these
14413 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
14414 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
14417 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
14418 @item nntp-open-network-stream
14419 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
14422 @findex nntp-open-tls-stream
14423 @item nntp-open-tls-stream
14424 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
14425 this you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/, GNUTLS}
14426 installed. You then define a server as follows:
14429 ;; @r{"nntps" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
14430 ;; @r{however, @samp{gnutls-cli -p} doesn't like named ports.}
14432 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
14433 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-tls-stream)
14434 (nntp-port-number 563)
14435 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
14438 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
14439 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
14440 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
14441 this you must have @uref{http://www.openssl.org, OpenSSL} or
14442 @uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL, SSLeay} installed. You
14443 then define a server as follows:
14446 ;; @r{"snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
14447 ;; @r{however, @samp{openssl s_client -port} doesn't like named ports.}
14449 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
14450 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
14451 (nntp-port-number 563)
14452 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
14455 @findex nntp-open-netcat-stream
14456 @item nntp-open-netcat-stream
14457 Opens a connection to an @acronym{NNTP} server using the @code{netcat}
14458 program. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have
14459 the default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
14460 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
14461 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
14462 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
14466 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
14467 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-netcat-stream)
14468 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
14471 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
14472 session, which is not a good idea.
14474 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
14475 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
14476 Like @code{nntp-open-netcat-stream}, but uses @code{telnet} rather than
14477 @code{netcat}. @code{telnet} is a bit less robust because of things
14478 like line-end-conversion, but sometimes netcat is simply
14479 not available. The previous example would turn into:
14483 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
14484 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
14485 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
14486 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
14491 @node Indirect Functions
14492 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
14493 @cindex indirect connection functions
14495 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
14496 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
14497 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
14498 the ``via'' family of connection: they're all prefixed with ``via'' to make
14499 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
14500 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
14503 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
14504 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
14505 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then uses @code{netcat} to connect
14506 to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from there. This is useful for instance if
14507 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
14509 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat}-specific variables:
14512 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
14513 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
14514 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
14515 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
14517 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
14518 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
14519 List of strings to be used as the switches to
14520 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
14521 @samp{ssh} for @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}, you may set this to
14522 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections.
14525 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
14526 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
14527 Does essentially the same, but uses @code{telnet} instead of @samp{netcat}
14528 to connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the intermediate host.
14529 @code{telnet} is a bit less robust because of things like
14530 line-end-conversion, but sometimes @code{netcat} is simply not available.
14532 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
14535 @item nntp-telnet-command
14536 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
14537 Command used to connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the
14538 intermediate host. The default is @samp{telnet}.
14540 @item nntp-telnet-switches
14541 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
14542 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
14543 @code{nntp-telnet-command} command. The default is @code{("-8")}.
14545 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
14546 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
14547 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
14548 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
14550 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
14551 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
14552 List of strings to be used as the switches to
14553 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. If you use @samp{ssh}, you may need to set
14554 this to @samp{("-t" "-e" "none")} or @samp{("-C" "-t" "-e" "none")} if
14555 the telnet command requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate
14556 host. The default is @code{nil}.
14559 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
14560 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
14562 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
14563 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
14564 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
14565 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
14567 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
14570 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
14571 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
14572 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
14575 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
14576 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
14577 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
14578 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
14580 @item nntp-via-user-password
14581 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
14582 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
14584 @item nntp-via-envuser
14585 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
14586 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
14587 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
14588 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
14590 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
14591 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
14592 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
14593 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
14597 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
14598 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
14602 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
14607 @item nntp-via-user-name
14608 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
14609 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
14611 @item nntp-via-address
14612 @vindex nntp-via-address
14613 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
14618 @node Common Variables
14619 @subsubsection Common Variables
14621 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
14622 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
14623 affected (the values of the following variables will be used as the
14624 default if each virtual @code{nntp} server doesn't specify those server
14625 variables individually).
14629 @item nntp-pre-command
14630 @vindex nntp-pre-command
14631 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native
14632 connection function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream},
14633 @code{nntp-open-tls-stream}, and @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}). This is
14634 where you would put a @samp{SOCKS} wrapper for instance.
14637 @vindex nntp-address
14638 The address of the @acronym{NNTP} server.
14640 @item nntp-port-number
14641 @vindex nntp-port-number
14642 Port number to connect to the @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
14643 @samp{nntp}. If you use @acronym{NNTP} over
14644 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you may want to use integer ports rather
14645 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews} or
14646 @samp{nntps}), because external @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} tools may
14647 not work with named ports.
14649 @item nntp-end-of-line
14650 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
14651 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @acronym{NNTP}
14652 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
14653 using a non native telnet connection function.
14655 @item nntp-netcat-command
14656 @vindex nntp-netcat-command
14657 Command to use when connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server through
14658 @samp{netcat}. This is @emph{not} for an intermediate host. This is
14659 just for the real @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
14662 @item nntp-netcat-switches
14663 @vindex nntp-netcat-switches
14664 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-netcat-command}. The default
14670 @subsubsection NNTP marks
14671 @cindex storing NNTP marks
14673 Gnus stores marks (@pxref{Marking Articles}) for @acronym{NNTP}
14674 servers in marks files. A marks file records what marks you have set
14675 in a group and each file is specific to the corresponding server.
14676 Marks files are stored in @file{~/News/marks}
14677 (@code{nntp-marks-directory}) under a classic hierarchy resembling
14678 that of a news server, for example marks for the group
14679 @samp{gmane.discuss} on the news.gmane.org server will be stored in
14680 the file @file{~/News/marks/news.gmane.org/gmane/discuss/.marks}.
14682 Marks files are useful because you can copy the @file{~/News/marks}
14683 directory (using rsync, scp or whatever) to another Gnus installation,
14684 and it will realize what articles you have read and marked. The data
14685 in @file{~/News/marks} has priority over the same data in
14686 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
14688 Note that marks files are very much server-specific: Gnus remembers
14689 the article numbers so if you don't use the same servers on both
14690 installations things are most likely to break (most @acronym{NNTP}
14691 servers do not use the same article numbers as any other server).
14692 However, if you use servers A, B, C on one installation and servers A,
14693 D, E on the other, you can sync the marks files for A and then you'll
14694 get synchronization for that server between the two installations.
14696 Using @acronym{NNTP} marks can possibly incur a performance penalty so
14697 if Gnus feels sluggish, try setting the @code{nntp-marks-is-evil}
14698 variable to @code{t}. Marks will then be stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
14704 @item nntp-marks-is-evil
14705 @vindex nntp-marks-is-evil
14706 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any marks files. The
14707 default is @code{nil}.
14709 @item nntp-marks-directory
14710 @vindex nntp-marks-directory
14711 The directory where marks for nntp groups will be stored.
14717 @subsection News Spool
14721 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
14722 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
14723 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
14726 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
14727 anything else) as the address.
14729 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
14730 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
14731 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
14732 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
14736 @item nnspool-inews-program
14737 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
14738 Program used to post an article.
14740 @item nnspool-inews-switches
14741 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
14742 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
14744 @item nnspool-spool-directory
14745 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
14746 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
14747 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
14749 @item nnspool-nov-directory
14750 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
14751 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @acronym{NOV} files. This is normally@*
14752 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
14754 @item nnspool-lib-dir
14755 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
14756 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
14758 @item nnspool-active-file
14759 @vindex nnspool-active-file
14760 The name of the active file.
14762 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
14763 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
14764 The name of the group descriptions file.
14766 @item nnspool-history-file
14767 @vindex nnspool-history-file
14768 The name of the news history file.
14770 @item nnspool-active-times-file
14771 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
14772 The name of the active date file.
14774 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
14775 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
14776 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @acronym{NOV} files
14779 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
14780 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
14782 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
14783 relevant portion from the overview file. If @code{nil},
14784 @code{nnspool} will load the entire file into a buffer and process it
14790 @node Using @acronym{IMAP}
14791 @section Using @acronym{IMAP}
14794 The most popular mail backend is probably @code{nnimap}, which
14795 provides access to @acronym{IMAP} servers. @acronym{IMAP} servers
14796 store mail remotely, so the client doesn't store anything locally.
14797 This means that it's a convenient choice when you're reading your mail
14798 from different locations, or with different user agents.
14801 * Connecting to an @acronym{IMAP} Server:: Getting started with @acronym{IMAP}.
14802 * Customizing the @acronym{IMAP} Connection:: Variables for @acronym{IMAP} connection.
14803 * Client-Side @acronym{IMAP} Splitting:: Put mail in the correct mail box.
14807 @node Connecting to an @acronym{IMAP} Server
14808 @subsection Connecting to an @acronym{IMAP} Server
14810 Connecting to an @acronym{IMAP} can be very easy. Type @kbd{B} in the
14811 group buffer, or (if your primary interest is reading email), say
14815 (setq gnus-select-method
14816 '(nnimap "imap.gmail.com"))
14819 You'll be prompted for a user name and password. If you grow tired of
14820 that, then add the following to your @file{~/.authinfo} file:
14823 machine imap.gmail.com login <username> password <password> port imap
14826 That should basically be it for most users.
14829 @node Customizing the @acronym{IMAP} Connection
14830 @subsection Customizing the @acronym{IMAP} Connection
14832 Here's an example method that's more complex:
14835 (nnimap "imap.gmail.com"
14836 (nnimap-inbox "INBOX")
14837 (nnimap-split-methods ,nnmail-split-methods)
14839 (nnimap-stream 'ssl)
14840 (nnir-search-engine imap)
14841 (nnimap-expunge-inbox t))
14845 @item nnimap-address
14846 The address of the server, like @samp{imap.gmail.com}.
14848 @item nnimap-server-port
14849 If the server uses a non-standard port, that can be specified here. A
14850 typical port would be @samp{imap} or @samp{imaps}.
14852 @item nnimap-stream
14853 How @code{nnimap} should connect to the server. Possible values are:
14857 This is the default, and this uses standard
14858 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} connection.
14861 Non-encrypted and unsafe straight socket connection.
14864 Encrypted @acronym{STARTTLS} over the normal @acronym{IMAP} port.
14867 If you need to tunnel via other systems to connect to the server, you
14868 can use this option, and customize @code{nnimap-shell-program} to be
14873 @item nnimap-authenticator
14874 Some @acronym{IMAP} servers allow anonymous logins. In that case,
14875 this should be set to @code{anonymous}.
14877 @item nnimap-streaming
14878 Virtually all @code{IMAP} server support fast streaming of data. If
14879 you have problems connecting to the server, try setting this to @code{nil}.
14884 @node Client-Side @acronym{IMAP} Splitting
14885 @subsection Client-Side @acronym{IMAP} Splitting
14887 Many people prefer to do the sorting/splitting of mail into their mail
14888 boxes on the @acronym{IMAP} server. That way they don't have to
14889 download the mail they're not all that interested in.
14891 If you do want to do client-side mail splitting, then the following
14892 variables are relevant:
14896 This is the @acronym{IMAP} mail box that will be scanned for new mail.
14898 @item nnimap-split-methods
14899 Uses the same syntax as @code{nnmail-split-methods} (@pxref{Splitting
14906 @section Getting Mail
14907 @cindex reading mail
14910 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
14914 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
14915 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
14916 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
14917 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
14918 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
14919 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
14920 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
14921 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
14922 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
14923 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
14924 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
14925 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
14926 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
14930 @node Mail in a Newsreader
14931 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
14933 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
14934 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
14935 of a culture shock.
14937 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
14938 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
14940 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
14941 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
14942 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
14943 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
14945 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
14947 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
14948 deleted? How awful!
14950 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
14951 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
14952 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
14953 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @ref{Expiring
14956 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
14957 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
14958 they want to treat a message.
14960 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
14961 via @acronym{SMTP}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
14962 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
14963 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
14964 archived somewhere else.
14966 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
14967 These are transported via @acronym{NNTP}, and are therefore news. But we may need
14968 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
14969 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
14970 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
14972 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
14973 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
14974 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
14976 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
14977 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
14980 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
14981 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
14982 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
14983 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
14984 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
14986 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
14987 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
14988 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
14989 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
14990 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
14991 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
14995 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
14996 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
14998 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
14999 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
15000 and things will happen automatically.
15002 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a ``one file per
15003 mail'' back end), you could put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
15006 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
15009 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
15010 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
15011 directory, which is @file{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
15012 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
15013 like any other group.
15015 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
15018 (setq nnmail-split-methods
15019 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
15020 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
15024 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
15025 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
15026 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
15029 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
15030 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
15031 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
15034 @node Splitting Mail
15035 @subsection Splitting Mail
15036 @cindex splitting mail
15037 @cindex mail splitting
15038 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
15040 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
15041 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
15042 to be split into groups.
15045 (setq nnmail-split-methods
15046 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
15047 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
15048 ("mail.other" "")))
15051 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
15052 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
15053 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
15054 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
15055 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
15056 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
15057 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
15060 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
15064 In that case, @code{nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded} controls whether
15065 the inserted text should be made lowercase. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
15067 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
15068 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
15069 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
15070 mail belongs in that group.
15072 @cindex @samp{bogus} group
15073 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
15074 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{""} so that it matches any mails
15075 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
15076 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first rule
15077 to make a match will ``win'', unless you have crossposting enabled. In
15078 that case, all matching rules will ``win''.) If no rule matched, the mail
15079 will end up in the @samp{bogus} group. When new groups are created by
15080 splitting mail, you may want to run @code{gnus-group-find-new-groups} to
15081 see the new groups. This also applies to the @samp{bogus} group.
15083 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
15084 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
15085 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
15086 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
15087 thinks should carry this mail message.
15089 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
15090 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
15091 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
15092 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
15094 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
15095 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
15096 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
15097 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
15098 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{""}) group.
15100 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
15103 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
15104 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
15105 links. If that's the case for you, set
15106 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
15107 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
15109 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
15110 @findex nnmail-split-history
15111 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
15112 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
15113 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
15114 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
15117 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
15118 Header lines longer than the value of
15119 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
15122 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
15123 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
15124 By default, splitting does not decode headers, so you can not match on
15125 non-@acronym{ASCII} strings. But it is useful if you want to match
15126 articles based on the raw header data. To enable it, set the
15127 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} variable to a non-@code{nil} value.
15128 In addition, the value of the @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset}
15129 variable is used for decoding non-@acronym{MIME} encoded string when
15130 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} is non-@code{nil}. The default
15131 value is @code{nil} which means not to decode non-@acronym{MIME} encoded
15132 string. A suitable value for you will be @code{undecided} or be the
15133 charset used normally in mails you are interested in.
15135 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
15136 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If you
15137 specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable @code{mail-sources}
15138 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}), however, then splitting does
15139 @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
15140 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-@code{nil} value to make
15141 splitting happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on
15142 other kinds of entries.)
15144 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
15145 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
15146 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
15147 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
15148 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
15149 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
15150 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
15151 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
15152 month's rent money.
15156 @subsection Mail Sources
15158 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from
15159 a @acronym{POP} mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a
15160 maildir, for instance.
15163 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
15164 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
15165 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
15169 @node Mail Source Specifiers
15170 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
15172 @cindex mail server
15175 @cindex mail source
15177 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
15178 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
15183 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
15186 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
15187 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
15188 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
15191 The @code{mail-sources} is global for all mail groups. You can specify
15192 an additional mail source for a particular group by including the
15193 @code{group} mail specifier in @code{mail-sources}, and setting a
15194 @code{mail-source} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) specifying
15195 a single mail source. When this is used, @code{mail-sources} is
15196 typically just @code{(group)}; the @code{mail-source} parameter for a
15197 group might look like this:
15200 (mail-source . (file :path "home/user/spools/foo.spool"))
15203 This means that the group's (and only this group's) messages will be
15204 fetched from the spool file @samp{/user/spools/foo.spool}.
15206 The following mail source types are available:
15210 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
15216 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @env{MAIL}
15217 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
15218 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
15222 Script run before/after fetching mail.
15225 An example file mail source:
15228 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
15231 Or using the default file name:
15237 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best
15238 to use @acronym{POP} or @acronym{IMAP} or the like to fetch the mail.
15239 You can not use ange-ftp file names here---it has no way to lock the
15240 mail spool while moving the mail.
15242 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
15246 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
15249 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
15253 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
15256 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
15258 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
15261 Alter this script to fit the @samp{movemail} and temporary
15262 file you want to use.
15266 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
15267 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used
15268 when you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
15269 That is, there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that
15270 directory and groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool}
15271 will be put in the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix
15272 to be used instead of @code{.spool}.) Setting
15273 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-@code{nil} forces
15274 Gnus to scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful
15275 if you want to scan mail groups at a specified level.
15277 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
15278 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
15279 that to a non-@code{nil} value, then the normal splitting process is
15280 applied to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
15286 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
15290 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
15294 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
15295 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
15296 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
15297 predicate are considered.
15301 Script run before/after fetching mail.
15305 An example directory mail source:
15308 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
15313 Get mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
15319 The name of the @acronym{POP} server. The default is taken from the
15320 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
15323 The port number of the @acronym{POP} server. This can be a number (eg,
15324 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
15325 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
15326 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
15327 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
15330 The user name to give to the @acronym{POP} server. The default is the login
15334 The password to give to the @acronym{POP} server. If not specified,
15335 the user is prompted.
15338 The program to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. This
15339 should be a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
15342 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
15345 The valid format specifier characters are:
15349 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
15350 included in this string.
15353 The name of the server.
15356 The port number of the server.
15359 The user name to use.
15362 The password to use.
15365 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
15366 corresponding keywords.
15369 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
15370 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
15373 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
15374 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
15377 The function to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. The
15378 function is called with one parameter---the name of the file where the
15379 mail should be moved to.
15381 @item :authentication
15382 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
15383 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
15388 @vindex pop3-movemail
15389 @vindex pop3-leave-mail-on-server
15390 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
15391 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used. If @code{pop3-leave-mail-on-server}
15392 is non-@code{nil} the mail is to be left on the @acronym{POP} server
15393 after fetching when using @code{pop3-movemail}. Note that POP servers
15394 maintain no state information between sessions, so what the client
15395 believes is there and what is actually there may not match up. If they
15396 do not, then you may get duplicate mails or the whole thing can fall
15397 apart and leave you with a corrupt mailbox.
15399 Here are some examples for getting mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
15400 Fetch from the default @acronym{POP} server, using the default user
15401 name, and default fetcher:
15407 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
15410 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
15411 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
15414 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
15417 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
15421 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
15422 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
15423 contains exactly one mail.
15429 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
15430 taken from the @env{MAILDIR} environment variable or
15433 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
15434 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
15436 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
15437 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
15438 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
15441 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
15442 from locking problems).
15446 Two example maildir mail sources:
15449 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
15450 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
15454 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
15459 Get mail from a @acronym{IMAP} server. If you don't want to use
15460 @acronym{IMAP} as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie
15461 with nnimap), for some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar
15462 to a @acronym{POP} server and fetches articles from a given
15463 @acronym{IMAP} mailbox. @xref{Using @acronym{IMAP}}, for more information.
15469 The name of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is taken from the
15470 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
15473 The port number of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
15474 @samp{993} for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} connections.
15477 The user name to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is the login
15481 The password to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. If not specified, the user is
15485 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
15486 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
15487 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{tls},
15488 @samp{ssl}, @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
15490 @item :authentication
15491 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
15492 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
15493 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
15494 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
15497 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
15498 mapped into the @code{imap-shell-program} variable. This should be a
15499 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
15505 Make sure nothing is interfering with the output of the program, e.g.,
15506 don't forget to redirect the error output to the void. The valid format
15507 specifier characters are:
15511 The name of the server.
15514 User name from @code{imap-default-user}.
15517 The port number of the server.
15520 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
15521 corresponding keywords.
15524 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
15525 which normally is the mailbox which receives incoming mail.
15528 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
15529 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
15530 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @acronym{IMAP} client and mark some
15531 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
15532 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
15533 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
15536 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
15537 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
15538 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
15539 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
15542 If non-@code{nil}, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the
15543 mailbox after finishing the fetch.
15547 An example @acronym{IMAP} mail source:
15550 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
15552 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
15556 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{http://www.hotmail.com/},
15557 @uref{http://webmail.netscape.com/}, @uref{http://www.netaddress.com/},
15558 @uref{http://mail.yahoo.com/}.
15560 NOTE: Webmail largely depends on cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
15561 required for url "4.0pre.46".
15563 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
15569 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
15570 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
15573 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
15577 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
15581 If non-@code{nil}, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to
15582 trash folder after finishing the fetch.
15586 An example webmail source:
15589 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
15591 :password "secret")
15595 Get the actual mail source from the @code{mail-source} group parameter,
15596 @xref{Group Parameters}.
15601 @item Common Keywords
15602 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
15608 If non-@code{nil}, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you
15609 use directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this
15614 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
15619 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
15620 useful when you use local mail and news.
15625 @subsubsection Function Interface
15627 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
15628 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
15629 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
15630 consider the following mail-source setting:
15633 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
15634 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
15637 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
15638 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
15639 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
15640 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
15641 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
15643 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
15646 @node Mail Source Customization
15647 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
15649 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
15650 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
15654 @item mail-source-crash-box
15655 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
15656 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is@*
15657 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
15660 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
15661 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
15662 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them. If
15663 @code{t}, delete the files immediately, if @code{nil}, never delete any
15664 files. If a positive number, delete files older than number of days
15665 (the deletion will only happen when receiving new mail). You may also
15666 set @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} to @code{nil} and call
15667 @code{mail-source-delete-old-incoming} from a hook or interactively.
15668 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{10} in alpha Gnusae
15669 and @code{2} in released Gnusae. @xref{Gnus Development}.
15671 @item mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
15672 @vindex mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
15673 If non-@code{nil}, ask for confirmation before deleting old incoming
15674 files. This variable only applies when
15675 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is a positive number.
15677 @item mail-source-ignore-errors
15678 @vindex mail-source-ignore-errors
15679 If non-@code{nil}, ignore errors when reading mail from a mail source.
15681 @item mail-source-directory
15682 @vindex mail-source-directory
15683 Directory where incoming mail source files (if any) will be stored. The
15684 default is @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for
15685 is to say where the incoming files will be stored if the variable
15686 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil} or a number.
15688 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
15689 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
15690 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
15691 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
15692 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
15693 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil} or a
15696 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
15697 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
15698 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
15700 @item mail-source-movemail-program
15701 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
15702 If non-@code{nil}, name of program for fetching new mail. If
15703 @code{nil}, @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
15708 @node Fetching Mail
15709 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
15711 @vindex mail-sources
15712 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
15713 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
15714 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
15716 If this variable is @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to
15717 fetch mail by themselves.
15719 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a
15720 @acronym{POP} mail server, you'd say something like:
15725 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
15726 :password "secret")))
15729 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
15733 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
15734 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
15737 :password "secret")))
15741 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
15742 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
15743 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
15744 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
15745 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
15746 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
15750 @node Mail Back End Variables
15751 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
15753 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
15757 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
15758 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
15759 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
15760 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
15762 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
15763 @item nnmail-split-hook
15764 @findex gnus-article-decode-encoded-words
15765 @cindex RFC 1522 decoding
15766 @cindex RFC 2047 decoding
15767 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
15768 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
15769 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
15770 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
15771 in the buffer will show up in any files.
15772 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
15775 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
15776 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
15777 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
15778 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
15779 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
15780 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
15781 starting to handle the new mail) and
15782 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
15783 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
15784 default file modes the new mail files get:
15787 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
15788 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
15790 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
15791 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
15794 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
15795 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
15796 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
15797 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
15798 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
15799 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
15800 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
15802 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
15803 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
15804 @findex delete-file
15805 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
15807 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
15808 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
15809 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
15810 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
15811 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
15813 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
15814 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
15815 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
15816 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
15817 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
15819 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
15820 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
15821 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
15826 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
15827 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
15828 @cindex mail splitting
15829 @cindex fancy mail splitting
15831 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
15832 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
15833 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
15834 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
15835 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
15836 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
15838 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
15841 ;; @r{Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of}
15842 ;; @r{the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group}
15843 ;; @r{from real errors.}
15844 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
15846 ;; @r{Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant}
15847 ;; @r{groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the}
15848 ;; @r{(ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.}
15849 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
15850 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
15851 ;; @r{Other mailing lists@dots{}}
15852 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
15853 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
15854 ;; @r{Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent}
15855 ;; @r{cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to}
15856 ;; @r{the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the}
15857 ;; @r{message was really cross-posted.}
15858 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
15859 (any "mypackage@@somewhere" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
15860 ;; @r{People@dots{}}
15861 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
15862 ;; @r{Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.}
15866 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a
15867 (possibly) recursive structure where each split may contain other
15868 splits. Here are the possible split syntaxes:
15873 If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name. Normal
15874 regexp match expansion will be done. See below for examples.
15876 @c Don't fold this line.
15877 @item (@var{field} @var{value} [- @var{restrict} [@dots{}] ] @var{split} [@var{invert-partial}])
15878 The split can be a list containing at least three elements. If the
15879 first element @var{field} (a regexp matching a header) contains
15880 @var{value} (also a regexp) then store the message as specified by
15883 If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp) matches some string after
15884 @var{field} and before the end of the matched @var{value}, the
15885 @var{split} is ignored. If none of the @var{restrict} clauses match,
15886 @var{split} is processed.
15888 The last element @var{invert-partial} is optional. If it is
15889 non-@code{nil}, the match-partial-words behavior controlled by the
15890 variable @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} (see below) is
15891 be inverted. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
15893 @item (| @var{split} @dots{})
15894 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{|} (vertical
15895 bar), then process each @var{split} until one of them matches. A
15896 @var{split} is said to match if it will cause the mail message to be
15897 stored in one or more groups.
15899 @item (& @var{split} @dots{})
15900 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{&}, then
15901 process all @var{split}s in the list.
15904 If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save (i.e., delete)
15905 this message. Use with extreme caution.
15907 @item (: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})
15908 If the split is a list, and the first element is @samp{:}, then the
15909 second element will be called as a function with @var{args} given as
15910 arguments. The function should return a @var{split}.
15913 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
15914 body of the messages:
15917 (defun split-on-body ()
15921 (goto-char (point-min))
15922 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
15926 The buffer is narrowed to the header of the message in question when
15927 @var{function} is run. That's why @code{(widen)} needs to be called
15928 after @code{save-excursion} and @code{save-restriction} in the example
15929 above. Also note that with the nnimap backend, message bodies will
15930 not be downloaded by default. You need to set
15931 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
15932 (@pxref{Client-Side @acronym{IMAP} Splitting}).
15934 @item (! @var{func} @var{split})
15935 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{!}, then
15936 @var{split} will be processed, and @var{func} will be called as a
15937 function with the result of @var{split} as argument. @var{func}
15938 should return a split.
15941 If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
15945 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
15947 Normally, @var{value} in these splits must match a complete @emph{word}
15948 according to the fundamental mode syntax table. In other words, all
15949 @var{value}'s will be implicitly surrounded by @code{\<...\>} markers,
15950 which are word delimiters. Therefore, if you use the following split,
15954 (any "joe" "joemail")
15958 messages sent from @samp{joedavis@@foo.org} will normally not be filed
15959 in @samp{joemail}. If you want to alter this behavior, you can use any
15960 of the following three ways:
15964 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words
15965 You can set the @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} variable
15966 to non-@code{nil} in order to ignore word boundaries and instead the
15967 match becomes more like a grep. This variable controls whether partial
15968 words are matched during fancy splitting. The default value is
15971 Note that it influences all @var{value}'s in your split rules.
15974 @var{value} beginning with @code{.*} ignores word boundaries in front of
15975 a word. Similarly, if @var{value} ends with @code{.*}, word boundaries
15976 in the rear of a word will be ignored. For example, the @var{value}
15977 @code{"@@example\\.com"} does not match @samp{foo@@example.com} but
15978 @code{".*@@example\\.com"} does.
15981 You can set the @var{invert-partial} flag in your split rules of the
15982 @samp{(@var{field} @var{value} @dots{})} types, aforementioned in this
15983 section. If the flag is set, word boundaries on both sides of a word
15984 are ignored even if @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} is
15985 @code{nil}. Contrarily, if the flag is set, word boundaries are not
15986 ignored even if @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} is
15987 non-@code{nil}. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
15990 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
15991 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be Lisp symbols, in that case
15992 they are expanded as specified by the variable
15993 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells,
15994 where the @sc{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @sc{cdr}
15995 contains the associated value. Predefined entries in
15996 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist} include:
16000 Matches the @samp{From}, @samp{Sender} and @samp{Resent-From} fields.
16002 Matches the @samp{To}, @samp{Cc}, @samp{Apparently-To},
16003 @samp{Resent-To} and @samp{Resent-Cc} fields.
16005 Is the union of the @code{from} and @code{to} entries.
16008 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
16009 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
16010 when all this splitting is performed.
16012 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
16013 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
16014 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
16017 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
16020 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
16021 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
16023 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
16024 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
16025 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
16026 groupings 1 through 9.
16028 @vindex nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded
16029 Where @code{nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded} controls whether the
16030 lowercase of the matched string should be used for the substitution.
16031 Setting it as non-@code{nil} is useful to avoid the creation of multiple
16032 groups when users send to an address using different case
16033 (i.e. mailing-list@@domain vs Mailing-List@@Domain). The default value
16036 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
16037 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
16038 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
16039 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
16040 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
16041 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
16042 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
16043 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
16044 it once per thread.
16046 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates}
16047 and @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-@code{nil}
16048 value. And then you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}
16049 using the colon feature, like so:
16051 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; @r{or @code{delete}}
16052 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
16054 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
16055 ;; @r{other splits go here}
16059 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
16060 non-@code{nil}, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees
16061 in the file specified by the variable
16062 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, together with the group it is in
16063 (the group is omitted for non-mail messages). When mail splitting is
16064 invoked, the function @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks
16065 at the References (and In-Reply-To) header of each message to split
16066 and searches the file specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}
16067 for the message ids. When it has found a parent, it returns the
16068 corresponding group name unless the group name matches the regexp
16069 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is
16070 recommended that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a
16071 somewhat higher number than the default so that the message ids are
16072 still in the cache. (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some
16073 300 kBytes in size.)
16074 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
16075 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
16076 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
16077 messages goes into the new group.
16079 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
16080 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
16081 outgoing messages are written to an ``outgoing'' group, you could set
16082 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
16083 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
16084 ``outgoing'' group.
16087 @node Group Mail Splitting
16088 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
16089 @cindex mail splitting
16090 @cindex group mail splitting
16092 @findex gnus-group-split
16093 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
16094 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
16095 You just have to set @code{to-list} and/or @code{to-address} in group
16096 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
16097 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
16098 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
16099 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @code{to-list} or
16100 @code{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
16102 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
16103 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @code{extra-aliases} group
16104 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
16105 rather use a regular expression, set @code{split-regexp}.
16107 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
16108 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
16109 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
16110 @code{to-list}, @code{to-address}, all of @code{extra-aliases} and all
16111 matches of @code{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
16112 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
16113 @code{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
16115 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
16116 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
16117 parameter @code{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
16118 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
16119 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @code{split-spec} may be set to
16120 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
16121 @code{gnus-group-split}.
16123 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
16124 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
16125 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
16126 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
16127 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
16128 some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
16129 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
16130 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
16131 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
16132 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
16133 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
16134 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
16135 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
16137 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
16142 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
16143 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
16145 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
16146 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
16147 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
16148 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
16150 ((split-spec . catch-all))
16153 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
16154 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
16155 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
16158 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
16159 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
16160 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
16164 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
16165 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
16166 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
16170 (: gnus-group-split-fancy @var{groups} @var{no-crosspost} @var{catch-all})
16173 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
16174 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
16175 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
16176 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fall back
16177 fancy split, used like @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
16178 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @code{split-regexp} matches the
16179 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
16180 Otherwise, if some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
16181 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
16183 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
16184 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
16185 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
16186 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
16187 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
16188 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
16189 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
16190 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
16191 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
16193 @findex gnus-group-split-update
16194 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
16195 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
16196 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
16197 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
16198 you. For example, add to your @file{~/.gnus.el}:
16201 (gnus-group-split-setup @var{auto-update} @var{catch-all})
16204 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
16205 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
16206 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
16207 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
16208 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
16211 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
16212 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
16213 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
16214 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
16216 @node Incorporating Old Mail
16217 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
16218 @cindex incorporating old mail
16219 @cindex import old mail
16221 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
16222 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
16223 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
16226 Doing so can be quite easy.
16228 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
16229 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
16230 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
16231 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
16232 your @code{nnml} groups.
16238 Go to the group buffer.
16241 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
16242 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
16245 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
16248 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
16249 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
16252 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
16253 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
16256 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
16257 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
16258 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
16259 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
16260 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
16262 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
16263 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
16264 using the new mail back end.
16267 @node Expiring Mail
16268 @subsection Expiring Mail
16269 @cindex article expiry
16270 @cindex expiring mail
16272 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
16273 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
16274 different approach to mail reading.
16276 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
16277 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
16278 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
16279 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
16280 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
16281 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
16284 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
16285 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default key bindings, this means
16286 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
16287 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
16288 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
16289 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
16290 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
16291 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
16292 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
16294 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
16295 two features, called ``auto-expire'' and ``total-expire'', that can help you
16296 with this. In a nutshell, ``auto-expire'' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
16297 for you when you select an article. And ``total-expire'' means that Gnus
16298 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
16299 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
16300 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
16303 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
16304 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
16305 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
16306 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
16307 into its own group.)
16309 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
16310 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
16311 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
16312 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
16313 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
16314 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
16315 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive
16316 Scoring}). Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
16319 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
16320 Groups that match the regular expression
16321 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
16322 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
16323 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
16325 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
16326 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
16327 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
16328 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
16329 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
16331 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
16333 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
16334 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
16335 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
16338 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
16339 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
16340 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
16341 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
16342 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
16344 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
16345 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
16348 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
16349 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
16352 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
16353 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
16355 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
16356 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
16357 don't really mix very well.
16359 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
16360 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
16361 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
16362 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
16365 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
16366 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
16367 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
16368 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
16371 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
16373 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
16375 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
16377 ((string= group "mail.junk")
16379 ((string= group "important")
16385 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
16386 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
16388 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
16389 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
16390 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
16393 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
16394 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
16396 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
16397 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
16398 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
16399 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
16400 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
16401 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
16402 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
16403 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
16404 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
16405 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
16406 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
16407 from as its parameter) which should return a target---either a group
16408 name or @code{delete}.
16410 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
16412 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
16415 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
16416 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
16417 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
16418 expire mail to groups according to the variable
16419 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
16422 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
16423 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
16424 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
16425 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
16426 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
16429 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
16430 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
16431 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
16432 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
16433 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
16434 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
16436 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
16437 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
16438 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
16439 easier for procmail users.
16441 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
16442 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
16443 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
16444 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
16445 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
16446 caution. Even more dangerous is the
16447 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
16448 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
16449 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
16450 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
16451 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
16452 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
16453 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
16456 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
16458 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
16459 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
16460 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
16461 auto-expire turned on.
16463 @vindex gnus-mark-copied-or-moved-articles-as-expirable
16464 The expirable marks of articles will be removed when copying or moving
16465 them to a group in which auto-expire is not turned on. This is for
16466 preventing articles from being expired unintentionally. On the other
16467 hand, to a group that has turned auto-expire on, the expirable marks of
16468 articles that are copied or moved will not be changed by default. I.e.,
16469 when copying or moving to such a group, articles that were expirable
16470 will be left expirable and ones that were not expirable will not be
16471 marked as expirable. So, even though in auto-expire groups, some
16472 articles will never get expired (unless you read them again). If you
16473 don't side with that behavior that unexpirable articles may be mixed
16474 into auto-expire groups, you can set
16475 @code{gnus-mark-copied-or-moved-articles-as-expirable} to a
16476 non-@code{nil} value. In that case, articles that have been read will
16477 be marked as expirable automatically when being copied or moved to a
16478 group that has auto-expire turned on. The default value is @code{nil}.
16482 @subsection Washing Mail
16483 @cindex mail washing
16484 @cindex list server brain damage
16485 @cindex incoming mail treatment
16487 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
16488 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
16489 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
16490 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
16491 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
16492 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
16494 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
16495 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
16496 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
16499 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
16500 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
16501 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
16502 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
16505 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
16506 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
16507 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
16508 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
16509 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
16512 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
16513 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
16514 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
16515 Emacs running on MS machines.
16519 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
16520 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
16521 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
16522 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
16525 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
16526 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
16527 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
16528 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
16530 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
16531 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
16532 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
16533 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
16534 into a feature by documenting it.)
16536 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
16537 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
16538 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
16539 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
16540 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
16541 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
16542 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
16545 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
16546 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
16549 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
16550 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
16553 This can also be done non-destructively with
16554 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
16556 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
16557 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
16558 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
16560 @item nnmail-ignore-broken-references
16561 @findex nnmail-ignore-broken-references
16562 @c @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
16565 Some mail user agents (e.g. Eudora and Pegasus) produce broken
16566 @code{References} headers, but correct @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This
16567 function will get rid of the @code{References} header if the headers
16568 contain a line matching the regular expression
16569 @code{nnmail-broken-references-mailers}.
16573 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
16574 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
16575 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
16579 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
16580 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
16581 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
16588 @subsection Duplicates
16590 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
16591 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
16592 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
16593 @cindex duplicate mails
16594 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
16595 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
16596 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
16597 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
16598 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
16599 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
16600 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
16601 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
16602 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
16603 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
16604 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
16605 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
16606 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
16608 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
16609 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
16610 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
16611 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
16613 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
16616 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
16617 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
16621 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
16622 '(| ;; @r{Messages duplicates go to a separate group.}
16623 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
16624 ;; @r{Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.}
16625 (any mail "mail.misc")
16626 ;; @r{Other rules.}
16632 (setq nnmail-split-methods
16633 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
16634 ;; @r{Other rules.}
16638 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
16639 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
16640 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
16641 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
16642 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
16645 @node Not Reading Mail
16646 @subsection Not Reading Mail
16648 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
16649 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
16650 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
16652 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
16653 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
16654 mail, which should help.
16656 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
16657 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
16658 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
16659 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
16660 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
16661 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
16662 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old (pre-Emacs
16663 23) Rmail file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
16664 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
16665 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
16666 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
16668 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
16669 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
16673 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
16674 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
16676 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
16677 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
16678 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
16680 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
16681 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
16682 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
16686 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
16687 * Babyl:: Babyl was used by older versions of Rmail.
16688 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
16689 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
16690 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
16691 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
16692 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
16697 @node Unix Mail Box
16698 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
16700 @cindex unix mail box
16702 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
16703 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
16704 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
16705 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
16706 which group it belongs in.
16708 Virtual server settings:
16711 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
16712 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
16713 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
16716 @item nnmbox-active-file
16717 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
16718 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
16719 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
16721 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
16722 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
16723 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
16724 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
16729 @subsubsection Babyl
16732 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
16733 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
16734 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a Babyl mail box to store mail.
16735 @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail article to say which
16736 group it belongs in.
16738 Virtual server settings:
16741 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
16742 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
16743 The name of the Babyl file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
16745 @item nnbabyl-active-file
16746 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
16747 The name of the active file for the Babyl file. The default is
16748 @file{~/.rmail-active}
16750 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
16751 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
16752 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
16758 @subsubsection Mail Spool
16760 @cindex mail @acronym{NOV} spool
16762 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
16763 format. It should be used with some caution.
16765 @vindex nnml-directory
16766 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
16767 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
16768 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
16769 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
16771 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
16774 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
16775 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
16776 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
16777 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
16778 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
16779 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
16780 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
16781 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
16783 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
16784 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
16785 @acronym{NOV} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
16786 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
16788 @cindex self contained nnml servers
16790 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
16791 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
16792 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
16793 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
16794 for a group are usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
16795 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
16796 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
16797 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
16800 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
16801 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
16802 them next time it starts.
16804 Virtual server settings:
16807 @item nnml-directory
16808 @vindex nnml-directory
16809 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory. The
16810 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default value
16813 @item nnml-active-file
16814 @vindex nnml-active-file
16815 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
16816 @file{~/Mail/active}.
16818 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
16819 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
16820 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
16821 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}.
16823 @item nnml-get-new-mail
16824 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
16825 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
16828 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
16829 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
16830 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
16831 default is @code{nil}.
16833 @item nnml-nov-file-name
16834 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
16835 The name of the @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
16837 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
16838 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
16839 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
16841 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
16842 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
16843 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
16844 default is @code{nil}.
16846 @item nnml-marks-file-name
16847 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
16848 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
16850 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
16851 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
16852 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
16853 files. This requires @code{auto-compression-mode} to be enabled
16854 (@pxref{Compressed Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
16855 If the value of @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is a string, it is used
16856 as the file extension specifying the compression program. You can set it
16857 to @samp{.bz2} if your Emacs supports it. A value of @code{t} is
16858 equivalent to @samp{.gz}.
16860 @item nnml-compressed-files-size-threshold
16861 @vindex nnml-compressed-files-size-threshold
16862 Default size threshold for compressed message files. Message files with
16863 bodies larger than that many characters will be automatically compressed
16864 if @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil}.
16868 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
16869 If your @code{nnml} groups and @acronym{NOV} files get totally out of
16870 whack, you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
16871 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
16872 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
16873 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
16874 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
16879 @subsubsection MH Spool
16881 @cindex mh-e mail spool
16883 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
16884 @acronym{NOV} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks
16885 file. This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than
16886 @code{nnml}, but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts
16889 Virtual server settings:
16892 @item nnmh-directory
16893 @vindex nnmh-directory
16894 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
16895 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
16898 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
16899 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
16900 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
16904 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
16905 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
16906 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks
16907 they are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
16908 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
16909 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not
16910 have to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
16915 @subsubsection Maildir
16919 @code{nnmaildir} stores mail in the maildir format, with each maildir
16920 corresponding to a group in Gnus. This format is documented here:
16921 @uref{http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html} and here:
16922 @uref{http://www.qmail.org/man/man5/maildir.html}. @code{nnmaildir}
16923 also stores extra information in the @file{.nnmaildir/} directory
16926 Maildir format was designed to allow concurrent deliveries and
16927 reading, without needing locks. With other back ends, you would have
16928 your mail delivered to a spool of some kind, and then you would
16929 configure Gnus to split mail from that spool into your groups. You
16930 can still do that with @code{nnmaildir}, but the more common
16931 configuration is to have your mail delivered directly to the maildirs
16932 that appear as group in Gnus.
16934 @code{nnmaildir} is designed to be perfectly reliable: @kbd{C-g} will
16935 never corrupt its data in memory, and @code{SIGKILL} will never
16936 corrupt its data in the filesystem.
16938 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks and @acronym{NOV} data in each
16939 maildir. So you can copy a whole maildir from one Gnus setup to
16940 another, and you will keep your marks.
16942 Virtual server settings:
16946 For each of your @code{nnmaildir} servers (it's very unlikely that
16947 you'd need more than one), you need to create a directory and populate
16948 it with maildirs or symlinks to maildirs (and nothing else; do not
16949 choose a directory already used for other purposes). Each maildir
16950 will be represented in Gnus as a newsgroup on that server; the
16951 filename of the symlink will be the name of the group. Any filenames
16952 in the directory starting with @samp{.} are ignored. The directory is
16953 scanned when you first start Gnus, and each time you type @kbd{g} in
16954 the group buffer; if any maildirs have been removed or added,
16955 @code{nnmaildir} notices at these times.
16957 The value of the @code{directory} parameter should be a Lisp form
16958 which is processed by @code{eval} and @code{expand-file-name} to get
16959 the path of the directory for this server. The form is @code{eval}ed
16960 only when the server is opened; the resulting string is used until the
16961 server is closed. (If you don't know about forms and @code{eval},
16962 don't worry---a simple string will work.) This parameter is not
16963 optional; you must specify it. I don't recommend using
16964 @code{"~/Mail"} or a subdirectory of it; several other parts of Gnus
16965 use that directory by default for various things, and may get confused
16966 if @code{nnmaildir} uses it too. @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} is a typical
16969 @item target-prefix
16970 This should be a Lisp form which is processed by @code{eval} and
16971 @code{expand-file-name}. The form is @code{eval}ed only when the
16972 server is opened; the resulting string is used until the server is
16975 When you create a group on an @code{nnmaildir} server, the maildir is
16976 created with @code{target-prefix} prepended to its name, and a symlink
16977 pointing to that maildir is created, named with the plain group name.
16978 So if @code{directory} is @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} and
16979 @code{target-prefix} is @code{"../maildirs/"}, then when you create
16980 the group @code{foo}, @code{nnmaildir} will create
16981 @file{~/.nnmaildir/../maildirs/foo} as a maildir, and will create
16982 @file{~/.nnmaildir/foo} as a symlink pointing to
16983 @file{../maildirs/foo}.
16985 You can set @code{target-prefix} to a string without any slashes to
16986 create both maildirs and symlinks in the same @code{directory}; in
16987 this case, any maildirs found in @code{directory} whose names start
16988 with @code{target-prefix} will not be listed as groups (but the
16989 symlinks pointing to them will be).
16991 As a special case, if @code{target-prefix} is @code{""} (the default),
16992 then when you create a group, the maildir will be created in
16993 @code{directory} without a corresponding symlink. Beware that you
16994 cannot use @code{gnus-group-delete-group} on such groups without the
16995 @code{force} argument.
16997 @item directory-files
16998 This should be a function with the same interface as
16999 @code{directory-files} (such as @code{directory-files} itself). It is
17000 used to scan the server's @code{directory} for maildirs. This
17001 parameter is optional; the default is
17002 @code{nnheader-directory-files-safe} if
17003 @code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is @code{nil}, and
17004 @code{directory-files} otherwise.
17005 (@code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is checked only once when the
17006 server is opened; if you want to check it each time the directory is
17007 scanned, you'll have to provide your own function that does that.)
17010 If non-@code{nil}, then after scanning for new mail in the group
17011 maildirs themselves as usual, this server will also incorporate mail
17012 the conventional Gnus way, from @code{mail-sources} according to
17013 @code{nnmail-split-methods} or @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. The default
17014 value is @code{nil}.
17016 Do @emph{not} use the same maildir both in @code{mail-sources} and as
17017 an @code{nnmaildir} group. The results might happen to be useful, but
17018 that would be by chance, not by design, and the results might be
17019 different in the future. If your split rules create new groups,
17020 remember to supply a @code{create-directory} server parameter.
17023 @subsubsection Group parameters
17025 @code{nnmaildir} uses several group parameters. It's safe to ignore
17026 all this; the default behavior for @code{nnmaildir} is the same as the
17027 default behavior for other mail back ends: articles are deleted after
17028 one week, etc. Except for the expiry parameters, all this
17029 functionality is unique to @code{nnmaildir}, so you can ignore it if
17030 you're just trying to duplicate the behavior you already have with
17033 If the value of any of these parameters is a vector, the first element
17034 is evaluated as a Lisp form and the result is used, rather than the
17035 original value. If the value is not a vector, the value itself is
17036 evaluated as a Lisp form. (This is why these parameters use names
17037 different from those of other, similar parameters supported by other
17038 back ends: they have different, though similar, meanings.) (For
17039 numbers, strings, @code{nil}, and @code{t}, you can ignore the
17040 @code{eval} business again; for other values, remember to use an extra
17041 quote and wrap the value in a vector when appropriate.)
17045 An integer specifying the minimum age, in seconds, of an article
17046 before it will be expired, or the symbol @code{never} to specify that
17047 articles should never be expired. If this parameter is not set,
17048 @code{nnmaildir} falls back to the usual
17049 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) variables (the
17050 @code{expiry-wait} group parameter overrides @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}
17051 and makes @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} ineffective). If you
17052 wanted a value of 3 days, you could use something like @code{[(* 3 24
17053 60 60)]}; @code{nnmaildir} will evaluate the form and use the result.
17054 An article's age is measured starting from the article file's
17055 modification time. Normally, this is the same as the article's
17056 delivery time, but editing an article makes it younger. Moving an
17057 article (other than via expiry) may also make an article younger.
17060 If this is set to a string such as a full Gnus group name, like
17062 "backend+server.address.string:group.name"
17064 and if it is not the name of the same group that the parameter belongs
17065 to, then articles will be moved to the specified group during expiry
17066 before being deleted. @emph{If this is set to an @code{nnmaildir}
17067 group, the article will be just as old in the destination group as it
17068 was in the source group.} So be careful with @code{expire-age} in the
17069 destination group. If this is set to the name of the same group that
17070 the parameter belongs to, then the article is not expired at all. If
17071 you use the vector form, the first element is evaluated once for each
17072 article. So that form can refer to
17073 @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name}, etc., to decide where to put the
17074 article. @emph{Even if this parameter is not set, @code{nnmaildir}
17075 does not fall back to the @code{expiry-target} group parameter or the
17076 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} variable.}
17079 If this is set to @code{t}, @code{nnmaildir} will treat the articles
17080 in this maildir as read-only. This means: articles are not renamed
17081 from @file{new/} into @file{cur/}; articles are only found in
17082 @file{new/}, not @file{cur/}; articles are never deleted; articles
17083 cannot be edited. @file{new/} is expected to be a symlink to the
17084 @file{new/} directory of another maildir---e.g., a system-wide mailbox
17085 containing a mailing list of common interest. Everything in the
17086 maildir outside @file{new/} is @emph{not} treated as read-only, so for
17087 a shared mailbox, you do still need to set up your own maildir (or
17088 have write permission to the shared mailbox); your maildir just won't
17089 contain extra copies of the articles.
17091 @item directory-files
17092 A function with the same interface as @code{directory-files}. It is
17093 used to scan the directories in the maildir corresponding to this
17094 group to find articles. The default is the function specified by the
17095 server's @code{directory-files} parameter.
17097 @item distrust-Lines:
17098 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmaildir} will always count the lines of an
17099 article, rather than use the @code{Lines:} header field. If
17100 @code{nil}, the header field will be used if present.
17103 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(read expire)]}. Whenever
17104 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
17105 say that all articles have these marks, regardless of whether the
17106 marks stored in the filesystem say so. This is a proof-of-concept
17107 feature that will probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done
17108 in Gnus proper, or abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
17111 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(tick expire)]}. Whenever
17112 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
17113 say that no articles have these marks, regardless of whether the marks
17114 stored in the filesystem say so. @code{never-marks} overrides
17115 @code{always-marks}. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will
17116 probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
17117 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
17119 @item nov-cache-size
17120 An integer specifying the size of the @acronym{NOV} memory cache. To
17121 speed things up, @code{nnmaildir} keeps @acronym{NOV} data in memory
17122 for a limited number of articles in each group. (This is probably not
17123 worthwhile, and will probably be removed in the future.) This
17124 parameter's value is noticed only the first time a group is seen after
17125 the server is opened---i.e., when you first start Gnus, typically.
17126 The @acronym{NOV} cache is never resized until the server is closed
17127 and reopened. The default is an estimate of the number of articles
17128 that would be displayed in the summary buffer: a count of articles
17129 that are either marked with @code{tick} or not marked with
17130 @code{read}, plus a little extra.
17133 @subsubsection Article identification
17134 Articles are stored in the @file{cur/} subdirectory of each maildir.
17135 Each article file is named like @code{uniq:info}, where @code{uniq}
17136 contains no colons. @code{nnmaildir} ignores, but preserves, the
17137 @code{:info} part. (Other maildir readers typically use this part of
17138 the filename to store marks.) The @code{uniq} part uniquely
17139 identifies the article, and is used in various places in the
17140 @file{.nnmaildir/} subdirectory of the maildir to store information
17141 about the corresponding article. The full pathname of an article is
17142 available in the variable @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name} after you
17143 request the article in the summary buffer.
17145 @subsubsection NOV data
17146 An article identified by @code{uniq} has its @acronym{NOV} data (used
17147 to generate lines in the summary buffer) stored in
17148 @code{.nnmaildir/nov/uniq}. There is no
17149 @code{nnmaildir-generate-nov-databases} function. (There isn't much
17150 need for it---an article's @acronym{NOV} data is updated automatically
17151 when the article or @code{nnmail-extra-headers} has changed.) You can
17152 force @code{nnmaildir} to regenerate the @acronym{NOV} data for a
17153 single article simply by deleting the corresponding @acronym{NOV}
17154 file, but @emph{beware}: this will also cause @code{nnmaildir} to
17155 assign a new article number for this article, which may cause trouble
17156 with @code{seen} marks, the Agent, and the cache.
17158 @subsubsection Article marks
17159 An article identified by @code{uniq} is considered to have the mark
17160 @code{flag} when the file @file{.nnmaildir/marks/flag/uniq} exists.
17161 When Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for a group's marks, @code{nnmaildir}
17162 looks for such files and reports the set of marks it finds. When Gnus
17163 asks @code{nnmaildir} to store a new set of marks, @code{nnmaildir}
17164 creates and deletes the corresponding files as needed. (Actually,
17165 rather than create a new file for each mark, it just creates hard
17166 links to @file{.nnmaildir/markfile}, to save inodes.)
17168 You can invent new marks by creating a new directory in
17169 @file{.nnmaildir/marks/}. You can tar up a maildir and remove it from
17170 your server, untar it later, and keep your marks. You can add and
17171 remove marks yourself by creating and deleting mark files. If you do
17172 this while Gnus is running and your @code{nnmaildir} server is open,
17173 it's best to exit all summary buffers for @code{nnmaildir} groups and
17174 type @kbd{s} in the group buffer first, and to type @kbd{g} or
17175 @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer afterwards. Otherwise, Gnus might not
17176 pick up the changes, and might undo them.
17180 @subsubsection Mail Folders
17182 @cindex mbox folders
17183 @cindex mail folders
17185 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a
17186 separate file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format.
17187 @code{nnfolder} will add extra headers to keep track of article
17188 numbers and arrival dates.
17190 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
17192 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
17193 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
17194 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
17195 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
17196 Marks for a group are usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
17197 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
17198 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder}
17199 directory. Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to
17200 backup, use @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup
17201 into the @code{nnfolder} directory).
17203 Virtual server settings:
17206 @item nnfolder-directory
17207 @vindex nnfolder-directory
17208 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this
17209 directory. The default is the value of @code{message-directory}
17210 (whose default is @file{~/Mail})
17212 @item nnfolder-active-file
17213 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
17214 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
17216 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
17217 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
17218 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
17219 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}
17221 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
17222 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
17223 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The
17224 default is @code{t}
17226 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
17227 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
17228 @cindex backup files
17229 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
17230 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If
17231 you wish to switch this off, you could say something like the
17232 following in your @file{.emacs} file:
17235 (defun turn-off-backup ()
17236 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
17238 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
17241 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
17242 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
17243 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
17244 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
17245 extract some information from it before removing it.
17247 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
17248 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
17249 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
17250 default is @code{nil}.
17252 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
17253 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
17254 The extension for @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
17256 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
17257 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
17258 The directory where the @acronym{NOV} files should be stored. If
17259 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
17261 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
17262 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
17263 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
17264 default is @code{nil}.
17266 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
17267 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
17268 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
17270 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
17271 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
17272 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If
17273 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
17278 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
17279 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
17280 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
17281 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
17282 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
17283 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
17286 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
17287 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
17289 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
17290 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
17291 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
17292 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
17293 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
17295 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
17296 typically done by @acronym{NNTP} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
17297 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
17298 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @acronym{NNTP} server), and
17299 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
17300 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
17301 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
17302 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
17305 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
17306 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
17307 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
17308 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
17313 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
17314 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
17315 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
17316 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
17317 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
17318 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
17319 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
17320 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
17321 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
17322 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
17323 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
17324 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
17325 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
17330 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
17331 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
17332 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
17333 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
17334 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
17335 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
17336 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
17337 Rmail was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
17338 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote Rmail
17339 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
17340 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
17341 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
17342 headers/status bits stuff. Rmail itself still exists as well, of
17343 course, and is still maintained within Emacs. Since Emacs 23, it
17344 uses standard mbox format rather than Babyl.
17346 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
17347 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
17352 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
17353 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
17354 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
17355 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
17356 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
17357 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
17358 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
17359 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
17360 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
17361 @acronym{NNTP} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
17362 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
17363 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
17364 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
17365 provided by the active file and overviews.
17367 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
17368 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
17369 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
17370 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
17371 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
17374 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
17375 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
17380 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
17381 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
17382 individual files, but with little or no indexing support---@code{nnmh}
17383 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
17384 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
17385 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
17386 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
17390 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
17391 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
17392 itself puts @emph{all} one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
17393 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
17394 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
17395 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
17396 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
17397 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
17398 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
17400 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
17401 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
17402 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
17403 friendly mail back end all over.
17407 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses
17408 incompatible group parameters, slightly different from those of other
17411 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
17412 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
17413 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
17414 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
17415 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
17416 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
17417 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to
17418 @uref{http://www.namesys.com/, ReiserFS} or another non-block-structured
17421 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
17422 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
17423 This means you can skip Gnus' mail splitting if your mail is already
17424 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
17425 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
17426 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
17427 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
17428 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
17429 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
17430 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will not
17431 undergo treatment such as duplicate checking.
17433 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
17434 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
17435 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
17436 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
17437 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
17440 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
17441 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
17442 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
17443 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
17444 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
17445 would) to make it use less memory. This caching will probably be
17446 removed in the future.
17448 Startup is likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than with other
17449 back ends. Everything else is likely to be faster, depending in part
17450 on your file system.
17452 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
17453 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
17458 @node Browsing the Web
17459 @section Browsing the Web
17461 @cindex browsing the web
17465 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
17466 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
17467 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
17468 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
17469 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
17470 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
17471 even know what a news group is.
17473 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
17474 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
17475 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
17476 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
17477 you mad in the end.
17479 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
17482 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
17483 interfaces to these sources.
17487 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
17488 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
17489 * Customizing W3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/W3 from Gnus.
17492 All the web sources require Emacs/W3 and the url library or those
17493 alternatives to work.
17495 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
17496 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @acronym{HTML} data
17497 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
17498 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
17499 though, you should be ok.
17501 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
17502 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
17503 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
17504 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
17505 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
17507 @node Archiving Mail
17508 @subsection Archiving Mail
17509 @cindex archiving mail
17510 @cindex backup of mail
17512 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
17513 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
17514 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
17515 marks is fairly simple.
17517 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
17518 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
17521 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
17522 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
17523 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
17524 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
17525 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
17526 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
17527 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
17528 before you restore the data.
17530 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
17531 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
17532 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
17533 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
17534 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
17535 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
17536 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
17537 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
17538 is unnecessary in that case.
17541 @subsection Web Searches
17546 @cindex Usenet searches
17547 @cindex searching the Usenet
17549 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
17550 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
17551 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
17552 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
17553 searches without having to use a browser.
17555 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
17556 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
17557 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
17558 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
17559 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
17561 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
17562 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
17563 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
17564 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
17565 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
17566 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
17567 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
17568 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
17569 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
17570 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
17573 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
17574 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
17575 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'@^etre} is to
17576 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
17577 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
17578 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
17580 You must have the @code{url} and @code{W3} package or those alternatives
17581 (try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{mm-url} variable group)
17582 installed to be able to use @code{nnweb}.
17584 Virtual server variables:
17589 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
17590 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
17591 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
17594 @vindex nnweb-search
17595 The search string to feed to the search engine.
17597 @item nnweb-max-hits
17598 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
17599 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
17602 @item nnweb-type-definition
17603 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
17604 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
17605 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
17610 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
17614 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
17617 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
17620 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
17624 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
17635 Some web sites have an RDF Site Summary (@acronym{RSS}).
17636 @acronym{RSS} is a format for summarizing headlines from news related
17637 sites (such as BBC or CNN). But basically anything list-like can be
17638 presented as an @acronym{RSS} feed: weblogs, changelogs or recent
17639 changes to a wiki (e.g. @url{http://cliki.net/recent-changes.rdf}).
17641 @acronym{RSS} has a quite regular and nice interface, and it's
17642 possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
17644 Note: you had better use Emacs which supports the @code{utf-8} coding
17645 system because @acronym{RSS} uses UTF-8 for encoding non-@acronym{ASCII}
17646 text by default. It is also used by default for non-@acronym{ASCII}
17649 @kindex G R (Group)
17650 Use @kbd{G R} from the group buffer to subscribe to a feed---you will be
17651 prompted for the location, the title and the description of the feed.
17652 The title, which allows any characters, will be used for the group name
17653 and the name of the group data file. The description can be omitted.
17655 An easy way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something like
17656 the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET y}, then
17657 subscribe to groups.
17659 The @code{nnrss} back end saves the group data file in
17660 @code{nnrss-directory} (see below) for each @code{nnrss} group. File
17661 names containing non-@acronym{ASCII} characters will be encoded by the
17662 coding system specified with the @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system}
17663 variable or other. Also @xref{Non-ASCII Group Names}, for more
17666 The @code{nnrss} back end generates @samp{multipart/alternative}
17667 @acronym{MIME} articles in which each contains a @samp{text/plain} part
17668 and a @samp{text/html} part.
17671 You can also use the following commands to import and export your
17672 subscriptions from a file in @acronym{OPML} format (Outline Processor
17675 @defun nnrss-opml-import file
17676 Prompt for an @acronym{OPML} file, and subscribe to each feed in the
17680 @defun nnrss-opml-export
17681 Write your current @acronym{RSS} subscriptions to a buffer in
17682 @acronym{OPML} format.
17685 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
17688 @item nnrss-directory
17689 @vindex nnrss-directory
17690 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
17691 @file{~/News/rss/}.
17693 @item nnrss-file-coding-system
17694 @vindex nnrss-file-coding-system
17695 The coding system used when reading and writing the @code{nnrss} groups
17696 data files. The default is the value of
17697 @code{mm-universal-coding-system} (which defaults to @code{emacs-mule}
17698 in Emacs or @code{escape-quoted} in XEmacs).
17700 @item nnrss-ignore-article-fields
17701 @vindex nnrss-ignore-article-fields
17702 Some feeds update constantly article fields during their publications,
17703 e.g. to indicate the number of comments. However, if there is
17704 a difference between the local article and the distant one, the latter
17705 is considered to be new. To avoid this and discard some fields, set this
17706 variable to the list of fields to be ignored. The default is
17707 @code{'(slash:comments)}.
17709 @item nnrss-use-local
17710 @vindex nnrss-use-local
17711 @findex nnrss-generate-download-script
17712 If you set @code{nnrss-use-local} to @code{t}, @code{nnrss} will read
17713 the feeds from local files in @code{nnrss-directory}. You can use
17714 the command @code{nnrss-generate-download-script} to generate a
17715 download script using @command{wget}.
17717 @item nnrss-wash-html-in-text-plain-parts
17718 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{nnrss} renders text in @samp{text/plain}
17719 parts as @acronym{HTML}. The function specified by the
17720 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} variable (@pxref{Display Customization,
17721 ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) will be used
17722 to render text. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default, text will
17723 simply be folded. Leave it @code{nil} if you prefer to see
17724 @samp{text/html} parts.
17727 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
17728 the summary buffer.
17731 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
17732 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
17734 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
17736 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
17737 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
17740 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
17744 (require 'browse-url)
17746 (defun browse-nnrss-url (arg)
17748 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
17751 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
17752 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
17755 (browse-url (cdr url))
17756 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
17757 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
17759 (eval-after-load "gnus"
17760 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
17761 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
17762 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
17765 Even if you have added @samp{text/html} to the
17766 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives} variable (@pxref{Display
17767 Customization, ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
17768 Manual}) since you don't want to see @acronym{HTML} parts, it might be
17769 more useful especially in @code{nnrss} groups to display
17770 @samp{text/html} parts. Here's an example of setting
17771 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives} as a group parameter (@pxref{Group
17772 Parameters}) in order to display @samp{text/html} parts only in
17773 @code{nnrss} groups:
17776 ;; @r{Set the default value of @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}.}
17777 (eval-after-load "gnus-sum"
17779 'gnus-newsgroup-variables
17780 '(mm-discouraged-alternatives
17781 . '("text/html" "image/.*"))))
17783 ;; @r{Display @samp{text/html} parts in @code{nnrss} groups.}
17786 '("\\`nnrss:" (mm-discouraged-alternatives nil)))
17790 @node Customizing W3
17791 @subsection Customizing W3
17797 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/W3 (or those
17798 alternatives) to display web pages. Emacs/W3 is documented in its own
17799 manual, but there are some things that may be more relevant for Gnus
17802 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/W3 follow links
17803 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
17804 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
17807 (eval-after-load "w3"
17809 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
17810 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
17811 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
17812 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
17814 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
17817 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in W3-rendered
17818 @acronym{HTML} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
17822 @node Other Sources
17823 @section Other Sources
17825 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
17826 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
17830 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
17831 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
17832 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
17833 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
17837 @node Directory Groups
17838 @subsection Directory Groups
17840 @cindex directory groups
17842 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
17843 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
17846 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
17847 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
17848 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
17849 back end to read directories. Big deal.
17851 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
17852 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
17853 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
17854 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
17855 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
17857 @code{nndir} will use @acronym{NOV} files if they are present.
17859 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
17860 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
17861 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
17862 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
17865 @node Anything Groups
17866 @subsection Anything Groups
17869 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
17870 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
17871 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
17874 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
17875 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
17876 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
17877 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
17878 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
17879 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
17880 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
17881 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
17882 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
17883 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
17886 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
17887 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
17888 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
17889 in the article buffer, just as usual.
17891 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
17892 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
17893 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
17894 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
17896 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
17897 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
17898 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
17899 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
17900 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
17901 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
17902 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
17903 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
17908 @item nneething-map-file-directory
17909 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
17910 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
17911 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
17913 @item nneething-exclude-files
17914 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
17915 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
17916 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
17918 @item nneething-include-files
17919 @vindex nneething-include-files
17920 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
17921 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
17923 @item nneething-map-file
17924 @vindex nneething-map-file
17925 Name of the map files.
17929 @node Document Groups
17930 @subsection Document Groups
17932 @cindex documentation group
17935 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
17936 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
17946 The standard Unix mbox file.
17948 @cindex MMDF mail box
17950 The MMDF mail box format.
17953 Several news articles appended into a file.
17955 @cindex rnews batch files
17957 The rnews batch transport format.
17960 Netscape mail boxes.
17963 @acronym{MIME} multipart messages.
17965 @item standard-digest
17966 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
17969 A @acronym{MIME} digest of messages.
17971 @item lanl-gov-announce
17972 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
17974 @cindex forwarded messages
17975 @item rfc822-forward
17976 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
17979 The Outlook mail box.
17982 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
17985 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
17988 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
17991 An RFC934-forwarded message.
17997 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
18000 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
18006 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
18007 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
18008 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
18011 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
18012 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
18013 group. And that's it.
18015 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
18016 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
18017 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
18018 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
18019 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
18020 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
18021 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
18022 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
18023 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
18024 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
18026 Virtual server variables:
18029 @item nndoc-article-type
18030 @vindex nndoc-article-type
18031 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
18032 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
18033 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
18034 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
18035 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
18037 @item nndoc-post-type
18038 @vindex nndoc-post-type
18039 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
18040 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
18045 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
18049 @node Document Server Internals
18050 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
18052 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
18053 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
18054 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
18055 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
18057 First, here's an example document type definition:
18061 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
18062 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
18065 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
18066 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
18067 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
18068 types can be defined with very few settings:
18071 @item first-article
18072 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
18073 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
18076 @item article-begin
18077 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
18078 says what the beginning of each article looks like. To do more
18079 complicated things that cannot be dealt with a simple regexp, you can
18080 use @code{article-begin-function} instead of this.
18082 @item article-begin-function
18083 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the beginning
18084 of each article. This setting overrides @code{article-begin}.
18087 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
18088 article. To do more complicated things that cannot be dealt with a
18089 simple regexp, you can use @code{head-begin-function} instead of this.
18091 @item head-begin-function
18092 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
18093 the article. This setting overrides @code{head-begin}.
18096 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
18097 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
18100 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
18101 to @samp{^\n}. To do more complicated things that cannot be dealt with
18102 a simple regexp, you can use @code{body-begin-function} instead of this.
18104 @item body-begin-function
18105 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
18106 of the article. This setting overrides @code{body-begin}.
18109 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article. To do
18110 more complicated things that cannot be dealt with a simple regexp, you
18111 can use @code{body-end-function} instead of this.
18113 @item body-end-function
18114 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
18115 the article. This setting overrides @code{body-end}.
18118 If present, this should match the beginning of the file. All text
18119 before this regexp will be totally ignored.
18122 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
18123 regexp will be totally ignored.
18127 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
18128 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
18129 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
18130 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
18131 something that's palatable for Gnus:
18134 @item prepare-body-function
18135 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
18136 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
18137 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
18139 @item article-transform-function
18140 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
18141 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
18142 body of the article.
18144 @item generate-head-function
18145 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
18146 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
18147 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
18148 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
18150 @item generate-article-function
18151 If present, this function is called to generate an entire article that
18152 Gnus can understand. It is called with the article number as a
18153 parameter when requesting all articles.
18155 @item dissection-function
18156 If present, this function is called to dissect a document by itself,
18157 overriding @code{first-article}, @code{article-begin},
18158 @code{article-begin-function}, @code{head-begin},
18159 @code{head-begin-function}, @code{head-end}, @code{body-begin},
18160 @code{body-begin-function}, @code{body-end}, @code{body-end-function},
18161 @code{file-begin}, and @code{file-end}.
18165 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
18170 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
18171 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
18172 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
18173 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
18174 (head-end . "^ ?$")
18175 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
18176 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
18177 (subtype digest guess))
18180 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
18181 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
18182 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
18183 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
18184 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
18186 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
18187 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first
18188 is the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says
18189 where in the document type definition alist to put this definition.
18190 The alist is traversed sequentially, and
18191 @code{nndoc-@var{type}-type-p} is called for a given type @var{type}.
18192 So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document is of
18193 @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
18194 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it
18195 is of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
18196 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number
18197 means low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
18200 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
18201 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
18202 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
18205 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
18206 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
18207 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
18209 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
18215 @item nngateway-address
18216 @vindex nngateway-address
18217 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
18219 @item nngateway-header-transformation
18220 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
18221 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
18222 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
18223 transformation should be called, and defaults to
18224 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
18225 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
18228 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
18229 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
18230 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
18233 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
18236 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
18239 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
18242 The following pre-defined functions exist:
18244 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
18247 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
18248 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
18249 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
18251 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
18253 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
18254 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
18255 @code{nngateway-address}.
18263 (setq gnus-post-method
18265 "mail2news@@replay.com"
18266 (nngateway-header-transformation
18267 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
18270 So, to use this, simply say something like:
18273 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
18278 @node Combined Groups
18279 @section Combined Groups
18281 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
18285 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
18289 @node Virtual Groups
18290 @subsection Virtual Groups
18292 @cindex virtual groups
18293 @cindex merging groups
18295 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
18298 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
18299 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
18300 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
18302 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
18303 regexp to match component groups.
18305 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
18306 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
18307 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
18308 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
18309 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
18310 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
18311 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
18312 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
18314 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
18315 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
18318 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
18321 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
18322 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
18324 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
18325 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
18326 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
18327 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
18330 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
18333 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
18334 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
18335 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
18337 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
18338 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
18339 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
18340 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
18341 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
18343 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
18344 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
18345 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
18347 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
18348 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} variable is non-@code{nil} (which
18349 is the default), @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread
18350 articles when entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil}
18351 and you read articles in a component group after the virtual group has
18352 been activated, the read articles from the component group will show up
18353 when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this effect if you
18354 have two virtual groups that have a component group in common. If
18355 that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}. Or you can
18356 just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before you enter
18357 it---it'll have much the same effect.
18359 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
18360 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
18361 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
18362 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
18363 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
18364 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
18365 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
18367 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
18368 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
18370 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
18371 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
18375 @node Email Based Diary
18376 @section Email Based Diary
18378 @cindex email based diary
18381 This section describes a special mail back end called @code{nndiary},
18382 and its companion library @code{gnus-diary}. It is ``special'' in the
18383 sense that it is not meant to be one of the standard alternatives for
18384 reading mail with Gnus. See @ref{Choosing a Mail Back End} for that.
18385 Instead, it is used to treat @emph{some} of your mails in a special way,
18386 namely, as event reminders.
18388 Here is a typical scenario:
18392 You've got a date with Andy Mc Dowell or Bruce Willis (select according
18393 to your sexual preference) in one month. You don't want to forget it.
18395 So you send a ``reminder'' message (actually, a diary one) to yourself.
18397 You forget all about it and keep on getting and reading new mail, as usual.
18399 From time to time, as you type `g' in the group buffer and as the date
18400 is getting closer, the message will pop up again to remind you of your
18401 appointment, just as if it were new and unread.
18403 Read your ``new'' messages, this one included, and start dreaming again
18404 of the night you're gonna have.
18406 Once the date is over (you actually fell asleep just after dinner), the
18407 message will be automatically deleted if it is marked as expirable.
18410 The Gnus Diary back end has the ability to handle regular appointments
18411 (that wouldn't ever be deleted) as well as punctual ones, operates as a
18412 real mail back end and is configurable in many ways. All of this is
18413 explained in the sections below.
18416 * The NNDiary Back End:: Basic setup and usage.
18417 * The Gnus Diary Library:: Utility toolkit on top of nndiary.
18418 * Sending or Not Sending:: A final note on sending diary messages.
18422 @node The NNDiary Back End
18423 @subsection The NNDiary Back End
18425 @cindex the nndiary back end
18427 @code{nndiary} is a back end very similar to @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
18428 Spool}). Actually, it could appear as a mix of @code{nnml} and
18429 @code{nndraft}. If you know @code{nnml}, you're already familiar with
18430 the message storing scheme of @code{nndiary}: one file per message, one
18431 directory per group.
18433 Before anything, there is one requirement to be able to run
18434 @code{nndiary} properly: you @emph{must} use the group timestamp feature
18435 of Gnus. This adds a timestamp to each group's parameters. @ref{Group
18436 Timestamp} to see how it's done.
18439 * Diary Messages:: What makes a message valid for nndiary.
18440 * Running NNDiary:: NNDiary has two modes of operation.
18441 * Customizing NNDiary:: Bells and whistles.
18444 @node Diary Messages
18445 @subsubsection Diary Messages
18446 @cindex nndiary messages
18447 @cindex nndiary mails
18449 @code{nndiary} messages are just normal ones, except for the mandatory
18450 presence of 7 special headers. These headers are of the form
18451 @code{X-Diary-<something>}, @code{<something>} being one of
18452 @code{Minute}, @code{Hour}, @code{Dom}, @code{Month}, @code{Year},
18453 @code{Time-Zone} and @code{Dow}. @code{Dom} means ``Day of Month'', and
18454 @code{dow} means ``Day of Week''. These headers actually behave like
18455 crontab specifications and define the event date(s):
18459 For all headers except the @code{Time-Zone} one, a header value is
18460 either a star (meaning all possible values), or a list of fields
18461 (separated by a comma).
18463 A field is either an integer, or a range.
18465 A range is two integers separated by a dash.
18467 Possible integer values are 0--59 for @code{Minute}, 0--23 for
18468 @code{Hour}, 1--31 for @code{Dom}, 1--12 for @code{Month}, above 1971
18469 for @code{Year} and 0--6 for @code{Dow} (0 meaning Sunday).
18471 As a special case, a star in either @code{Dom} or @code{Dow} doesn't
18472 mean ``all possible values'', but ``use only the other field''. Note
18473 that if both are star'ed, the use of either one gives the same result.
18475 The @code{Time-Zone} header is special in that it can only have one
18476 value (@code{GMT}, for instance). A star doesn't mean ``all possible
18477 values'' (because it makes no sense), but ``the current local time
18478 zone''. Most of the time, you'll be using a star here. However, for a
18479 list of available time zone values, see the variable
18480 @code{nndiary-headers}.
18483 As a concrete example, here are the diary headers to add to your message
18484 for specifying ``Each Monday and each 1st of month, at 12:00, 20:00,
18485 21:00, 22:00, 23:00 and 24:00, from 1999 to 2010'' (I'll let you find
18490 X-Diary-Hour: 12, 20-24
18493 X-Diary-Year: 1999-2010
18495 X-Diary-Time-Zone: *
18498 @node Running NNDiary
18499 @subsubsection Running NNDiary
18500 @cindex running nndiary
18501 @cindex nndiary operation modes
18503 @code{nndiary} has two modes of operation: ``traditional'' (the default)
18504 and ``autonomous''. In traditional mode, @code{nndiary} does not get new
18505 mail by itself. You have to move (@kbd{B m}) or copy (@kbd{B c}) mails
18506 from your primary mail back end to nndiary groups in order to handle them
18507 as diary messages. In autonomous mode, @code{nndiary} retrieves its own
18508 mail and handles it independently from your primary mail back end.
18510 One should note that Gnus is not inherently designed to allow several
18511 ``master'' mail back ends at the same time. However, this does make
18512 sense with @code{nndiary}: you really want to send and receive diary
18513 messages to your diary groups directly. So, @code{nndiary} supports
18514 being sort of a ``second primary mail back end'' (to my knowledge, it is
18515 the only back end offering this feature). However, there is a limitation
18516 (which I hope to fix some day): respooling doesn't work in autonomous
18519 In order to use @code{nndiary} in autonomous mode, you have several
18524 Allow @code{nndiary} to retrieve new mail by itself. Put the following
18525 line in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
18528 (setq nndiary-get-new-mail t)
18531 You must arrange for diary messages (those containing @code{X-Diary-*}
18532 headers) to be split in a private folder @emph{before} Gnus treat them.
18533 Again, this is needed because Gnus cannot (yet ?) properly handle
18534 multiple primary mail back ends. Getting those messages from a separate
18535 source will compensate this misfeature to some extent.
18537 As an example, here's my procmailrc entry to store diary files in
18538 @file{~/.nndiary} (the default @code{nndiary} mail source file):
18547 Once this is done, you might want to customize the following two options
18548 that affect the diary mail retrieval and splitting processes:
18550 @defvar nndiary-mail-sources
18551 This is the diary-specific replacement for the standard
18552 @code{mail-sources} variable. It obeys the same syntax, and defaults to
18553 @code{(file :path "~/.nndiary")}.
18556 @defvar nndiary-split-methods
18557 This is the diary-specific replacement for the standard
18558 @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable. It obeys the same syntax.
18561 Finally, you may add a permanent @code{nndiary} virtual server
18562 (something like @code{(nndiary "diary")} should do) to your
18563 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}.
18565 Hopefully, almost everything (see the TODO section in
18566 @file{nndiary.el}) will work as expected when you restart Gnus: in
18567 autonomous mode, typing @kbd{g} and @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer, will
18568 also get your new diary mails and split them according to your
18569 diary-specific rules, @kbd{F} will find your new diary groups etc.
18571 @node Customizing NNDiary
18572 @subsubsection Customizing NNDiary
18573 @cindex customizing nndiary
18574 @cindex nndiary customization
18576 Now that @code{nndiary} is up and running, it's time to customize it.
18577 The custom group is called @code{nndiary} (no, really ?!). You should
18578 browse it to figure out which options you'd like to tweak. The following
18579 two variables are probably the only ones you will want to change:
18581 @defvar nndiary-reminders
18582 This is the list of times when you want to be reminded of your
18583 appointments (e.g. 3 weeks before, then 2 days before, then 1 hour
18584 before and that's it). Remember that ``being reminded'' means that the
18585 diary message will pop up as brand new and unread again when you get new
18589 @defvar nndiary-week-starts-on-monday
18590 Rather self-explanatory. Otherwise, Sunday is assumed (this is the
18595 @node The Gnus Diary Library
18596 @subsection The Gnus Diary Library
18598 @cindex the gnus diary library
18600 Using @code{nndiary} manually (I mean, writing the headers by hand and
18601 so on) would be rather boring. Fortunately, there is a library called
18602 @code{gnus-diary} written on top of @code{nndiary}, that does many
18603 useful things for you.
18605 In order to use it, add the following line to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
18608 (require 'gnus-diary)
18611 Also, you shouldn't use any @code{gnus-user-format-function-[d|D]}
18612 (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}). @code{gnus-diary} provides both of these
18613 (sorry if you used them before).
18617 * Diary Summary Line Format:: A nicer summary buffer line format.
18618 * Diary Articles Sorting:: A nicer way to sort messages.
18619 * Diary Headers Generation:: Not doing it manually.
18620 * Diary Group Parameters:: Not handling them manually.
18623 @node Diary Summary Line Format
18624 @subsubsection Diary Summary Line Format
18625 @cindex diary summary buffer line
18626 @cindex diary summary line format
18628 Displaying diary messages in standard summary line format (usually
18629 something like @samp{From Joe: Subject}) is pretty useless. Most of
18630 the time, you're the one who wrote the message, and you mostly want to
18631 see the event's date.
18633 @code{gnus-diary} provides two supplemental user formats to be used in
18634 summary line formats. @code{D} corresponds to a formatted time string
18635 for the next occurrence of the event (e.g. ``Sat, Sep 22 01, 12:00''),
18636 while @code{d} corresponds to an approximative remaining time until the
18637 next occurrence of the event (e.g. ``in 6 months, 1 week'').
18639 For example, here's how Joe's birthday is displayed in my
18640 @code{nndiary+diary:birthdays} summary buffer (note that the message is
18641 expirable, but will never be deleted, as it specifies a periodic event):
18644 E Sat, Sep 22 01, 12:00: Joe's birthday (in 6 months, 1 week)
18647 In order to get something like the above, you would normally add the
18648 following line to your diary groups'parameters:
18651 (gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z %uD: %(%s%) (%ud)\n")
18654 However, @code{gnus-diary} does it automatically (@pxref{Diary Group
18655 Parameters}). You can however customize the provided summary line format
18656 with the following user options:
18658 @defvar gnus-diary-summary-line-format
18659 Defines the summary line format used for diary groups (@pxref{Summary
18660 Buffer Lines}). @code{gnus-diary} uses it to automatically update the
18661 diary groups'parameters.
18664 @defvar gnus-diary-time-format
18665 Defines the format to display dates in diary summary buffers. This is
18666 used by the @code{D} user format. See the docstring for details.
18669 @defvar gnus-diary-delay-format-function
18670 Defines the format function to use for displaying delays (remaining
18671 times) in diary summary buffers. This is used by the @code{d} user
18672 format. There are currently built-in functions for English and French;
18673 you can also define your own. See the docstring for details.
18676 @node Diary Articles Sorting
18677 @subsubsection Diary Articles Sorting
18678 @cindex diary articles sorting
18679 @cindex diary summary lines sorting
18680 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule
18681 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-schedule
18682 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-schedule
18684 @code{gnus-diary} provides new sorting functions (@pxref{Sorting the
18685 Summary Buffer} ) called @code{gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule},
18686 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-schedule} and
18687 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-schedule}. These functions let you organize
18688 your diary summary buffers from the closest event to the farthest one.
18690 @code{gnus-diary} automatically installs
18691 @code{gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule} as a menu item in the summary
18692 buffer's ``sort'' menu, and the two others as the primary (hence
18693 default) sorting functions in the group parameters (@pxref{Diary Group
18696 @node Diary Headers Generation
18697 @subsubsection Diary Headers Generation
18698 @cindex diary headers generation
18699 @findex gnus-diary-check-message
18701 @code{gnus-diary} provides a function called
18702 @code{gnus-diary-check-message} to help you handle the @code{X-Diary-*}
18703 headers. This function ensures that the current message contains all the
18704 required diary headers, and prompts you for values or corrections if
18707 This function is hooked into the @code{nndiary} back end, so that
18708 moving or copying an article to a diary group will trigger it
18709 automatically. It is also bound to @kbd{C-c C-f d} in
18710 @code{message-mode} and @code{article-edit-mode} in order to ease the
18711 process of converting a usual mail to a diary one.
18713 This function takes a prefix argument which will force prompting of
18714 all diary headers, regardless of their presence or validity. That way,
18715 you can very easily reschedule an already valid diary message, for
18718 @node Diary Group Parameters
18719 @subsubsection Diary Group Parameters
18720 @cindex diary group parameters
18722 When you create a new diary group, or visit one, @code{gnus-diary}
18723 automatically checks your group parameters and if needed, sets the
18724 summary line format to the diary-specific value, installs the
18725 diary-specific sorting functions, and also adds the different
18726 @code{X-Diary-*} headers to the group's posting-style. It is then easier
18727 to send a diary message, because if you use @kbd{C-u a} or @kbd{C-u m}
18728 on a diary group to prepare a message, these headers will be inserted
18729 automatically (although not filled with proper values yet).
18731 @node Sending or Not Sending
18732 @subsection Sending or Not Sending
18734 Well, assuming you've read all of the above, here are two final notes on
18735 mail sending with @code{nndiary}:
18739 @code{nndiary} is a @emph{real} mail back end. You really send real diary
18740 messsages for real. This means for instance that you can give
18741 appointments to anybody (provided they use Gnus and @code{nndiary}) by
18742 sending the diary message to them as well.
18744 However, since @code{nndiary} also has a @code{request-post} method, you
18745 can also use @kbd{C-u a} instead of @kbd{C-u m} on a diary group and the
18746 message won't actually be sent; just stored locally in the group. This
18747 comes in very handy for private appointments.
18750 @node Gnus Unplugged
18751 @section Gnus Unplugged
18756 @cindex Gnus unplugged
18758 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
18759 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
18760 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
18761 read news. Believe it or not.
18763 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
18764 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
18765 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
18766 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
18767 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
18769 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
18770 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
18771 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
18772 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
18773 reading news on a machine.
18775 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
18776 fact, you don't have to configure anything as the agent is now enabled
18777 by default (@pxref{Agent Variables, gnus-agent}).
18779 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
18782 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
18783 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
18784 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
18785 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
18786 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
18787 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
18788 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
18789 * Agent and flags:: How the Agent maintains flags.
18790 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
18791 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
18792 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
18793 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
18794 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
18795 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
18800 @subsection Agent Basics
18802 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
18804 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
18805 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
18806 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
18807 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
18809 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
18810 connected to the net continuously.
18812 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
18813 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
18815 You know that Gnus gives you all the opportunity you'd ever want for
18816 shooting yourself in the foot. Some people call it flexibility. Gnus
18817 is also customizable to a great extent, which means that the user has a
18818 say on how Gnus behaves. Other newsreaders might unconditionally shoot
18819 you in your foot, but with Gnus, you have a choice!
18821 Gnus is never really in plugged or unplugged state. Rather, it applies
18822 that state to each server individually. This means that some servers
18823 can be plugged while others can be unplugged. Additionally, some
18824 servers can be ignored by the Agent altogether (which means that
18825 they're kinda like plugged always).
18827 So when you unplug the Agent and then wonder why is Gnus opening a
18828 connection to the Net, the next step to do is to look whether all
18829 servers are agentized. If there is an unagentized server, you found
18832 Another thing is the @dfn{offline} state. Sometimes, servers aren't
18833 reachable. When Gnus notices this, it asks you whether you want the
18834 server to be switched to offline state. If you say yes, then the
18835 server will behave somewhat as if it was unplugged, except that Gnus
18836 will ask you whether you want to switch it back online again.
18838 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
18843 @findex gnus-unplugged
18844 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
18845 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
18846 already fetched while in this mode.
18849 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
18850 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
18851 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
18852 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode (@pxref{Mail
18853 Source Specifiers}).
18856 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the
18857 news onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press
18858 @kbd{g} to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J s} to fetch
18859 all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus know which
18860 articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}).
18863 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
18864 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
18865 then you read the news offline.
18868 And then you go to step 2.
18871 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
18877 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
18878 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
18879 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
18880 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
18881 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
18882 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
18883 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} servers in @code{gnus-select-method} and
18884 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
18887 Decide on download policy. It's fairly simple once you decide whether
18888 you are going to use agent categories, topic parameters, and/or group
18889 parameters to implement your policy. If you're new to gnus, it
18890 is probably best to start with a category, @xref{Agent Categories}.
18892 Both topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) and agent categories
18893 (@pxref{Agent Categories}) provide for setting a policy that applies
18894 to multiple groups. Which you use is entirely up to you. Topic
18895 parameters do override categories so, if you mix the two, you'll have
18896 to take that into account. If you have a few groups that deviate from
18897 your policy, you can use group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to
18901 Uhm@dots{} that's it.
18905 @node Agent Categories
18906 @subsection Agent Categories
18908 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
18909 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
18910 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
18911 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
18912 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
18913 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
18914 you're interested in the articles anyway.
18916 One of the more effective methods for controlling what is to be
18917 downloaded is to create a @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all)
18918 groups to this category. Groups that do not belong in any other
18919 category belong to the @code{default} category. Gnus has its own
18920 buffer for creating and managing categories.
18922 If you prefer, you can also use group parameters (@pxref{Group
18923 Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) for an
18924 alternative approach to controlling the agent. The only real
18925 difference is that categories are specific to the agent (so there is
18926 less to learn) while group and topic parameters include the kitchen
18929 Since you can set agent parameters in several different places we have
18930 a rule to decide which source to believe. This rule specifies that
18931 the parameter sources are checked in the following order: group
18932 parameters, topic parameters, agent category, and finally customizable
18933 variables. So you can mix all of these sources to produce a wide range
18934 of behavior, just don't blame me if you don't remember where you put
18938 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
18939 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
18940 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
18944 @node Category Syntax
18945 @subsubsection Category Syntax
18947 A category consists of a name, the list of groups belonging to the
18948 category, and a number of optional parameters that override the
18949 customizable variables. The complete list of agent parameters are
18952 @cindex Agent Parameters
18955 The list of groups that are in this category.
18957 @item agent-predicate
18958 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
18959 are eligible for downloading; and
18962 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
18963 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
18964 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
18966 @item agent-enable-expiration
18967 a boolean indicating whether the agent should expire old articles in
18968 this group. Most groups should be expired to conserve disk space. In
18969 fact, its probably safe to say that the gnus.* hierarchy contains the
18970 only groups that should not be expired.
18972 @item agent-days-until-old
18973 an integer indicating the number of days that the agent should wait
18974 before deciding that a read article is safe to expire.
18976 @item agent-low-score
18977 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-low-score}.
18979 @item agent-high-score
18980 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-high-score}.
18982 @item agent-short-article
18983 an integer that overrides the value of
18984 @code{gnus-agent-short-article}.
18986 @item agent-long-article
18987 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-long-article}.
18989 @item agent-enable-undownloaded-faces
18990 a symbol indicating whether the summary buffer should display
18991 undownloaded articles using the @code{gnus-summary-*-undownloaded-face}
18992 faces. Any symbol other than @code{nil} will enable the use of
18993 undownloaded faces.
18996 The name of a category can not be changed once the category has been
18999 Each category maintains a list of groups that are exclusive members of
19000 that category. The exclusivity rule is automatically enforced, add a
19001 group to a new category and it is automatically removed from its old
19004 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
19005 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
19006 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
19007 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
19009 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
19010 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
19011 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
19013 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
19014 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
19015 operators sprinkled in between.
19017 Perhaps some examples are in order.
19019 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
19020 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
19026 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
19027 short (for some value of ``short'').
19029 Here's a more complex predicate:
19038 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
19039 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
19042 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
19043 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
19044 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
19046 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
19047 you want to do, you can write your own.
19049 When evaluating each of these predicates, the named constant will be
19050 bound to the value determined by calling
19051 @code{gnus-agent-find-parameter} on the appropriate parameter. For
19052 example, gnus-agent-short-article will be bound to
19053 @code{(gnus-agent-find-parameter group 'agent-short-article)}. This
19054 means that you can specify a predicate in your category then tune that
19055 predicate to individual groups.
19059 True if the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
19060 lines; default 100.
19063 True if the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
19064 lines; default 200.
19067 True if the article has a download score less than
19068 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
19071 True if the article has a download score greater than
19072 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
19075 True if the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
19076 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
19077 checksum and sees whether articles match.
19086 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
19087 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
19088 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
19091 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
19092 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
19093 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
19094 something along the lines of the following:
19097 (defun my-article-old-p ()
19098 "Say whether an article is old."
19099 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
19100 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
19103 with the predicate then defined as:
19106 (not my-article-old-p)
19109 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
19110 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
19114 (require 'gnus-agent)
19115 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
19116 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
19117 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
19120 and simply specify your predicate as:
19126 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
19127 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
19128 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
19129 just don't give a damn.
19131 The above predicates apply to @emph{all} the groups which belong to the
19132 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
19133 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
19134 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in its group
19135 parameters like so:
19138 (agent-predicate . short)
19141 This is the group/topic parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
19142 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
19143 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
19145 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
19148 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
19151 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
19152 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
19153 predicate is assumed to be a list.
19156 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
19157 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
19158 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
19159 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
19160 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
19161 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
19163 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
19164 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
19165 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
19166 if it's to be specific to that group.
19168 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
19175 This has the same syntax as a normal Gnus score file except only a
19176 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
19182 Category specification
19186 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
19192 Group/Topic Parameter specification
19195 (agent-score ("from"
19196 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
19201 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
19207 These score files must @emph{only} contain the permitted scoring
19208 keywords stated above.
19214 Category specification
19217 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
19223 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
19227 Group Parameter specification
19230 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
19233 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
19238 Use @code{normal} score files
19240 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
19241 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
19242 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
19243 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
19245 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
19246 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
19247 files for a group, @emph{filtering out} those sections that do not
19248 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
19252 Category Specification
19259 Group Parameter specification
19262 (agent-score . file)
19267 @node Category Buffer
19268 @subsubsection Category Buffer
19270 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
19271 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
19272 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
19274 The following commands are available in this buffer:
19278 @kindex q (Category)
19279 @findex gnus-category-exit
19280 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
19283 @kindex e (Category)
19284 @findex gnus-category-customize-category
19285 Use a customization buffer to set all of the selected category's
19286 parameters at one time (@code{gnus-category-customize-category}).
19289 @kindex k (Category)
19290 @findex gnus-category-kill
19291 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
19294 @kindex c (Category)
19295 @findex gnus-category-copy
19296 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
19299 @kindex a (Category)
19300 @findex gnus-category-add
19301 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
19304 @kindex p (Category)
19305 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
19306 Edit the predicate of the current category
19307 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
19310 @kindex g (Category)
19311 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
19312 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
19313 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
19316 @kindex s (Category)
19317 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
19318 Edit the download score rule of the current category
19319 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
19322 @kindex l (Category)
19323 @findex gnus-category-list
19324 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
19328 @node Category Variables
19329 @subsubsection Category Variables
19332 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
19333 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
19334 Hook run in category buffers.
19336 @item gnus-category-line-format
19337 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
19338 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
19339 Variables}). Valid elements are:
19343 The name of the category.
19346 The number of groups in the category.
19349 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
19350 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
19351 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
19353 @item gnus-agent-short-article
19354 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
19355 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
19357 @item gnus-agent-long-article
19358 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
19359 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
19361 @item gnus-agent-low-score
19362 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
19363 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
19366 @item gnus-agent-high-score
19367 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
19368 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
19371 @item gnus-agent-expire-days
19372 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
19373 The number of days that a @samp{read} article must stay in the agent's
19374 local disk before becoming eligible for expiration (While the name is
19375 the same, this doesn't mean expiring the article on the server. It
19376 just means deleting the local copy of the article). What is also
19377 important to understand is that the counter starts with the time the
19378 article was written to the local disk and not the time the article was
19382 @item gnus-agent-enable-expiration
19383 @vindex gnus-agent-enable-expiration
19384 Determines whether articles in a group are, by default, expired or
19385 retained indefinitely. The default is @code{ENABLE} which means that
19386 you'll have to disable expiration when desired. On the other hand,
19387 you could set this to @code{DISABLE}. In that case, you would then
19388 have to enable expiration in selected groups.
19393 @node Agent Commands
19394 @subsection Agent Commands
19395 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-plugged
19396 @kindex J j (Agent)
19398 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
19399 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
19400 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
19404 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
19405 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
19406 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
19412 @node Group Agent Commands
19413 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
19417 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
19418 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
19419 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
19420 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
19423 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
19424 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
19425 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
19428 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
19429 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
19430 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
19431 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
19434 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
19435 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
19436 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
19437 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
19440 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
19441 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
19442 Add the current group to an Agent category
19443 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
19444 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
19447 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
19448 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
19449 Remove the current group from its category, if any
19450 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
19451 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
19454 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
19455 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19456 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
19462 @node Summary Agent Commands
19463 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
19467 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
19468 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
19469 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
19472 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
19473 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
19474 Remove the downloading mark from the article
19475 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
19479 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
19480 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
19481 Toggle whether to download the article
19482 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The download mark is @samp{%} by
19486 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
19487 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
19488 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
19491 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
19492 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
19493 Download all eligible (@pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
19494 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
19497 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
19498 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-series
19499 Download all processable articles in this group.
19500 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-series}).
19503 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
19504 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
19505 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
19506 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
19511 @node Server Agent Commands
19512 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
19516 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
19517 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
19518 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
19519 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
19522 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
19523 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
19524 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
19525 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
19530 @node Agent Visuals
19531 @subsection Agent Visuals
19533 If you open a summary while unplugged and, Gnus knows from the group's
19534 active range that there are more articles than the headers currently
19535 stored in the Agent, you may see some articles whose subject looks
19536 something like @samp{[Undownloaded article #####]}. These are
19537 placeholders for the missing headers. Aside from setting a mark,
19538 there is not much that can be done with one of these placeholders.
19539 When Gnus finally gets a chance to fetch the group's headers, the
19540 placeholders will automatically be replaced by the actual headers.
19541 You can configure the summary buffer's maneuvering to skip over the
19542 placeholders if you care (See @code{gnus-auto-goto-ignores}).
19544 While it may be obvious to all, the only headers and articles
19545 available while unplugged are those headers and articles that were
19546 fetched into the Agent while previously plugged. To put it another
19547 way, ``If you forget to fetch something while plugged, you might have a
19548 less than satisfying unplugged session''. For this reason, the Agent
19549 adds two visual effects to your summary buffer. These effects display
19550 the download status of each article so that you always know which
19551 articles will be available when unplugged.
19553 The first visual effect is the @samp{%O} spec. If you customize
19554 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} to include this specifier, you will add
19555 a single character field that indicates an article's download status.
19556 Articles that have been fetched into either the Agent or the Cache,
19557 will display @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} (defaults to @samp{+}). All
19558 other articles will display @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} (defaults to
19559 @samp{-}). If you open a group that has not been agentized, a space
19560 (@samp{ }) will be displayed.
19562 The second visual effect are the undownloaded faces. The faces, there
19563 are three indicating the article's score (low, normal, high), seem to
19564 result in a love/hate response from many Gnus users. The problem is
19565 that the face selection is controlled by a list of condition tests and
19566 face names (See @code{gnus-summary-highlight}). Each condition is
19567 tested in the order in which it appears in the list so early
19568 conditions have precedence over later conditions. All of this means
19569 that, if you tick an undownloaded article, the article will continue
19570 to be displayed in the undownloaded face rather than the ticked face.
19572 If you use the Agent as a cache (to avoid downloading the same article
19573 each time you visit it or to minimize your connection time), the
19574 undownloaded face will probably seem like a good idea. The reason
19575 being that you do all of our work (marking, reading, deleting) with
19576 downloaded articles so the normal faces always appear. For those
19577 users using the agent to improve online performance by caching the NOV
19578 database (most users since 5.10.2), the undownloaded faces may appear
19579 to be an absolutely horrible idea. The issue being that, since none
19580 of their articles have been fetched into the Agent, all of the
19581 normal faces will be obscured by the undownloaded faces.
19583 If you would like to use the undownloaded faces, you must enable the
19584 undownloaded faces by setting the @code{agent-enable-undownloaded-faces}
19585 group parameter to @code{t}. This parameter, like all other agent
19586 parameters, may be set on an Agent Category (@pxref{Agent Categories}),
19587 a Group Topic (@pxref{Topic Parameters}), or an individual group
19588 (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
19590 The one problem common to all users using the agent is how quickly it
19591 can consume disk space. If you using the agent on many groups, it is
19592 even more difficult to effectively recover disk space. One solution
19593 is the @samp{%F} format available in @code{gnus-group-line-format}.
19594 This format will display the actual disk space used by articles
19595 fetched into both the agent and cache. By knowing which groups use
19596 the most space, users know where to focus their efforts when ``agent
19597 expiring'' articles.
19599 @node Agent as Cache
19600 @subsection Agent as Cache
19602 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
19603 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
19604 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
19605 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
19606 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
19607 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
19608 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
19609 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
19610 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
19612 If you so desire, you can configure the agent (see @code{gnus-agent-cache}
19613 @pxref{Agent Variables}) to always download headers and articles while
19614 plugged. Gnus will almost certainly be slower, but it will be kept
19615 synchronized with the server. That last point probably won't make any
19616 sense if you are using a nntp or nnimap back end.
19619 @subsection Agent Expiry
19621 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
19622 @findex gnus-agent-expire
19623 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
19624 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire-group
19625 @findex gnus-agent-expire-group
19626 @cindex agent expiry
19627 @cindex Gnus agent expiry
19628 @cindex expiry, in Gnus agent
19630 The Agent back end, @code{nnagent}, doesn't handle expiry. Well, at
19631 least it doesn't handle it like other back ends. Instead, there are
19632 special @code{gnus-agent-expire} and @code{gnus-agent-expire-group}
19633 commands that will expire all read articles that are older than
19634 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. They can be run whenever you feel
19635 that you're running out of space. Neither are particularly fast or
19636 efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to interrupt them (with
19637 @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started one of them.
19639 Note that other functions, e.g. @code{gnus-request-expire-articles},
19640 might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you to keep the agent
19641 synchronized with the group.
19643 The agent parameter @code{agent-enable-expiration} may be used to
19644 prevent expiration in selected groups.
19646 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
19647 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, the agent
19648 expiration commands will expire all articles---unread, read, ticked
19649 and dormant. If @code{nil} (which is the default), only read articles
19650 are eligible for expiry, and unread, ticked and dormant articles will
19651 be kept indefinitely.
19653 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
19654 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's are special
19655 commands, @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} and
19656 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group}, to fix possible problems.
19658 @node Agent Regeneration
19659 @subsection Agent Regeneration
19661 @cindex agent regeneration
19662 @cindex Gnus agent regeneration
19663 @cindex regeneration
19665 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
19666 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
19667 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
19668 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
19669 internal inconsistencies.
19671 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
19672 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
19673 know about articles successfully downloaded prior to the connection
19674 failure. Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
19675 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
19676 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
19678 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
19679 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
19680 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
19681 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
19682 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
19683 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
19685 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
19686 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
19687 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
19688 of individual articles to repair the local @acronym{NOV}(header) database. It
19689 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
19690 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
19693 @node Agent and flags
19694 @subsection Agent and flags
19696 The Agent works with any Gnus back end including those, such as
19697 nnimap, that store flags (read, ticked, etc) on the server. Sadly,
19698 the Agent does not actually know which backends keep their flags in
19699 the backend server rather than in @file{.newsrc}. This means that the
19700 Agent, while unplugged or disconnected, will always record all changes
19701 to the flags in its own files.
19703 When you plug back in, Gnus will then check to see if you have any
19704 changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the
19705 server. This behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
19707 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19708 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
19709 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
19710 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
19711 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
19712 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
19714 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
19715 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
19716 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
19717 in the group buffer.
19719 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by ``pushing''
19720 all local flags to the server, but rather by incrementally updated the
19721 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
19722 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on an article, quit the group then
19723 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
19724 removed from the server when you ``synchronize''. The queued flag
19725 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
19726 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
19728 @node Agent and IMAP
19729 @subsection Agent and IMAP
19731 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
19732 since there are some conceptual differences between @acronym{NNTP} and
19733 @acronym{IMAP}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
19734 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @acronym{IMAP} Disconnected Mode client.
19736 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
19737 expect from a disconnected @acronym{IMAP} client, including:
19742 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
19745 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
19749 @node Outgoing Messages
19750 @subsection Outgoing Messages
19752 By default, when Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail
19753 and news) are stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}).
19754 You can view them there after posting, and edit them at will.
19756 You can control the circumstances under which outgoing mail is queued
19757 (see @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail}, @pxref{Agent Variables}). Outgoing
19758 news is always queued when Gnus is unplugged, and never otherwise.
19760 You can send the messages either from the draft group with the special
19761 commands available there, or you can use the @kbd{J S} command in the
19762 group buffer to send all the sendable messages in the draft group.
19763 Posting news will only work when Gnus is plugged, but you can send
19766 If sending mail while unplugged does not work for you and you worry
19767 about hitting @kbd{J S} by accident when unplugged, you can have Gnus
19768 ask you to confirm your action (see
19769 @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue}, @pxref{Agent Variables}).
19771 @node Agent Variables
19772 @subsection Agent Variables
19777 Is the agent enabled? The default is @code{t}. When first enabled,
19778 the agent will use @code{gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods} to
19779 automatically mark some back ends as agentized. You may change which
19780 back ends are agentized using the agent commands in the server buffer.
19782 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
19783 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
19786 @item gnus-agent-directory
19787 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
19788 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
19789 @file{~/News/agent/}.
19791 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
19792 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
19793 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
19794 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
19795 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
19798 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
19799 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
19800 Hook run when connecting to the network.
19802 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
19803 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
19804 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
19806 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
19807 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
19808 Hook run when finished fetching articles.
19810 @item gnus-agent-cache
19811 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
19812 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @acronym{NOV} and
19813 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
19814 The default is non-@code{nil}, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
19816 @item gnus-agent-go-online
19817 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
19818 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
19819 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
19820 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
19821 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
19822 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
19825 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
19826 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
19827 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
19828 mark articles as unread after downloading. This is usually a safe
19829 thing to do as the newly downloaded article has obviously not been
19830 read. The default is @code{t}.
19832 @item gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19833 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19834 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
19835 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
19836 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
19837 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
19838 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
19840 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
19841 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
19842 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
19843 agent will let the agent predicate decide whether articles need to be
19844 downloaded or not, for all articles. When @code{nil}, the default,
19845 the agent will only let the predicate decide whether unread articles
19846 are downloaded or not. If you enable this, you may also want to look
19847 into the agent expiry settings (@pxref{Category Variables}), so that
19848 the agent doesn't download articles which the agent will later expire,
19849 over and over again.
19851 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
19852 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
19853 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
19854 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
19855 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
19856 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
19857 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
19858 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
19859 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
19860 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
19861 However, all articles parsed prior to loosing the connection will be
19862 available while unplugged). The default is 10M so it is unusual to
19865 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
19866 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
19867 Perhaps not an Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
19868 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
19869 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
19870 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
19871 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
19872 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
19873 is only valid if the Agent is used.
19875 @item gnus-auto-goto-ignores
19876 @vindex gnus-auto-goto-ignores
19877 Another variable that isn't an Agent variable, yet so closely related
19878 that most will look for it here, this variable tells the summary
19879 buffer how to maneuver around undownloaded (only headers stored in the
19880 agent) and unfetched (neither article nor headers stored) articles.
19882 The valid values are @code{nil} (maneuver to any article),
19883 @code{undownloaded} (maneuvering while unplugged ignores articles that
19884 have not been fetched), @code{always-undownloaded} (maneuvering always
19885 ignores articles that have not been fetched), @code{unfetched}
19886 (maneuvering ignores articles whose headers have not been fetched).
19888 @item gnus-agent-queue-mail
19889 @vindex gnus-agent-queue-mail
19890 When @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail} is @code{always}, Gnus will always
19891 queue mail rather than sending it straight away. When @code{t}, Gnus
19892 will queue mail when unplugged only. When @code{nil}, never queue
19893 mail. The default is @code{t}.
19895 @item gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
19896 @vindex gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
19897 When @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue} is non-@code{nil} Gnus will
19898 prompt you to confirm that you really wish to proceed if you hit
19899 @kbd{J S} while unplugged. The default is @code{nil}.
19901 @item gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
19902 @vindex gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
19903 If you have never used the Agent before (or more technically, if
19904 @file{~/News/agent/lib/servers} does not exist), Gnus will
19905 automatically agentize a few servers for you. This variable control
19906 which back ends should be auto-agentized. It is typically only useful
19907 to agentize remote back ends. The auto-agentizing has the same effect
19908 as running @kbd{J a} on the servers (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}).
19909 If the file exist, you must manage the servers manually by adding or
19910 removing them, this variable is only applicable the first time you
19911 start Gnus. The default is @samp{(nntp nnimap)}.
19916 @node Example Setup
19917 @subsection Example Setup
19919 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
19920 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
19921 @file{~/.gnus.el} file to get started.
19924 ;; @r{Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @acronym{NNTP}}
19925 ;; @r{from your ISP's server.}
19926 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
19928 ;; @r{Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from}
19929 ;; @r{your ISP's @acronym{POP} server.}
19930 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
19932 ;; @r{Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.}
19933 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
19935 ;; @r{Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.}
19936 ;; (gnus-agentize) ; @r{The obsolete setting.}
19937 ;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; @r{Now the default.}
19940 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
19941 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
19944 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
19945 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
19946 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
19947 @acronym{NNTP} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
19948 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
19951 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
19952 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
19953 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
19954 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
19955 back all the killed groups.)
19957 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
19958 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
19959 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
19962 @node Batching Agents
19963 @subsection Batching Agents
19964 @findex gnus-agent-batch
19966 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
19967 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
19968 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
19970 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
19971 following incantation:
19975 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
19979 @node Agent Caveats
19980 @subsection Agent Caveats
19982 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
19983 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
19987 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
19989 @strong{No}. If you want this behavior, add
19990 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
19991 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
19993 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in
19994 the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
19996 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is @code{nil}.
20000 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
20001 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
20002 locally stored articles.
20009 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
20010 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
20011 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
20014 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
20015 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
20016 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
20017 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
20018 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
20020 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
20021 before generating the summary buffer.
20023 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
20024 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
20025 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
20027 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
20028 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
20029 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
20030 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
20033 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
20034 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
20035 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
20036 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
20037 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
20038 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
20039 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
20040 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
20041 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
20042 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
20043 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
20044 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
20045 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
20046 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
20047 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
20048 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
20052 @node Summary Score Commands
20053 @section Summary Score Commands
20054 @cindex score commands
20056 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
20057 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
20058 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
20059 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
20060 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
20062 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
20063 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
20064 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
20065 score file the current one.
20067 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
20072 @kindex V s (Summary)
20073 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
20074 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
20077 @kindex V S (Summary)
20078 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
20079 Display the score of the current article
20080 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
20083 @kindex V t (Summary)
20084 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
20085 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
20086 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}). In the @code{*Score Trace*} buffer, you
20087 may type @kbd{e} to edit score file corresponding to the score rule on
20088 current line and @kbd{f} to format (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) the
20089 score file and edit it.
20092 @kindex V w (Summary)
20093 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
20094 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
20097 @kindex V R (Summary)
20098 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
20099 Run the current summary through the scoring process
20100 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
20101 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
20102 effect you're having.
20105 @kindex V c (Summary)
20106 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
20107 Make a different score file the current
20108 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
20111 @kindex V e (Summary)
20112 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
20113 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
20114 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
20118 @kindex V f (Summary)
20119 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
20120 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
20121 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
20124 @kindex V F (Summary)
20125 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
20126 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
20127 after editing score files.
20130 @kindex V C (Summary)
20131 @findex gnus-score-customize
20132 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
20133 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
20137 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
20142 @kindex V m (Summary)
20143 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
20144 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
20145 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
20148 @kindex V x (Summary)
20149 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
20150 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
20151 expunge all articles below this score
20152 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
20155 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
20156 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
20159 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
20160 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
20164 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
20165 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
20167 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
20168 keys are available:
20172 Score on the author name.
20175 Score on the subject line.
20178 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
20181 Score on the @code{References} line.
20187 Score on the number of lines.
20190 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
20193 Score on an ``extra'' header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
20194 if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
20197 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
20198 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
20199 @file{ADAPT} files.)
20208 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
20214 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
20215 what headers you are scoring on.
20227 Substring matching.
20230 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
20259 Greater than number.
20264 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
20265 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
20266 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
20271 Temporary score entry.
20274 Permanent score entry.
20277 Immediately scoring.
20281 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
20282 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
20283 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
20287 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
20288 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
20289 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
20290 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
20292 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
20293 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
20294 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
20295 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
20296 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
20298 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
20299 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
20300 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
20301 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
20302 current score file.
20304 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
20305 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
20306 pretend they are keymaps or not.
20309 @node Group Score Commands
20310 @section Group Score Commands
20311 @cindex group score commands
20313 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
20318 @kindex W e (Group)
20319 @findex gnus-score-edit-all-score
20320 Edit the apply-to-all-groups all.SCORE file. You will be popped into
20321 a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score File Editing}).
20324 @kindex W f (Group)
20325 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
20326 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
20327 all the time. This command will flush the cache
20328 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
20332 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
20334 @findex gnus-batch-score
20335 @cindex batch scoring
20337 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
20341 @node Score Variables
20342 @section Score Variables
20343 @cindex score variables
20347 @item gnus-use-scoring
20348 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
20349 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
20350 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
20352 @item gnus-kill-killed
20353 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
20354 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
20355 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
20356 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
20357 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
20358 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
20359 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
20361 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
20362 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
20363 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
20364 initialized from the @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
20365 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
20367 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
20368 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
20369 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
20370 (@file{SCORE} by default.)
20372 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
20373 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
20374 @cindex score cache
20375 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
20376 score files. However, this might make your Emacs grow big and
20377 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely
20378 to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
20379 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
20380 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
20381 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
20384 @item gnus-save-score
20385 @vindex gnus-save-score
20386 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
20387 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
20388 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
20390 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
20391 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
20392 across group visits.
20394 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
20395 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
20396 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
20397 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
20398 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
20399 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
20400 manually entered data.
20402 @item gnus-summary-default-score
20403 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
20404 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
20406 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
20407 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
20408 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
20409 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
20410 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
20411 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
20413 @item gnus-score-over-mark
20414 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
20415 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
20416 default. Default is @samp{+}.
20418 @item gnus-score-below-mark
20419 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
20420 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
20421 default. Default is @samp{-}.
20423 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
20424 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
20425 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
20426 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
20428 Predefined functions available are:
20431 @item gnus-score-find-single
20432 @findex gnus-score-find-single
20433 Only apply the group's own score file.
20435 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
20436 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
20437 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
20438 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
20439 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
20440 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
20441 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
20442 then a regexp match is done.
20444 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
20445 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
20447 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
20448 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
20449 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
20450 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
20452 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
20453 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
20454 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
20455 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
20456 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
20460 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
20461 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
20462 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
20463 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
20464 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
20465 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
20466 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
20469 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
20470 overall score file, you could use the value
20472 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
20473 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
20476 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
20477 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
20478 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
20479 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
20480 are expired. It's 7 by default.
20482 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
20483 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
20484 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
20485 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
20486 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
20487 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
20488 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
20489 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
20491 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
20492 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
20493 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
20495 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
20496 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
20497 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be
20498 simplified for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
20499 threading---according to the current value of
20500 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions}. If the scoring entry uses
20501 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
20502 simplified in this manner.
20507 @node Score File Format
20508 @section Score File Format
20509 @cindex score file format
20511 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
20512 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
20513 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
20515 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
20519 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
20521 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
20523 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
20525 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
20530 (mark-and-expunge -10)
20534 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
20535 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
20536 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
20537 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
20541 This example demonstrates most score file elements. @xref{Advanced
20542 Scoring}, for a different approach.
20544 Even though this looks much like Lisp code, nothing here is actually
20545 @code{eval}ed. The Lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
20546 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
20548 Six keys are supported by this alist:
20553 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
20554 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
20555 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
20556 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
20557 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
20558 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
20559 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
20560 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
20561 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
20562 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
20563 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
20564 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
20565 to articles that matches these score entries.
20567 Following this key is an arbitrary number of score entries, where each
20568 score entry has one to four elements.
20572 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
20573 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
20577 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
20578 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
20579 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
20580 is successful. If this element is not present, the
20581 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
20582 instead. This is 1000 by default.
20585 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
20586 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
20587 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
20588 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
20589 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
20592 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
20593 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
20594 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
20595 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
20598 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
20599 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
20600 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
20601 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
20602 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
20603 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
20604 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
20605 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
20606 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
20607 instead, if you feel like.
20610 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
20611 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
20612 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
20613 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
20614 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin
20615 host, if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks @samp{NNTP-Posting-Host} in
20619 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s
20620 "NNTP-Posting-Host")
20624 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
20625 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
20627 These predicates are true if
20630 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
20633 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
20634 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
20641 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
20642 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
20643 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
20644 it's not. I think.)
20646 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
20647 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
20648 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
20649 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
20652 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
20653 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
20654 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
20655 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
20656 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
20657 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
20658 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
20662 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
20663 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
20664 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
20665 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
20666 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
20667 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
20668 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
20669 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
20672 @item Head, Body, All
20673 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
20677 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
20678 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
20679 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
20680 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
20681 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
20682 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
20683 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
20687 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
20688 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
20689 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
20690 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
20691 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
20692 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
20693 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
20694 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
20695 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
20696 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
20697 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
20701 @cindex score file atoms
20703 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20704 lower than this number will be marked as read.
20707 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20708 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
20710 @item mark-and-expunge
20711 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20712 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
20715 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
20716 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
20717 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
20718 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
20719 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
20722 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
20723 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
20726 @item exclude-files
20727 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
20728 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
20732 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}ed. This element will be
20733 ignored when handling global score files.
20736 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
20737 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
20738 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
20739 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
20742 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
20743 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
20744 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
20745 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
20747 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
20751 (mark-and-expunge -100)
20754 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
20755 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
20756 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{c y}) the
20757 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
20758 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
20760 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
20761 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
20762 scoring rules exist.
20765 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
20766 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
20767 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
20768 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
20769 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
20770 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
20771 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
20772 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
20773 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
20774 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
20775 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
20779 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
20780 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
20781 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
20782 file for a number of groups.
20785 @cindex local variables
20786 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(@var{var}
20787 @var{value})} pairs. Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the
20788 current summary buffer, and set to the value specified. This is a
20789 convenient, if somewhat strange, way of setting variables in some
20790 groups if you don't like hooks much. Note that the @var{value} won't
20795 @node Score File Editing
20796 @section Score File Editing
20798 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
20799 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
20800 with a mode for that.
20802 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
20803 additional commands:
20808 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
20809 @findex gnus-score-edit-exit
20810 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
20811 (@code{gnus-score-edit-exit}).
20814 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
20815 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
20816 Insert the current date in numerical format
20817 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
20818 you were wondering.
20821 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
20822 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
20823 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
20824 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
20825 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
20830 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
20832 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
20833 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
20835 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f}, @kbd{V e} and
20836 @kbd{V t} to begin editing score files.
20839 @node Adaptive Scoring
20840 @section Adaptive Scoring
20841 @cindex adaptive scoring
20843 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
20844 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
20845 stupidity, to be precise.
20847 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
20848 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
20849 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
20850 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
20851 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
20852 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
20853 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
20854 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
20855 variable to @code{(word line)}.
20857 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
20858 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
20859 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
20860 might look something like this:
20863 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
20864 '((gnus-unread-mark)
20865 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
20866 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
20867 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
20868 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
20869 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
20870 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
20871 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
20872 (gnus-ancient-mark)
20873 (gnus-low-score-mark)
20874 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
20877 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
20878 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
20879 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
20880 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
20881 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
20882 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
20885 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
20886 will be applied to each article.
20888 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
20889 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{e}) will have a
20890 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
20891 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
20893 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
20894 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
20895 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
20896 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
20898 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
20899 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
20900 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
20901 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
20903 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
20904 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
20905 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
20906 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
20907 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
20908 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
20910 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
20911 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
20912 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
20914 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
20915 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
20916 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
20918 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
20919 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
20920 let you use different rules in different groups.
20922 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
20923 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
20924 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
20927 @vindex gnus-adaptive-pretty-print
20928 Adaptive score files can get huge and are not meant to be edited by
20929 human hands. If @code{gnus-adaptive-pretty-print} is @code{nil} (the
20930 default) those files will not be written in a human readable way.
20932 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
20933 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
20934 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
20935 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
20936 the length of the match is less than
20937 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
20938 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
20941 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
20942 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
20943 headers. If you adapt on words, the
20944 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
20945 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
20948 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
20949 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
20950 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
20951 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
20952 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
20955 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
20956 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
20957 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
20958 score with 30 points.
20960 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
20961 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
20962 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
20963 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
20964 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
20966 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
20967 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
20968 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
20969 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
20970 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
20972 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
20973 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
20974 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
20975 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
20977 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
20978 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
20979 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
20980 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
20982 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
20983 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
20984 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
20985 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
20986 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
20988 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
20989 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
20990 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
20992 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
20993 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
20994 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
20995 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
20998 @node Home Score File
20999 @section Home Score File
21001 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
21002 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
21003 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
21004 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
21006 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
21007 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
21008 could perhaps use the same home score file.
21010 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
21011 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
21016 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
21020 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
21021 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
21025 A list. The elements in this list can be:
21029 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
21030 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
21033 A function. If the function returns non-@code{nil}, the result will
21034 be used as the home score file. The function will be called with the
21035 name of the group as the parameter.
21038 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
21041 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
21046 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
21049 (setq gnus-home-score-file
21050 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
21053 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
21054 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
21056 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
21058 (setq gnus-home-score-file
21059 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
21062 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
21063 Other functions include
21066 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
21067 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
21068 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
21069 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
21073 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
21074 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
21075 their own home score files:
21078 (setq gnus-home-score-file
21079 ;; @r{All groups that match the regexp @code{"\\.emacs"}}
21080 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
21081 ;; @r{All the comp groups in one score file}
21082 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
21085 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
21086 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
21087 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
21088 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
21089 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
21091 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
21092 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
21093 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
21094 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
21095 precedence over this variable.
21098 @node Followups To Yourself
21099 @section Followups To Yourself
21101 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
21102 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
21103 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
21104 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
21105 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
21106 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
21110 @item gnus-score-followup-article
21111 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
21112 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
21115 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
21116 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
21117 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
21121 @vindex message-sent-hook
21122 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
21123 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
21125 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
21129 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
21130 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
21134 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
21135 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
21138 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
21139 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
21144 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
21148 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
21149 is system-dependent.
21152 @node Scoring On Other Headers
21153 @section Scoring On Other Headers
21154 @cindex scoring on other headers
21156 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
21157 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
21158 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
21159 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
21160 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
21162 @vindex gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring
21163 You can inhibit this slow scoring on headers or body by setting the
21164 variable @code{gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring}. If
21165 @code{gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring} is regexp, slow scoring is inhibited if
21166 the group matches the regexp. If it is t, slow scoring on it is
21167 inhibited for all groups.
21169 Now, there's not much you can do about the slowness for news groups, but for
21170 mail groups, you have greater control. In @ref{To From Newsgroups},
21171 it's explained in greater detail what this mechanism does, but here's
21172 a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on how to allow scoring on the
21173 @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
21175 Put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
21178 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
21179 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
21182 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
21183 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
21184 time if you have much mail.
21186 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
21187 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
21193 @section Scoring Tips
21194 @cindex scoring tips
21200 @cindex scoring crossposts
21201 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
21202 the @code{Xref} header.
21204 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
21207 @item Multiple crossposts
21208 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
21209 more than, say, 3 groups:
21212 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
21216 @item Matching on the body
21217 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
21218 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
21219 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
21220 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
21221 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
21222 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
21223 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
21226 @item Marking as read
21227 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
21228 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
21229 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
21233 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
21235 @item Negated character classes
21236 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
21237 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
21238 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
21242 @node Reverse Scoring
21243 @section Reverse Scoring
21244 @cindex reverse scoring
21246 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
21247 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
21248 like this in your score file:
21252 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
21257 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
21258 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
21261 @node Global Score Files
21262 @section Global Score Files
21263 @cindex global score files
21265 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
21266 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
21267 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
21269 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
21270 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
21271 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
21273 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
21274 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
21275 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
21276 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
21277 files are applicable to which group.
21279 To use the score file
21280 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
21281 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
21285 (setq gnus-global-score-files
21286 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
21287 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
21290 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
21292 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
21293 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
21294 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
21295 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
21297 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
21298 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
21300 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
21301 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
21302 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
21303 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
21304 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
21305 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
21307 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
21313 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
21315 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
21317 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
21319 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
21320 lowered out of existence.
21322 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
21323 articles completely.
21326 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
21327 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
21328 old articles for a long time.
21331 @dots{} I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
21332 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
21333 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
21334 holding our breath yet?
21338 @section Kill Files
21341 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
21342 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
21343 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
21345 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
21346 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
21347 files into score files.
21349 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
21350 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
21351 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
21352 that isn't a very good idea.
21354 Normal kill files look like this:
21357 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
21358 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
21362 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
21363 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
21365 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
21366 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
21369 Two summary functions for editing a @sc{gnus} kill file:
21374 @kindex M-k (Summary)
21375 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
21376 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
21379 @kindex M-K (Summary)
21380 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
21381 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
21384 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
21389 @kindex M-k (Group)
21390 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
21391 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
21394 @kindex M-K (Group)
21395 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
21396 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
21399 Kill file variables:
21402 @item gnus-kill-file-name
21403 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
21404 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
21405 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
21406 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
21407 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
21408 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
21410 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
21411 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
21412 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
21413 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
21416 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
21417 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
21418 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
21419 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
21420 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
21421 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
21422 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
21423 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
21424 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
21426 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
21427 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
21428 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
21433 @node Converting Kill Files
21434 @section Converting Kill Files
21436 @cindex converting kill files
21438 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
21439 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
21440 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
21443 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Emacs by default.
21444 You can fetch it from the contrib directory of the Gnus distribution or
21446 @uref{http://heim.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
21448 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
21449 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
21450 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
21454 @node Advanced Scoring
21455 @section Advanced Scoring
21457 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
21458 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
21459 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
21460 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
21461 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
21463 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
21467 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
21468 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
21469 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
21473 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
21474 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
21476 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
21477 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
21478 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
21479 non-@code{nil} value.
21481 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
21482 operator, and various match operators.
21489 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
21490 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
21491 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
21496 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
21497 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
21498 then this operator will return @code{false}.
21503 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
21504 logical negation of the value of its argument.
21508 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
21509 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
21510 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
21511 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
21512 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
21513 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
21514 the ancestry you want to go.
21516 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
21517 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
21518 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
21519 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
21520 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
21523 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
21524 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
21526 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
21527 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
21530 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
21531 when he's talking about Gnus:
21536 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
21537 ("subject" "Gnus"))
21544 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
21548 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
21555 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
21556 really don't want to read what he's written:
21560 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
21561 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigil Logge")))
21565 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
21566 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
21567 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
21574 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
21575 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
21576 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
21577 ("body" "white.*socks"))
21581 Suppose you're reading a high volume group and you're only interested
21582 in replies. The plan is to score down all articles that don't have
21583 subject that begin with "Re:", "Fw:" or "Fwd:" and then score up all
21584 parents of articles that have subjects that begin with reply marks.
21587 ((! ("subject" "re:\\|fwd?:" r))
21589 ((1- ("subject" "re:\\|fwd?:" r))
21593 The possibilities are endless.
21595 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
21596 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
21598 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
21599 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
21600 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
21601 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
21602 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
21603 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
21604 @samp{subject}) first.
21606 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
21607 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
21618 Then that means ``score on the from header of the grandparent of the
21619 current article''. An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
21625 ("subject" "Gnus")))
21632 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
21633 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
21638 @section Score Decays
21639 @cindex score decays
21642 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
21643 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
21644 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
21645 use them in any sensible way.
21647 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
21648 @findex gnus-decay-score
21649 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
21650 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
21651 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
21652 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
21653 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
21654 If @code{gnus-decay-scores} is a regexp, only score files matching this
21655 regexp are treated. E.g. you may set it to @samp{\\.ADAPT\\'} if only
21656 @emph{adaptive} score files should be decayed. The decay itself if
21657 performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function} function, which is
21658 @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the definition of that
21662 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
21663 "Decay SCORE according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
21664 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
21666 (* (if (< score 0) -1 1)
21668 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
21670 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
21671 (if (and (featurep 'xemacs)
21672 ;; XEmacs' floor can handle only the floating point
21673 ;; number below the half of the maximum integer.
21674 (> (abs n) (lsh -1 -2)))
21676 (car (split-string (number-to-string n) "\\.")))
21680 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
21681 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
21682 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
21683 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
21687 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
21690 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
21693 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
21697 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
21698 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
21699 the new score, which should be an integer.
21701 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
21702 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
21707 @include message.texi
21708 @chapter Emacs MIME
21709 @include emacs-mime.texi
21711 @include sieve.texi
21723 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
21724 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
21725 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
21726 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
21727 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
21728 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
21729 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
21730 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
21731 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
21732 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
21733 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
21734 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
21735 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
21736 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
21737 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
21738 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
21739 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
21740 * Thwarting Email Spam:: Simple ways to avoid unsolicited commercial email.
21741 * Spam Package:: A package for filtering and processing spam.
21742 * The Gnus Registry:: A package for tracking messages by Message-ID.
21743 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
21744 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
21748 @node Process/Prefix
21749 @section Process/Prefix
21750 @cindex process/prefix convention
21752 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
21753 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
21755 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
21756 command to be performed on.
21760 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
21761 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
21762 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
21763 with the current one.
21765 @vindex transient-mark-mode
21766 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
21767 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
21769 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
21770 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
21773 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
21774 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
21776 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
21779 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
21780 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
21781 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
21782 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
21784 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
21785 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
21786 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
21787 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
21788 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
21789 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
21790 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
21791 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
21793 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
21794 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
21795 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
21796 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
21797 expirable, you could say @kbd{M P b M-& E}.
21801 @section Interactive
21802 @cindex interaction
21806 @item gnus-novice-user
21807 @vindex gnus-novice-user
21808 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
21809 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
21810 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
21811 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
21814 @item gnus-expert-user
21815 @vindex gnus-expert-user
21816 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
21817 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing,
21818 no matter how strange. For example, quitting Gnus, exiting a group
21819 without an update, catching up with a group, deleting expired
21820 articles, and replying by mail to a news message will not require
21823 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
21824 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
21825 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
21826 is @code{t} by default.
21828 @item gnus-interactive-exit
21829 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
21830 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21835 @node Symbolic Prefixes
21836 @section Symbolic Prefixes
21837 @cindex symbolic prefixes
21839 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
21840 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
21841 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
21842 rule of 900 to the current article.
21844 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
21845 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
21846 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
21847 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
21848 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
21849 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
21850 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
21852 @kindex M-i (Summary)
21853 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
21854 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
21855 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
21856 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
21857 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
21858 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
21859 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
21860 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
21862 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
21863 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
21864 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
21866 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
21870 @node Formatting Variables
21871 @section Formatting Variables
21872 @cindex formatting variables
21874 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
21875 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
21876 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
21877 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
21878 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
21881 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
21882 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
21883 lots of percentages everywhere.
21886 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
21887 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
21888 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
21889 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
21890 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
21891 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
21892 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
21893 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
21896 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
21897 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
21898 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
21899 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
21900 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
21901 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
21902 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
21903 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
21905 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
21906 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
21908 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
21909 @findex gnus-update-format
21910 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
21911 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
21912 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
21913 examine the resulting Lisp code to be run to generate the line.
21917 @node Formatting Basics
21918 @subsection Formatting Basics
21920 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
21921 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
21922 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
21924 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
21925 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
21926 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
21927 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
21928 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
21931 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
21932 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
21933 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
21934 less than 4 characters wide.
21936 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
21937 @samp{%&user-date;}.
21940 @node Mode Line Formatting
21941 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
21943 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
21944 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
21945 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
21946 with the following two differences:
21951 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
21954 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
21955 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
21956 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
21957 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
21958 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
21959 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
21960 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
21965 @node Advanced Formatting
21966 @subsection Advanced Formatting
21968 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
21969 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
21970 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
21971 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
21973 These are the valid modifiers:
21978 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
21982 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
21987 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
21990 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
21995 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
21998 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
22001 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
22004 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
22010 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
22015 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
22016 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
22017 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
22018 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
22019 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
22020 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
22021 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
22023 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
22024 last operation, padding.
22026 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
22027 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
22028 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
22029 @xref{Compilation}.
22032 @node User-Defined Specs
22033 @subsection User-Defined Specs
22035 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
22036 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
22037 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
22038 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
22039 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
22040 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
22041 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
22042 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
22043 should protect against that.
22045 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
22046 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
22048 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
22049 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
22050 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
22051 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
22055 @node Formatting Fonts
22056 @subsection Formatting Fonts
22059 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
22060 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
22061 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
22062 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
22063 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
22067 @vindex gnus-face-0
22068 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
22069 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
22070 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
22071 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
22072 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
22073 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
22075 @cindex %<<, %>>, guillemets
22076 @c @cindex %<<, %>>, %«, %», guillemets
22077 @vindex gnus-balloon-face-0
22078 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
22079 special @code{balloon-help} property set to
22080 @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get
22081 @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*}
22082 variables should be either strings or symbols naming functions that
22083 return a string. When the mouse passes over text with this property
22084 set, a balloon window will appear and display the string. Please
22085 refer to @ref{Tooltips, ,Tooltips, emacs, The Emacs Manual},
22086 (in GNU Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in
22087 XEmacs) for more information on this. (For technical reasons, the
22088 guillemets have been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this
22091 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
22094 ;; @r{Create three face types.}
22095 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
22096 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
22098 ;; @r{We want the article count to be in}
22099 ;; @r{a bold and green face. So we create}
22100 ;; @r{a new face called @code{my-green-bold}.}
22101 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
22102 ;; @r{Set the color.}
22103 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
22104 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
22106 ;; @r{Set the new & fancy format.}
22107 (setq gnus-group-line-format
22108 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
22111 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
22112 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
22114 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
22115 mode-line variables.
22117 @node Positioning Point
22118 @subsection Positioning Point
22120 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
22121 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
22122 line. You can customize this behavior in three different ways.
22124 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
22126 @findex gnus-goto-colon
22127 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
22128 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
22130 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
22131 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
22132 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
22137 @subsection Tabulation
22139 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
22140 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
22141 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
22142 about lining up the following text afterwards.
22144 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs---@samp{%=}. There are two
22145 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
22147 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
22148 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
22149 This is the soft tabulator.
22151 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
22152 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
22153 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
22156 @node Wide Characters
22157 @subsection Wide Characters
22159 Fixed width fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
22160 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
22161 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
22163 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
22164 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
22165 these countries, that's not true.
22167 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
22168 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
22169 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
22170 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
22174 @node Window Layout
22175 @section Window Layout
22176 @cindex window layout
22178 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
22180 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
22181 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
22182 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
22183 @code{t} by default.
22185 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
22186 glitches. Use at your own peril.
22188 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
22189 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
22190 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
22193 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
22194 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
22195 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
22199 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
22200 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
22201 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
22202 possible names is listed below.
22204 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
22205 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
22208 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
22212 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
22213 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
22214 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
22215 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
22216 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
22217 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
22218 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
22219 size spec per split.
22221 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
22222 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
22223 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
22224 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
22225 present) gets focus.
22227 Here's a more complicated example:
22230 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
22231 (summary 0.25 point)
22232 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
22236 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
22237 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
22238 occupy, not a percentage.
22240 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
22241 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
22242 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
22243 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
22244 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
22247 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
22250 (article (horizontal 1.0
22255 (summary 0.25 point)
22260 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
22261 @code{horizontal} thingie?
22263 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
22264 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
22265 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
22266 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
22267 the screen is to be given to this strip.
22269 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
22270 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
22271 lines from the splits.
22273 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
22278 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
22279 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
22280 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
22281 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
22282 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
22283 size = number | frame-params
22284 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
22288 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
22289 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
22290 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
22291 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
22293 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
22294 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
22295 @cindex window height
22296 @cindex window width
22297 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
22298 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
22299 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
22300 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
22301 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
22302 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
22304 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
22305 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
22306 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
22307 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
22309 @findex gnus-configure-frame
22310 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
22311 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
22312 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
22313 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
22314 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
22315 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
22316 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
22317 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
22318 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
22319 configuration list.
22322 (gnus-configure-frame
22326 (article 0.3 point))
22334 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
22335 @code{frame} split:
22338 (gnus-configure-frame
22341 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
22343 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
22344 (user-position . t)
22345 (left . -1) (top . 1))
22350 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
22351 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
22352 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
22353 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
22354 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
22355 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
22356 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
22357 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
22359 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
22360 be found in its default value.
22362 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
22363 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
22364 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
22368 (message (horizontal 1.0
22369 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
22371 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
22376 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
22377 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
22378 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
22383 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
22384 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
22385 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
22386 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
22387 (name . "Message"))
22388 (message 1.0 point))))
22391 @findex gnus-add-configuration
22392 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
22393 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
22394 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
22395 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
22398 (gnus-add-configuration
22399 '(article (vertical 1.0
22401 (summary .25 point)
22405 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
22406 @file{~/.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
22407 Gnus has been loaded.
22409 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
22410 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
22411 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
22412 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
22413 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
22415 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
22416 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
22417 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
22420 @subsection Example Window Configurations
22424 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
22425 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
22440 (gnus-add-configuration
22443 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
22445 (summary 0.16 point)
22448 (gnus-add-configuration
22451 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
22452 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
22458 @node Faces and Fonts
22459 @section Faces and Fonts
22464 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
22465 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
22466 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
22471 @section Compilation
22472 @cindex compilation
22473 @cindex byte-compilation
22475 @findex gnus-compile
22477 Remember all those line format specification variables?
22478 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
22479 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
22480 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
22481 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
22482 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
22485 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
22486 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
22487 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
22488 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
22489 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
22490 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
22491 them into the @file{~/.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
22495 @section Mode Lines
22498 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
22499 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
22500 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
22501 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
22502 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
22503 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
22504 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
22507 @cindex display-time
22509 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
22510 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
22511 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
22512 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
22513 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
22514 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
22515 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
22516 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
22519 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
22521 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
22522 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
22524 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
22525 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
22526 (length display-time-string)))))
22529 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
22530 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
22531 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
22532 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
22533 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
22536 @node Highlighting and Menus
22537 @section Highlighting and Menus
22539 @cindex highlighting
22542 @vindex gnus-visual
22543 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
22544 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
22545 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
22548 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
22549 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
22552 @item group-highlight
22553 Do highlights in the group buffer.
22554 @item summary-highlight
22555 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
22556 @item article-highlight
22557 Do highlights in the article buffer.
22559 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
22561 Create menus in the group buffer.
22563 Create menus in the summary buffers.
22565 Create menus in the article buffer.
22567 Create menus in the browse buffer.
22569 Create menus in the server buffer.
22571 Create menus in the score buffers.
22573 Create menus in all buffers.
22576 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
22577 buffers, you could say something like:
22580 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
22583 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
22586 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
22589 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
22590 in all Gnus buffers.
22592 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
22595 @item gnus-mouse-face
22596 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
22597 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
22598 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
22602 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
22606 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
22607 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
22608 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
22610 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
22611 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
22612 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
22614 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
22615 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
22616 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
22618 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
22619 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
22620 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
22622 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
22623 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
22624 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
22626 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
22627 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
22628 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
22639 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
22640 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
22641 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
22642 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
22643 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
22647 @vindex gnus-carpal
22648 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
22649 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
22650 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
22655 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
22656 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
22657 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
22659 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
22660 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
22661 Face used on buttons.
22663 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
22664 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
22665 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
22667 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
22668 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
22669 Buttons in the group buffer.
22671 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
22672 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
22673 Buttons in the summary buffer.
22675 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
22676 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
22677 Buttons in the server buffer.
22679 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
22680 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
22681 Buttons in the browse buffer.
22684 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
22685 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
22686 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
22694 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
22695 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
22696 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
22697 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
22698 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
22700 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
22701 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
22702 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
22704 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
22705 been idle for thirty minutes:
22708 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
22711 Here's a handler that scans for @acronym{PGP} headers every hour when
22715 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
22718 This @var{time} parameter and that @var{idle} parameter work together
22719 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
22720 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
22722 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
22723 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
22724 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
22725 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
22727 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
22728 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
22729 @var{idle} minutes.
22731 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
22732 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
22735 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
22736 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
22737 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
22739 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
22740 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
22741 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
22742 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
22744 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
22745 your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
22747 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
22749 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
22752 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
22753 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
22754 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
22755 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
22756 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
22757 @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
22758 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
22759 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
22760 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
22761 @file{~/.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
22763 @findex gnus-demon-init
22764 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
22765 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
22766 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
22767 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
22768 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
22770 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
22771 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
22772 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
22780 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
22781 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
22782 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
22784 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
22785 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
22786 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
22787 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
22788 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
22789 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
22790 @code{undo} function.
22792 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
22793 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
22794 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
22795 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
22796 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
22797 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
22798 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
22799 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
22800 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
22801 never be totally undoable.
22803 @findex gnus-undo-mode
22804 @vindex gnus-use-undo
22806 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
22807 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
22808 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
22809 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
22813 @node Predicate Specifiers
22814 @section Predicate Specifiers
22815 @cindex predicate specifiers
22817 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
22818 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
22819 to type all that much.
22821 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
22826 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
22827 gnus-article-unread-p)
22830 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
22831 functions all take one parameter.
22833 @findex gnus-make-predicate
22834 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
22835 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
22836 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
22841 @section Moderation
22844 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
22845 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
22846 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
22849 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
22853 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
22856 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
22858 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
22863 You split your incoming mail by matching on
22864 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
22865 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
22868 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
22869 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
22872 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
22873 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
22877 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
22880 (setq gnus-moderated-list
22881 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
22885 @node Fetching a Group
22886 @section Fetching a Group
22887 @cindex fetching a group
22889 @findex gnus-fetch-group
22890 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
22891 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
22892 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
22893 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
22894 It takes the group name as a parameter.
22897 @node Image Enhancements
22898 @section Image Enhancements
22900 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21@footnote{Emacs 21 on MS Windows doesn't
22901 support images, Emacs 22 does.} and up, are able to display pictures and
22902 stuff, so Gnus has taken advantage of that.
22905 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
22906 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
22907 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
22908 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
22909 * Gravatars:: Display the avatar of people you read.
22910 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
22918 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
22919 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
22920 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
22924 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
22925 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
22926 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
22934 Viewing an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
22935 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions have), or that you
22936 have suitable conversion or display programs installed. If your Emacs
22937 has image support the default action is to display the face before the
22938 @code{From} header. If there's no native @code{X-Face} support, Gnus
22939 will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using external programs
22940 from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends, see below. For XEmacs it's
22941 faster if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support. The
22942 default action under Emacs without image support is to fork off the
22943 @code{display} program.
22945 On a GNU/Linux system, the @code{display} program is included in the
22946 ImageMagick package. For external conversion programs look for packages
22947 with names like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.
22948 On Windows, you may use the packages @code{netpbm} and @code{compface}
22949 from @url{http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net}. You need to add the
22950 @code{bin} directory to your @code{PATH} environment variable.
22951 @c In fact only the following DLLs and binaries seem to be required:
22952 @c compface1.dll uncompface.exe libnetpbm10.dll icontopbm.exe
22954 The variable @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} controls which programs
22955 are used to display the @code{X-Face} header. If this variable is a
22956 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
22957 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
22958 If @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches the
22959 @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
22961 (Note: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
22969 @vindex gnus-x-face
22970 Face to show X-Face. The colors from this face are used as the
22971 foreground and background colors of the displayed X-Faces. The
22972 default colors are black and white.
22974 @item gnus-face-properties-alist
22975 @vindex gnus-face-properties-alist
22976 Alist of image types and properties applied to Face (@pxref{Face}) and
22977 X-Face images. The default value is @code{((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face))
22978 (png . nil))} for Emacs or @code{((xface . (:face gnus-x-face)))} for
22979 XEmacs. Here are examples:
22982 ;; Specify the altitude of Face and X-Face images in the From header.
22983 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
22984 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :ascent 80))
22985 (png . (:ascent 80))))
22987 ;; Show Face and X-Face images as pressed buttons.
22988 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
22989 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :relief -2))
22990 (png . (:relief -2))))
22993 @pxref{Image Descriptors, ,Image Descriptors, elisp, The Emacs Lisp
22994 Reference Manual} for the valid properties for various image types.
22995 Currently, @code{pbm} is used for X-Face images and @code{png} is used
22996 for Face images in Emacs. Only the @code{:face} property is effective
22997 on the @code{xface} image type in XEmacs if it is built with the
22998 @samp{libcompface} library.
23001 If you use posting styles, you can use an @code{x-face-file} entry in
23002 @code{gnus-posting-styles}, @xref{Posting Styles}. If you don't, Gnus
23003 provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow easier
23004 insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages. You also need the
23005 above mentioned ImageMagick, netpbm or other image conversion packages
23006 (depending the values of the variables below) for these functions.
23008 @findex gnus-random-x-face
23009 @vindex gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command
23010 @vindex gnus-x-face-directory
23011 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
23012 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
23013 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
23014 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
23015 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
23016 header data as a string.
23018 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
23019 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
23020 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
23021 randomly generated data.
23023 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
23024 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command
23025 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
23026 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
23027 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
23029 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
23030 like the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23033 (setq message-required-news-headers
23034 (nconc message-required-news-headers
23035 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
23038 Using the last function would be something like this:
23041 (setq message-required-news-headers
23042 (nconc message-required-news-headers
23043 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
23044 (gnus-x-face-from-file
23045 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
23053 @c #### FIXME: faces and x-faces' implementations should really be harmonized.
23055 @code{Face} headers are essentially a funkier version of @code{X-Face}
23056 ones. They describe a 48x48 pixel colored image that's supposed to
23057 represent the author of the message.
23060 @findex gnus-article-display-face
23061 The contents of a @code{Face} header must be a base64 encoded PNG image.
23062 See @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/circus/face/} for the precise
23065 The @code{gnus-face-properties-alist} variable affects the appearance of
23066 displayed Face images. @xref{X-Face}.
23068 Viewing an @code{Face} header requires an Emacs that is able to display
23071 @c (if (featurep 'xemacs)
23073 @c (image-type-available-p 'png))
23075 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
23076 easier insertion of Face headers in outgoing messages.
23078 @findex gnus-convert-png-to-face
23079 @code{gnus-convert-png-to-face} takes a 48x48 PNG image, no longer than
23080 726 bytes long, and converts it to a face.
23082 @findex gnus-face-from-file
23083 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-face-command
23084 @code{gnus-face-from-file} takes a JPEG file as the parameter, and then
23085 converts the file to Face format by using the
23086 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-face-command} shell command.
23088 Here's how you would typically use this function. Put something like the
23089 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23092 (setq message-required-news-headers
23093 (nconc message-required-news-headers
23094 (list '(Face . (lambda ()
23095 (gnus-face-from-file "~/face.jpg"))))))
23100 @subsection Smileys
23105 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
23110 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
23111 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
23113 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
23114 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23117 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
23120 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
23121 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
23122 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
23123 text and maps that to file names.
23125 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
23126 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
23127 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
23128 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
23129 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
23132 The following variables customize the appearance of the smileys:
23137 @vindex smiley-style
23138 Specifies the smiley style. Predefined smiley styles include
23139 @code{low-color} (small 13x14 pixel, three-color images), @code{medium}
23140 (more colorful images, 16x16 pixel), and @code{grayscale} (grayscale
23141 images, 14x14 pixel). The default depends on the height of the default
23144 @item smiley-data-directory
23145 @vindex smiley-data-directory
23146 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files. You shouldn't set this
23147 variable anymore. Customize @code{smiley-style} instead.
23149 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
23150 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
23151 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
23165 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
23166 good way to do so. It's also a great way to impress people staring
23167 over your shoulder as you read news.
23169 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
23178 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
23179 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
23180 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
23181 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
23182 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
23183 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
23184 @code{GIF} formats.
23187 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
23188 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
23189 point your Web browser at
23190 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
23192 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
23193 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
23195 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
23196 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
23199 @vindex gnus-picon-style
23200 The variable @code{gnus-picon-style} controls how picons are displayed.
23201 If @code{inline}, the textual representation is replaced. If
23202 @code{right}, picons are added right to the textual representation.
23204 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
23208 @item gnus-picon-databases
23209 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
23210 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
23211 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
23212 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
23213 "/usr/local/faces")}.
23215 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
23216 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
23217 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
23218 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
23220 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
23221 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
23222 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
23223 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
23225 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
23226 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
23227 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
23228 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
23229 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
23231 @item gnus-picon-file-types
23232 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
23233 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
23234 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not built-in your Emacs.
23239 @subsection Gravatars
23243 \include{gravatars}
23247 A gravatar is an image registered to an e-mail address.
23249 You can submit yours on-line at @uref{http://www.gravatar.com}.
23251 The following variables offer control over how things are displayed.
23255 @item gnus-gravatar-size
23256 @vindex gnus-gravatar-size
23257 The size in pixels of gravatars. Gravatars are always square, so one
23258 number for the size is enough.
23260 @item gnus-gravatar-relief
23261 @vindex gnus-gravatar-relief
23262 If non-nil, adds a shadow rectangle around the image. The value,
23263 relief, specifies the width of the shadow lines, in pixels. If relief
23264 is negative, shadows are drawn so that the image appears as a pressed
23265 button; otherwise, it appears as an unpressed button.
23269 If you want to see them in the From field, set:
23271 (setq gnus-treat-from-gravatar 'head)
23274 If you want to see them in the Cc and To fields, set:
23277 (setq gnus-treat-mail-gravatar 'head)
23282 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
23285 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
23286 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
23287 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
23288 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
23289 unusual directory structure.
23291 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
23292 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
23293 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
23298 @subsubsection Toolbar
23302 @item gnus-use-toolbar
23303 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
23304 This variable specifies the position to display the toolbar. If
23305 @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If it is non-@code{nil}, it should
23306 be one of the symbols @code{default}, @code{top}, @code{bottom},
23307 @code{right}, and @code{left}. @code{default} means to use the default
23308 toolbar, the rest mean to display the toolbar on the place which those
23309 names show. The default is @code{default}.
23311 @item gnus-toolbar-thickness
23312 @vindex gnus-toolbar-thickness
23313 Cons of the height and the width specifying the thickness of a toolbar.
23314 The height is used for the toolbar displayed on the top or the bottom,
23315 the width is used for the toolbar displayed on the right or the left.
23316 The default is that of the default toolbar.
23318 @item gnus-group-toolbar
23319 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
23320 The toolbar in the group buffer.
23322 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
23323 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
23324 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
23326 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
23327 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
23328 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
23339 @node Fuzzy Matching
23340 @section Fuzzy Matching
23341 @cindex fuzzy matching
23343 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
23344 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
23346 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
23347 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
23348 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
23350 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
23351 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
23352 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
23353 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
23354 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
23357 @node Thwarting Email Spam
23358 @section Thwarting Email Spam
23362 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23364 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
23365 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
23366 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
23367 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
23368 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
23369 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
23370 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
23371 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
23374 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
23375 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
23376 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
23377 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
23378 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
23379 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
23381 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
23384 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
23385 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
23386 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
23387 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
23390 @node The problem of spam
23391 @subsection The problem of spam
23393 @cindex spam filtering approaches
23394 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
23396 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23398 First, some background on spam.
23400 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
23401 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it
23402 exists because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail,
23403 so only a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to
23404 make it worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most
23405 common spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for
23406 further spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers},
23407 but terms like @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, @emph{sociopaths}, and
23408 @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
23410 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
23411 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
23412 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
23413 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
23414 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
23415 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
23416 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
23417 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
23418 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
23421 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering, at the mail
23422 server or when you sort through incoming mail. If you get 200 spam
23423 messages per day from @samp{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you block
23424 @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about @samp{VIAGRA}, you
23425 discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the message. If you get
23426 lots of spam from Bulgaria, for example, you try to filter all mail
23427 from Bulgarian IPs.
23429 This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate e-mail. The
23430 risks of blocking a whole country (Bulgaria, Norway, Nigeria, China,
23431 etc.) or even a continent (Asia, Africa, Europe, etc.) from contacting
23432 you should be obvious, so don't do it if you have the choice.
23434 In another instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest has
23435 been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it @strong{contained}
23436 words that were common in spam messages. Nevertheless, in isolated
23437 cases, with great care, direct filtering of mail can be useful.
23439 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
23440 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
23441 @var{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @var{X} in
23442 Ghana, Estonia, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
23443 @var{N} systems enter @var{X} or the spam e-mail from @var{X} into a
23444 database. The criteria for spam detection vary---it may be the number
23445 of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When a user
23446 of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a message is
23447 spam, he consults one of those @var{N} systems.
23449 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
23450 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
23451 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
23452 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
23453 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
23454 sending spam, and their web sites and mailing lists have been shut
23455 down for some time because of the incident.
23457 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
23458 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
23459 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
23460 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
23461 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
23462 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
23463 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
23464 to store the database of spam analysis. Statistical analysis on the
23465 server is gaining popularity. This has the advantage of letting the
23466 user Just Read Mail, but has the disadvantage that it's harder to tell
23467 the server that it has misclassified mail.
23469 Fighting spam is not easy, no matter what anyone says. There is no
23470 magic switch that will distinguish Viagra ads from Mom's e-mails.
23471 Even people are having a hard time telling spam apart from non-spam,
23472 because spammers are actively looking to fool us into thinking they
23473 are Mom, essentially. Spamming is irritating, irresponsible, and
23474 idiotic behavior from a bunch of people who think the world owes them
23475 a favor. We hope the following sections will help you in fighting the
23478 @node Anti-Spam Basics
23479 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
23483 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23485 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
23486 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
23488 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
23489 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
23490 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
23491 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
23492 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
23493 part of the mail address.)
23496 (setq message-default-news-headers
23497 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
23500 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
23501 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
23505 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
23506 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
23507 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
23512 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
23513 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
23514 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
23515 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
23517 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @acronym{SMTP} server
23518 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
23519 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
23520 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
23521 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
23522 your fancy split rule in this way:
23527 (to "larsi" "misc")
23531 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
23532 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
23533 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
23534 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
23535 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
23537 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
23538 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
23539 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
23540 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
23542 Be careful with this approach. Spammers are wise to it.
23546 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
23547 @cindex SpamAssassin
23548 @cindex Vipul's Razor
23551 The days where the hints in the previous section were sufficient in
23552 avoiding spam are coming to an end. There are many tools out there
23553 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
23554 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
23555 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
23556 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
23557 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
23559 Note that this section does not involve the @code{spam.el} package,
23560 which is discussed in the next section. If you don't care for all
23561 the features of @code{spam.el}, you can make do with these simple
23564 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
23565 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
23566 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
23567 Specifiers}) follow.
23571 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
23575 "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
23578 Once you manage to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
23579 the mail contain e.g.@: a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
23580 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
23583 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
23587 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
23590 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
23591 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
23595 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
23596 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
23597 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
23598 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
23601 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
23603 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
23607 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
23608 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
23612 Note that with the nnimap back end, message bodies will not be
23613 downloaded by default. You need to set
23614 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
23615 (@pxref{Client-Side @acronym{IMAP} Splitting}).
23617 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
23618 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
23619 spam. And here is the nifty function:
23622 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
23623 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
23625 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d" t)
23626 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
23630 @subsection Hashcash
23633 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
23634 costly and demonstrably unique for each message they send. This has
23635 the obvious drawback that you cannot rely on everyone in the world
23636 using this technique, since it is not part of the Internet standards,
23637 but it may be useful in smaller communities.
23639 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
23640 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
23641 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
23642 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
23643 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
23644 instead prefers that everyone you contact through e-mail supports the
23645 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
23646 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
23647 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
23648 one of them separately.
23651 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
23652 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
23653 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:} header.
23654 For more details, and for the external application @code{hashcash} you
23655 need to install to use this feature, see
23656 @uref{http://www.hashcash.org/}. Even more information can be found
23657 at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
23659 If you wish to generate hashcash for each message you send, you can
23660 customize @code{message-generate-hashcash} (@pxref{Mail Headers, ,Mail
23661 Headers,message, The Message Manual}), as in:
23664 (setq message-generate-hashcash t)
23667 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
23671 @item hashcash-default-payment
23672 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
23673 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
23674 should consist of. By default this is 20. Suggested useful values
23677 @item hashcash-payment-alist
23678 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
23679 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
23680 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(@var{addr}
23681 @var{amount})} cells, where @var{addr} is the receiver (email address
23682 or newsgroup) and @var{amount} is the number of bits in the collision
23683 that is needed. It can also contain @samp{(@var{addr} @var{string}
23684 @var{amount})} cells, where the @var{string} is the string to use
23685 (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
23687 @item hashcash-path
23688 @vindex hashcash-path
23689 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed. This variable should
23690 be automatically set by @code{executable-find}, but if it's @code{nil}
23691 (usually because the @code{hashcash} binary is not in your path)
23692 you'll get a warning when you check hashcash payments and an error
23693 when you generate hashcash payments.
23697 Gnus can verify hashcash cookies, although this can also be done by
23698 hand customized mail filtering scripts. To verify a hashcash cookie
23699 in a message, use the @code{mail-check-payment} function in the
23700 @code{hashcash.el} library. You can also use the @code{spam.el}
23701 package with the @code{spam-use-hashcash} back end to validate hashcash
23702 cookies in incoming mail and filter mail accordingly (@pxref{Anti-spam
23703 Hashcash Payments}).
23706 @section Spam Package
23707 @cindex spam filtering
23710 The Spam package provides Gnus with a centralized mechanism for
23711 detecting and filtering spam. It filters new mail, and processes
23712 messages according to whether they are spam or ham. (@dfn{Ham} is the
23713 name used throughout this manual to indicate non-spam messages.)
23716 * Spam Package Introduction::
23717 * Filtering Incoming Mail::
23718 * Detecting Spam in Groups::
23719 * Spam and Ham Processors::
23720 * Spam Package Configuration Examples::
23722 * Extending the Spam package::
23723 * Spam Statistics Package::
23726 @node Spam Package Introduction
23727 @subsection Spam Package Introduction
23728 @cindex spam filtering
23729 @cindex spam filtering sequence of events
23732 You must read this section to understand how the Spam package works.
23733 Do not skip, speed-read, or glance through this section.
23735 Make sure you read the section on the @code{spam.el} sequence of
23736 events. See @xref{Extending the Spam package}.
23738 @cindex spam-initialize
23739 @vindex spam-use-stat
23740 To use the Spam package, you @strong{must} first run the function
23741 @code{spam-initialize}:
23747 This autoloads @code{spam.el} and installs the various hooks necessary
23748 to let the Spam package do its job. In order to make use of the Spam
23749 package, you have to set up certain group parameters and variables,
23750 which we will describe below. All of the variables controlling the
23751 Spam package can be found in the @samp{spam} customization group.
23753 There are two ``contact points'' between the Spam package and the rest
23754 of Gnus: checking new mail for spam, and leaving a group.
23756 Checking new mail for spam is done in one of two ways: while splitting
23757 incoming mail, or when you enter a group.
23759 The first way, checking for spam while splitting incoming mail, is
23760 suited to mail back ends such as @code{nnml} or @code{nnimap}, where
23761 new mail appears in a single spool file. The Spam package processes
23762 incoming mail, and sends mail considered to be spam to a designated
23763 ``spam'' group. @xref{Filtering Incoming Mail}.
23765 The second way is suited to back ends such as @code{nntp}, which have
23766 no incoming mail spool, or back ends where the server is in charge of
23767 splitting incoming mail. In this case, when you enter a Gnus group,
23768 the unseen or unread messages in that group are checked for spam.
23769 Detected spam messages are marked as spam. @xref{Detecting Spam in
23772 @cindex spam back ends
23773 In either case, you have to tell the Spam package what method to use
23774 to detect spam messages. There are several methods, or @dfn{spam back
23775 ends} (not to be confused with Gnus back ends!) to choose from: spam
23776 ``blacklists'' and ``whitelists'', dictionary-based filters, and so
23777 forth. @xref{Spam Back Ends}.
23779 In the Gnus summary buffer, messages that have been identified as spam
23780 always appear with a @samp{$} symbol.
23782 The Spam package divides Gnus groups into three categories: ham
23783 groups, spam groups, and unclassified groups. You should mark each of
23784 the groups you subscribe to as either a ham group or a spam group,
23785 using the @code{spam-contents} group parameter (@pxref{Group
23786 Parameters}). Spam groups have a special property: when you enter a
23787 spam group, all unseen articles are marked as spam. Thus, mail split
23788 into a spam group is automatically marked as spam.
23790 Identifying spam messages is only half of the Spam package's job. The
23791 second half comes into play whenever you exit a group buffer. At this
23792 point, the Spam package does several things:
23794 First, it calls @dfn{spam and ham processors} to process the articles
23795 according to whether they are spam or ham. There is a pair of spam
23796 and ham processors associated with each spam back end, and what the
23797 processors do depends on the back end. At present, the main role of
23798 spam and ham processors is for dictionary-based spam filters: they add
23799 the contents of the messages in the group to the filter's dictionary,
23800 to improve its ability to detect future spam. The @code{spam-process}
23801 group parameter specifies what spam processors to use. @xref{Spam and
23804 If the spam filter failed to mark a spam message, you can mark it
23805 yourself, so that the message is processed as spam when you exit the
23815 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
23816 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
23817 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{$} mark
23818 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}).
23822 Similarly, you can unmark an article if it has been erroneously marked
23823 as spam. @xref{Setting Marks}.
23825 Normally, a ham message found in a non-ham group is not processed as
23826 ham---the rationale is that it should be moved into a ham group for
23827 further processing (see below). However, you can force these articles
23828 to be processed as ham by setting
23829 @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} and
23830 @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups}.
23832 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
23833 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
23834 The second thing that the Spam package does when you exit a group is
23835 to move ham articles out of spam groups, and spam articles out of ham
23836 groups. Ham in a spam group is moved to the group specified by the
23837 variable @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}, or the group parameter
23838 @code{ham-process-destination}. Spam in a ham group is moved to the
23839 group specified by the variable @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations},
23840 or the group parameter @code{spam-process-destination}. If these
23841 variables are not set, the articles are left in their current group.
23842 If an article cannot be moved (e.g., with a read-only backend such
23843 as @acronym{NNTP}), it is copied.
23845 If an article is moved to another group, it is processed again when
23846 you visit the new group. Normally, this is not a problem, but if you
23847 want each article to be processed only once, load the
23848 @code{gnus-registry.el} package and set the variable
23849 @code{spam-log-to-registry} to @code{t}. @xref{Spam Package
23850 Configuration Examples}.
23852 Normally, spam groups ignore @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations}.
23853 However, if you set @code{spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only} to
23854 @code{nil}, spam will also be moved out of spam groups, depending on
23855 the @code{spam-process-destination} parameter.
23857 The final thing the Spam package does is to mark spam articles as
23858 expired, which is usually the right thing to do.
23860 If all this seems confusing, don't worry. Soon it will be as natural
23861 as typing Lisp one-liners on a neural interface@dots{} err, sorry, that's
23862 50 years in the future yet. Just trust us, it's not so bad.
23864 @node Filtering Incoming Mail
23865 @subsection Filtering Incoming Mail
23866 @cindex spam filtering
23867 @cindex spam filtering incoming mail
23870 To use the Spam package to filter incoming mail, you must first set up
23871 fancy mail splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}. The Spam package
23872 defines a special splitting function that you can add to your fancy
23873 split variable (either @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
23874 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on your mail back end):
23880 @vindex spam-split-group
23882 The @code{spam-split} function scans incoming mail according to your
23883 chosen spam back end(s), and sends messages identified as spam to a
23884 spam group. By default, the spam group is a group named @samp{spam},
23885 but you can change this by customizing @code{spam-split-group}. Make
23886 sure the contents of @code{spam-split-group} are an unqualified group
23887 name. For instance, in an @code{nnimap} server @samp{your-server},
23888 the value @samp{spam} means @samp{nnimap+your-server:spam}. The value
23889 @samp{nnimap+server:spam} is therefore wrong---it gives the group
23890 @samp{nnimap+your-server:nnimap+server:spam}.
23892 @code{spam-split} does not modify the contents of messages in any way.
23894 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
23895 Note for IMAP users: if you use the @code{spam-check-bogofilter},
23896 @code{spam-check-ifile}, and @code{spam-check-stat} spam back ends,
23897 you should also set the variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to
23898 @code{t}. These spam back ends are most useful when they can ``scan''
23899 the full message body. By default, the nnimap back end only retrieves
23900 the message headers; @code{nnimap-split-download-body} tells it to
23901 retrieve the message bodies as well. We don't set this by default
23902 because it will slow @acronym{IMAP} down, and that is not an
23903 appropriate decision to make on behalf of the user. @xref{Client-Side
23904 @acronym{IMAP} Splitting}.
23906 You have to specify one or more spam back ends for @code{spam-split}
23907 to use, by setting the @code{spam-use-*} variables. @xref{Spam Back
23908 Ends}. Normally, @code{spam-split} simply uses all the spam back ends
23909 you enabled in this way. However, you can tell @code{spam-split} to
23910 use only some of them. Why this is useful? Suppose you are using the
23911 @code{spam-use-regex-headers} and @code{spam-use-blackholes} spam back
23912 ends, and the following split rule:
23915 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
23916 (any "ding" "ding")
23918 ;; @r{default mailbox}
23923 The problem is that you want all ding messages to make it to the ding
23924 folder. But that will let obvious spam (for example, spam detected by
23925 SpamAssassin, and @code{spam-use-regex-headers}) through, when it's
23926 sent to the ding list. On the other hand, some messages to the ding
23927 list are from a mail server in the blackhole list, so the invocation
23928 of @code{spam-split} can't be before the ding rule.
23930 The solution is to let SpamAssassin headers supersede ding rules, and
23931 perform the other @code{spam-split} rules (including a second
23932 invocation of the regex-headers check) after the ding rule. This is
23933 done by passing a parameter to @code{spam-split}:
23938 ;; @r{spam detected by @code{spam-use-regex-headers} goes to @samp{regex-spam}}
23939 (: spam-split "regex-spam" 'spam-use-regex-headers)
23940 (any "ding" "ding")
23941 ;; @r{all other spam detected by spam-split goes to @code{spam-split-group}}
23943 ;; @r{default mailbox}
23948 This lets you invoke specific @code{spam-split} checks depending on
23949 your particular needs, and target the results of those checks to a
23950 particular spam group. You don't have to throw all mail into all the
23951 spam tests. Another reason why this is nice is that messages to
23952 mailing lists you have rules for don't have to have resource-intensive
23953 blackhole checks performed on them. You could also specify different
23954 spam checks for your nnmail split vs. your nnimap split. Go crazy.
23956 You should set the @code{spam-use-*} variables for whatever spam back
23957 ends you intend to use. The reason is that when loading
23958 @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done depending on what
23959 @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set. @xref{Spam Back Ends}.
23961 @c @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
23962 @c statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
23965 @node Detecting Spam in Groups
23966 @subsection Detecting Spam in Groups
23968 To detect spam when visiting a group, set the group's
23969 @code{spam-autodetect} and @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group
23970 parameters. These are accessible with @kbd{G c} or @kbd{G p}, as
23971 usual (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
23973 You should set the @code{spam-use-*} variables for whatever spam back
23974 ends you intend to use. The reason is that when loading
23975 @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done depending on what
23976 @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set.
23978 By default, only unseen articles are processed for spam. You can
23979 force Gnus to recheck all messages in the group by setting the
23980 variable @code{spam-autodetect-recheck-messages} to @code{t}.
23982 If you use the @code{spam-autodetect} method of checking for spam, you
23983 can specify different spam detection methods for different groups.
23984 For instance, the @samp{ding} group may have @code{spam-use-BBDB} as
23985 the autodetection method, while the @samp{suspect} group may have the
23986 @code{spam-use-blacklist} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter} methods
23987 enabled. Unlike with @code{spam-split}, you don't have any control
23988 over the @emph{sequence} of checks, but this is probably unimportant.
23990 @node Spam and Ham Processors
23991 @subsection Spam and Ham Processors
23992 @cindex spam filtering
23993 @cindex spam filtering variables
23994 @cindex spam variables
23997 @vindex gnus-spam-process-newsgroups
23998 Spam and ham processors specify special actions to take when you exit
23999 a group buffer. Spam processors act on spam messages, and ham
24000 processors on ham messages. At present, the main role of these
24001 processors is to update the dictionaries of dictionary-based spam back
24002 ends such as Bogofilter (@pxref{Bogofilter}) and the Spam Statistics
24003 package (@pxref{Spam Statistics Filtering}).
24005 The spam and ham processors that apply to each group are determined by
24006 the group's@code{spam-process} group parameter. If this group
24007 parameter is not defined, they are determined by the variable
24008 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups}.
24010 @vindex gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
24011 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
24012 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
24013 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
24014 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
24015 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
24016 by customizing the corresponding variable
24017 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
24018 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
24019 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
24020 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
24021 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
24022 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
24023 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
24026 @vindex gnus-spam-mark
24028 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
24029 they get the @samp{$} mark (@code{gnus-spam-mark}) when you enter the
24030 group. If you have seen a message, had it marked as spam, then
24031 unmarked it, it won't be marked as spam when you enter the group
24032 thereafter. You can disable that behavior, so all unread messages
24033 will get the @samp{$} mark, if you set the
24034 @code{spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam} parameter to @code{nil}. You
24035 should remove the @samp{$} mark when you are in the group summary
24036 buffer for every message that is not spam after all. To remove the
24037 @samp{$} mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to ``unread'' the article, or
24038 @kbd{d} for declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a
24039 group, all spam-marked (@samp{$}) articles are sent to a spam
24040 processor which will study them as spam samples.
24042 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
24043 @code{ham-marks} group parameter gets overridden below, marks @samp{R}
24044 and @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
24045 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
24046 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
24047 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
24048 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
24049 should then adjust the @code{ham-marks} group parameter.
24052 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
24053 marks you want to consider ham. By default, the list contains the
24054 deleted, read, killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks (the idea is
24055 that these articles have been read, but are not spam). It can be
24056 useful to also include the tick mark in the ham marks. It is not
24057 recommended to make the unread mark a ham mark, because it normally
24058 indicates a lack of classification. But you can do it, and we'll be
24063 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
24064 marks you want to consider spam. By default, the list contains only
24065 the spam mark. It is not recommended to change that, but you can if
24066 you really want to.
24069 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
24070 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
24071 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
24072 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
24073 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
24074 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{$},
24077 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
24078 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
24079 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
24080 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
24081 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
24082 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
24083 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
24084 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
24085 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with @kbd{M-x
24086 customize-variable @key{RET} gnus-ham-process-destinations}). Each
24087 group name list is a standard Lisp list, if you prefer to customize
24088 the variable manually. If the @code{ham-process-destination}
24089 parameter is not set, ham articles are left in place. If the
24090 @code{spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group} parameter is
24091 set, the ham articles are marked as unread before being moved.
24093 If ham can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
24094 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
24096 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
24097 expression! This enables you to send your ham to a regular mail
24098 group and to a @emph{ham training} group.
24100 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
24101 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
24103 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups
24104 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} is
24105 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in spam groups
24106 to be processed. Normally this is not done, you are expected instead
24107 to send your ham to a ham group and process it there.
24109 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups
24110 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups} is
24111 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in non-ham (spam
24112 or unclassified) groups to be processed. Normally this is not done,
24113 you are expected instead to send your ham to a ham group and process
24116 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
24117 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
24118 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
24119 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
24120 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
24121 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
24122 customize this variable with @kbd{M-x customize-variable @key{RET}
24123 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). Each group name list is a standard
24124 Lisp list, if you prefer to customize the variable manually. If the
24125 @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set, the spam
24126 articles are only expired. The group name is fully qualified, meaning
24127 that if you see @samp{nntp:servername} before the group name in the
24128 group buffer then you need it here as well.
24130 If spam can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
24131 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
24133 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
24134 expression! This enables you to send your spam to multiple @emph{spam
24137 @vindex spam-log-to-registry
24138 The problem with processing ham and spam is that Gnus doesn't track
24139 this processing by default. Enable the @code{spam-log-to-registry}
24140 variable so @code{spam.el} will use @code{gnus-registry.el} to track
24141 what articles have been processed, and avoid processing articles
24142 multiple times. Keep in mind that if you limit the number of registry
24143 entries, this won't work as well as it does without a limit.
24145 @vindex spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam
24146 Set this variable if you want only unseen articles in spam groups to
24147 be marked as spam. By default, it is set. If you set it to
24148 @code{nil}, unread articles will also be marked as spam.
24150 @vindex spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group
24151 Set this variable if you want ham to be unmarked before it is moved
24152 out of the spam group. This is very useful when you use something
24153 like the tick mark @samp{!} to mark ham---the article will be placed
24154 in your @code{ham-process-destination}, unmarked as if it came fresh
24155 from the mail server.
24157 @vindex spam-autodetect-recheck-messages
24158 When autodetecting spam, this variable tells @code{spam.el} whether
24159 only unseen articles or all unread articles should be checked for
24160 spam. It is recommended that you leave it off.
24162 @node Spam Package Configuration Examples
24163 @subsection Spam Package Configuration Examples
24164 @cindex spam filtering
24165 @cindex spam filtering configuration examples
24166 @cindex spam configuration examples
24169 @subsubheading Ted's setup
24171 From Ted Zlatanov <tzz@@lifelogs.com>.
24173 ;; @r{for @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent} and spam autodetection}
24174 ;; @r{see @file{gnus-registry.el} for more information}
24175 (gnus-registry-initialize)
24179 spam-log-to-registry t ; @r{for spam autodetection}
24181 spam-use-regex-headers t ; @r{catch X-Spam-Flag (SpamAssassin)}
24182 ;; @r{all groups with @samp{spam} in the name contain spam}
24183 gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
24184 '(("spam" gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
24185 ;; @r{see documentation for these}
24186 spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only nil
24187 spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam t
24188 spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group t
24189 nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
24190 ;; @r{understand what this does before you copy it to your own setup!}
24191 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
24192 ;; @r{trace references to parents and put in their group}
24193 (: gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent)
24194 ;; @r{this will catch server-side SpamAssassin tags}
24195 (: spam-split 'spam-use-regex-headers)
24196 (any "ding" "ding")
24197 ;; @r{note that spam by default will go to @samp{spam}}
24199 ;; @r{default mailbox}
24202 ;; @r{my parameters, set with @kbd{G p}}
24204 ;; @r{all nnml groups, and all nnimap groups except}
24205 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} and}
24206 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam}: any spam goes to nnimap training,}
24207 ;; @r{because it must have been detected manually}
24209 ((spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
24211 ;; @r{all @acronym{NNTP} groups}
24212 ;; @r{autodetect spam with the blacklist and ham with the BBDB}
24213 ((spam-autodetect-methods spam-use-blacklist spam-use-BBDB)
24214 ;; @r{send all spam to the training group}
24215 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
24217 ;; @r{only some @acronym{NNTP} groups, where I want to autodetect spam}
24218 ((spam-autodetect . t))
24220 ;; @r{my nnimap @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam} group}
24222 ;; @r{this is a spam group}
24223 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam)
24225 ;; @r{any spam (which happens when I enter for all unseen messages,}
24226 ;; @r{because of the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} setting above), goes to}
24227 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} unless I mark it as ham}
24229 (spam-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train")
24231 ;; @r{any ham goes to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail} folder, but}
24232 ;; @r{also to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham} folder for training}
24234 (ham-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail"
24235 "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham")
24236 ;; @r{in this group, only @samp{!} marks are ham}
24238 (gnus-ticked-mark))
24239 ;; @r{remembers senders in the blacklist on the way out---this is}
24240 ;; @r{definitely not needed, it just makes me feel better}
24241 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist)))
24243 ;; @r{Later, on the @acronym{IMAP} server I use the @samp{train} group for training}
24244 ;; @r{SpamAssassin to recognize spam, and the @samp{trainham} group fora}
24245 ;; @r{recognizing ham---but Gnus has nothing to do with it.}
24249 @subsubheading Using @code{spam.el} on an IMAP server with a statistical filter on the server
24250 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
24252 My provider has set up bogofilter (in combination with @acronym{DCC}) on
24253 the mail server (@acronym{IMAP}). Recognized spam goes to
24254 @samp{spam.detected}, the rest goes through the normal filter rules,
24255 i.e. to @samp{some.folder} or to @samp{INBOX}. Training on false
24256 positives or negatives is done by copying or moving the article to
24257 @samp{training.ham} or @samp{training.spam} respectively. A cron job on
24258 the server feeds those to bogofilter with the suitable ham or spam
24259 options and deletes them from the @samp{training.ham} and
24260 @samp{training.spam} folders.
24262 With the following entries in @code{gnus-parameters}, @code{spam.el}
24263 does most of the job for me:
24266 ("nnimap:spam\\.detected"
24267 (gnus-article-sort-functions '(gnus-article-sort-by-chars))
24268 (ham-process-destination "nnimap:INBOX" "nnimap:training.ham")
24269 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
24270 ("nnimap:\\(INBOX\\|other-folders\\)"
24271 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap:training.spam")
24272 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham))
24277 @item @b{The Spam folder:}
24279 In the folder @samp{spam.detected}, I have to check for false positives
24280 (i.e. legitimate mails, that were wrongly judged as spam by
24281 bogofilter or DCC).
24283 Because of the @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam} entry, all
24284 messages are marked as spam (with @code{$}). When I find a false
24285 positive, I mark the message with some other ham mark
24286 (@code{ham-marks}, @ref{Spam and Ham Processors}). On group exit,
24287 those messages are copied to both groups, @samp{INBOX} (where I want
24288 to have the article) and @samp{training.ham} (for training bogofilter)
24289 and deleted from the @samp{spam.detected} folder.
24291 The @code{gnus-article-sort-by-chars} entry simplifies detection of
24292 false positives for me. I receive lots of worms (sweN, @dots{}), that all
24293 have a similar size. Grouping them by size (i.e. chars) makes finding
24294 other false positives easier. (Of course worms aren't @i{spam}
24295 (@acronym{UCE}, @acronym{UBE}) strictly speaking. Anyhow, bogofilter is
24296 an excellent tool for filtering those unwanted mails for me.)
24298 @item @b{Ham folders:}
24300 In my ham folders, I just hit @kbd{S x}
24301 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) whenever I see an unrecognized spam
24302 mail (false negative). On group exit, those messages are moved to
24303 @samp{training.spam}.
24306 @subsubheading Reporting spam articles in Gmane groups with @code{spam-report.el}
24308 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
24310 With following entry in @code{gnus-parameters}, @kbd{S x}
24311 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) marks articles in @code{gmane.*}
24312 groups as spam and reports the to Gmane at group exit:
24316 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane)))
24319 Additionally, I use @code{(setq spam-report-gmane-use-article-number nil)}
24320 because I don't read the groups directly from news.gmane.org, but
24321 through my local news server (leafnode). I.e. the article numbers are
24322 not the same as on news.gmane.org, thus @code{spam-report.el} has to check
24323 the @code{X-Report-Spam} header to find the correct number.
24325 @node Spam Back Ends
24326 @subsection Spam Back Ends
24327 @cindex spam back ends
24329 The spam package offers a variety of back ends for detecting spam.
24330 Each back end defines a set of methods for detecting spam
24331 (@pxref{Filtering Incoming Mail}, @pxref{Detecting Spam in Groups}),
24332 and a pair of spam and ham processors (@pxref{Spam and Ham
24336 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
24337 * BBDB Whitelists::
24338 * Gmane Spam Reporting::
24339 * Anti-spam Hashcash Payments::
24341 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
24343 * SpamAssassin back end::
24344 * ifile spam filtering::
24345 * Spam Statistics Filtering::
24349 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
24350 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
24351 @cindex spam filtering
24352 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
24353 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
24356 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
24358 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
24359 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
24360 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
24361 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
24366 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
24368 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
24369 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
24370 whitelist will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
24371 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the whitelist, their
24372 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24376 @defvar spam-use-whitelist-exclusive
24378 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists as an
24379 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
24380 unless the sender is in the whitelist. Use with care.
24384 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
24386 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24387 customizing the group parameters or the
24388 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24389 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24390 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
24394 Instead of the obsolete
24395 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist}, it is recommended
24396 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-blacklist)}. Everything will work
24397 the same way, we promise.
24401 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
24403 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24404 customizing the group parameters or the
24405 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24406 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24407 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
24412 Instead of the obsolete
24413 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist}, it is recommended
24414 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-whitelist)}. Everything will work
24415 the same way, we promise.
24419 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
24420 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
24421 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
24422 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
24423 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
24425 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
24426 legitimate. All messages from whitelisted addresses are considered
24427 non-spam. Also see @ref{BBDB Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the
24428 Emacs regular expression syntax.
24430 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
24431 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
24432 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
24433 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
24434 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
24435 @file{blacklist} respectively.
24437 @node BBDB Whitelists
24438 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
24439 @cindex spam filtering
24440 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
24441 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
24444 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
24446 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
24447 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted
24448 addresses, without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded
24449 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Messages whose senders are
24450 not in the BBDB will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
24451 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the BBDB, their
24452 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24456 @defvar spam-use-BBDB-exclusive
24458 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use the BBDB as an
24459 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
24460 unless the sender is in the BBDB. Use with care. Only sender
24461 addresses in the BBDB will be allowed through; all others will be
24462 classified as spammers.
24464 While @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} @emph{can} be used as an alias
24465 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} as far as @code{spam.el} is concerned, it is
24466 @emph{not} a separate back end. If you set
24467 @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} to t, @emph{all} your BBDB splitting
24472 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
24474 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24475 customizing the group parameters or the
24476 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24477 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24478 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
24483 Instead of the obsolete
24484 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB}, it is recommended
24485 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-BBDB)}. Everything will work
24486 the same way, we promise.
24490 @node Gmane Spam Reporting
24491 @subsubsection Gmane Spam Reporting
24492 @cindex spam reporting
24493 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
24494 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
24497 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane
24499 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24500 customizing the group parameters or the
24501 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24502 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
24503 articles groups will be reported to the Gmane administrators via a
24506 Gmane can be found at @uref{http://gmane.org}.
24510 Instead of the obsolete
24511 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane}, it is recommended
24512 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-gmane)}. Everything will work the
24513 same way, we promise.
24517 @defvar spam-report-gmane-use-article-number
24519 This variable is @code{t} by default. Set it to @code{nil} if you are
24520 running your own news server, for instance, and the local article
24521 numbers don't correspond to the Gmane article numbers. When
24522 @code{spam-report-gmane-use-article-number} is @code{nil},
24523 @code{spam-report.el} will fetch the number from the article headers.
24527 @defvar spam-report-user-mail-address
24529 Mail address exposed in the User-Agent spam reports to Gmane. It allows
24530 the Gmane administrators to contact you in case of misreports. The
24531 default is @code{user-mail-address}.
24535 @node Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
24536 @subsubsection Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
24537 @cindex spam filtering
24538 @cindex hashcash, spam filtering
24541 @defvar spam-use-hashcash
24543 Similar to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
24544 Whitelists}), but uses hashcash tokens for whitelisting messages
24545 instead of the sender address. Messages without a hashcash payment
24546 token will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an explicit
24547 filter, meaning that unless a hashcash token is found, the messages
24548 are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24553 @subsubsection Blackholes
24554 @cindex spam filtering
24555 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
24558 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
24560 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
24561 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
24562 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
24563 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
24564 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
24565 contains outdated servers.
24567 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
24568 @code{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
24569 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil}. It is not recommended at
24570 this time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil} despite the
24571 possible performance improvements, because some users may be unable to
24572 use it, but you can try it and see if it works for you.
24576 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
24578 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
24582 @defvar spam-blackhole-good-server-regex
24584 A regular expression for IPs that should not be checked against the
24585 blackhole server list. When set to @code{nil}, it has no effect.
24589 @defvar spam-use-dig
24591 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
24592 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
24596 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
24597 ham processor for blackholes.
24599 @node Regular Expressions Header Matching
24600 @subsubsection Regular Expressions Header Matching
24601 @cindex spam filtering
24602 @cindex regular expressions header matching, spam filtering
24605 @defvar spam-use-regex-headers
24607 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus check the
24608 message headers against lists of regular expressions when you set this
24609 option. The variables @code{spam-regex-headers-spam} and
24610 @code{spam-regex-headers-ham} hold the list of regular expressions.
24611 Gnus will check against the message headers to determine if the
24612 message is spam or ham, respectively.
24616 @defvar spam-regex-headers-spam
24618 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
24619 the message, positively identify it as spam.
24623 @defvar spam-regex-headers-ham
24625 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
24626 the message, positively identify it as ham.
24630 Regular expression header checks are done only on incoming mail.
24631 There is no specific spam or ham processor for regular expressions.
24634 @subsubsection Bogofilter
24635 @cindex spam filtering
24636 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
24639 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
24641 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
24644 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{$} mark for spam
24645 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
24646 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
24647 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
24648 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
24649 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
24651 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on a specific
24652 threshold. That threshold can be customized, consult the Bogofilter
24655 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
24656 processing will be turned off.
24658 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
24667 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
24668 Get the Bogofilter spamicity score (@code{spam-bogofilter-score}).
24671 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
24673 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
24674 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
24675 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
24676 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
24677 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
24678 installation documents for details.
24680 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
24684 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
24685 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24686 customizing the group parameters or the
24687 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24688 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
24689 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
24693 Instead of the obsolete
24694 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
24695 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
24696 the same way, we promise.
24699 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
24700 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24701 customizing the group parameters or the
24702 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24703 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
24704 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
24705 of non-spam messages.
24709 Instead of the obsolete
24710 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
24711 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
24712 the same way, we promise.
24715 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
24717 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
24718 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
24719 database directory.
24723 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to @command{ifile} in intent and
24724 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
24725 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
24726 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
24727 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
24728 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
24730 @node SpamAssassin back end
24731 @subsubsection SpamAssassin back end
24732 @cindex spam filtering
24733 @cindex spamassassin, spam filtering
24736 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin
24738 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use SpamAssassin.
24740 SpamAssassin assigns a score to each article based on a set of rules
24741 and tests, including a Bayesian filter. The Bayesian filter can be
24742 trained by associating the @samp{$} mark for spam articles. The
24743 spam score can be viewed by using the command @kbd{S t} in summary
24746 If you set this variable, each article will be processed by
24747 SpamAssassin when @code{spam-split} is called. If your mail is
24748 preprocessed by SpamAssassin, and you want to just use the
24749 SpamAssassin headers, set @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}
24752 You should not enable this if you use
24753 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}.
24757 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin-headers
24759 Set this variable if your mail is preprocessed by SpamAssassin and
24760 want @code{spam-split} to split based on the SpamAssassin headers.
24762 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-spamassassin}.
24766 @defvar spam-spamassassin-program
24768 This variable points to the SpamAssassin executable. If you have
24769 @code{spamd} running, you can set this variable to the @code{spamc}
24770 executable for faster processing. See the SpamAssassin documentation
24771 for more information on @code{spamd}/@code{spamc}.
24775 SpamAssassin is a powerful and flexible spam filter that uses a wide
24776 variety of tests to identify spam. A ham and a spam processors are
24777 provided, plus the @code{spam-use-spamassassin} and
24778 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers} variables to indicate to
24779 spam-split that SpamAssassin should be either used, or has already
24780 been used on the article. The 2.63 version of SpamAssassin was used
24781 to test this functionality.
24783 @node ifile spam filtering
24784 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
24785 @cindex spam filtering
24786 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
24789 @defvar spam-use-ifile
24791 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use @command{ifile}, a
24792 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
24796 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
24798 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
24799 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
24800 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
24804 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
24806 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
24807 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
24808 the default value of @samp{spam}.
24811 @defvar spam-ifile-database
24813 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
24814 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
24818 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
24819 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
24820 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
24821 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
24824 @node Spam Statistics Filtering
24825 @subsubsection Spam Statistics Filtering
24826 @cindex spam filtering
24827 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
24831 This back end uses the Spam Statistics Emacs Lisp package to perform
24832 statistics-based filtering (@pxref{Spam Statistics Package}). Before
24833 using this, you may want to perform some additional steps to
24834 initialize your Spam Statistics dictionary. @xref{Creating a
24835 spam-stat dictionary}.
24837 @defvar spam-use-stat
24841 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
24842 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24843 customizing the group parameters or the
24844 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24845 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
24846 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
24850 Instead of the obsolete
24851 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
24852 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
24853 the same way, we promise.
24856 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
24857 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24858 customizing the group parameters or the
24859 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24860 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
24861 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
24862 of non-spam messages.
24866 Instead of the obsolete
24867 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
24868 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
24869 the same way, we promise.
24872 This enables @code{spam.el} to cooperate with @file{spam-stat.el}.
24873 @file{spam-stat.el} provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database,
24874 which unlike ifile or Bogofilter does not require external programs.
24875 A spam and a ham processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for
24876 @code{spam-split} are provided.
24879 @subsubsection Using SpamOracle with Gnus
24880 @cindex spam filtering
24884 An easy way to filter out spam is to use SpamOracle. SpamOracle is an
24885 statistical mail filtering tool written by Xavier Leroy and needs to be
24886 installed separately.
24888 There are several ways to use SpamOracle with Gnus. In all cases, your
24889 mail is piped through SpamOracle in its @emph{mark} mode. SpamOracle will
24890 then enter an @samp{X-Spam} header indicating whether it regards the
24891 mail as a spam mail or not.
24893 One possibility is to run SpamOracle as a @code{:prescript} from the
24894 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}, (@pxref{SpamAssassin}). This method has
24895 the advantage that the user can see the @emph{X-Spam} headers.
24897 The easiest method is to make @file{spam.el} (@pxref{Spam Package})
24900 @vindex spam-use-spamoracle
24901 To enable SpamOracle usage by @code{spam.el}, set the variable
24902 @code{spam-use-spamoracle} to @code{t} and configure the
24903 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}. @xref{Spam
24904 Package}. In this example the @samp{INBOX} of an nnimap server is
24905 filtered using SpamOracle. Mails recognized as spam mails will be
24906 moved to @code{spam-split-group}, @samp{Junk} in this case. Ham
24907 messages stay in @samp{INBOX}:
24910 (setq spam-use-spamoracle t
24911 spam-split-group "Junk"
24912 nnimap-split-inbox '("INBOX")
24913 nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
24914 nnimap-split-fancy '(| (: spam-split) "INBOX"))
24917 @defvar spam-use-spamoracle
24918 Set to @code{t} if you want Gnus to enable spam filtering using
24922 @defvar spam-spamoracle-binary
24923 Gnus uses the SpamOracle binary called @file{spamoracle} found in the
24924 user's PATH. Using the variable @code{spam-spamoracle-binary}, this
24928 @defvar spam-spamoracle-database
24929 By default, SpamOracle uses the file @file{~/.spamoracle.db} as a database to
24930 store its analysis. This is controlled by the variable
24931 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} which defaults to @code{nil}. That means
24932 the default SpamOracle database will be used. In case you want your
24933 database to live somewhere special, set
24934 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} to this path.
24937 SpamOracle employs a statistical algorithm to determine whether a
24938 message is spam or ham. In order to get good results, meaning few
24939 false hits or misses, SpamOracle needs training. SpamOracle learns
24940 the characteristics of your spam mails. Using the @emph{add} mode
24941 (training mode) one has to feed good (ham) and spam mails to
24942 SpamOracle. This can be done by pressing @kbd{|} in the Summary
24943 buffer and pipe the mail to a SpamOracle process or using
24944 @file{spam.el}'s spam- and ham-processors, which is much more
24945 convenient. For a detailed description of spam- and ham-processors,
24946 @xref{Spam Package}.
24948 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle
24949 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24950 customizing the group parameter or the
24951 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
24952 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles will be
24953 sent to SpamOracle as spam samples.
24957 Instead of the obsolete
24958 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
24959 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
24960 the same way, we promise.
24963 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle
24964 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24965 customizing the group parameter or the
24966 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
24967 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked articles in
24968 @emph{ham} groups will be sent to the SpamOracle as samples of ham
24973 Instead of the obsolete
24974 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
24975 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
24976 the same way, we promise.
24979 @emph{Example:} These are the Group Parameters of a group that has been
24980 classified as a ham group, meaning that it should only contain ham
24983 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham)
24984 (spam-process ((ham spam-use-spamoracle)
24985 (spam spam-use-spamoracle))))
24987 For this group the @code{spam-use-spamoracle} is installed for both
24988 ham and spam processing. If the group contains spam message
24989 (e.g. because SpamOracle has not had enough sample messages yet) and
24990 the user marks some messages as spam messages, these messages will be
24991 processed by SpamOracle. The processor sends the messages to
24992 SpamOracle as new samples for spam.
24994 @node Extending the Spam package
24995 @subsection Extending the Spam package
24996 @cindex spam filtering
24997 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
24998 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
25000 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
25001 incoming mail, provide the following:
25009 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
25010 "True if blackbox should be used.")
25013 Write @code{spam-check-blackbox} if Blackbox can check incoming mail.
25015 Write @code{spam-blackbox-register-routine} and
25016 @code{spam-blackbox-unregister-routine} using the bogofilter
25017 register/unregister routines as a start, or other restister/unregister
25018 routines more appropriate to Blackbox, if Blackbox can
25019 register/unregister spam and ham.
25024 The @code{spam-check-blackbox} function should return @samp{nil} or
25025 @code{spam-split-group}, observing the other conventions. See the
25026 existing @code{spam-check-*} functions for examples of what you can
25027 do, and stick to the template unless you fully understand the reasons
25032 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
25039 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
25040 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
25042 Also, ham and spam processors are being phased out as single
25043 variables. Instead the form @code{(spam spam-use-blackbox)} or
25044 @code{(ham spam-use-blackbox)} is favored. For now, spam/ham
25045 processor variables are still around but they won't be for long.
25048 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-spam"
25049 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
25050 Only applicable to spam groups.")
25052 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-ham"
25053 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
25054 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
25063 (const :tag "Spam: Blackbox" (spam spam-use-blackbox))
25064 (const :tag "Ham: Blackbox" (ham spam-use-blackbox))
25066 to the @code{spam-process} group parameter in @code{gnus.el}. Make
25067 sure you do it twice, once for the parameter and once for the
25068 variable customization.
25072 (variable-item spam-use-blackbox)
25074 to the @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group parameter in
25075 @code{gnus.el} if Blackbox can check incoming mail for spam contents.
25077 Finally, use the appropriate @code{spam-install-*-backend} function in
25078 @code{spam.el}. Here are the available functions.
25084 @code{spam-install-backend-alias}
25086 This function will simply install an alias for a back end that does
25087 everything like the original back end. It is currently only used to
25088 make @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} act like @code{spam-use-BBDB}.
25091 @code{spam-install-nocheck-backend}
25093 This function installs a back end that has no check function, but can
25094 register/unregister ham or spam. The @code{spam-use-gmane} back end is
25098 @code{spam-install-checkonly-backend}
25100 This function will install a back end that can only check incoming mail
25101 for spam contents. It can't register or unregister messages.
25102 @code{spam-use-blackholes} and @code{spam-use-hashcash} are such
25106 @code{spam-install-statistical-checkonly-backend}
25108 This function installs a statistical back end (one which requires the
25109 full body of a message to check it) that can only check incoming mail
25110 for contents. @code{spam-use-regex-body} is such a filter.
25113 @code{spam-install-statistical-backend}
25115 This function install a statistical back end with incoming checks and
25116 registration/unregistration routines. @code{spam-use-bogofilter} is
25120 @code{spam-install-backend}
25122 This is the most normal back end installation, where a back end that can
25123 check and register/unregister messages is set up without statistical
25124 abilities. The @code{spam-use-BBDB} is such a back end.
25127 @code{spam-install-mover-backend}
25129 Mover back ends are internal to @code{spam.el} and specifically move
25130 articles around when the summary is exited. You will very probably
25131 never install such a back end.
25136 @node Spam Statistics Package
25137 @subsection Spam Statistics Package
25138 @cindex Paul Graham
25139 @cindex Graham, Paul
25140 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
25141 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
25142 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
25144 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
25145 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
25146 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
25147 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
25148 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
25149 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
25150 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
25151 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
25152 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
25155 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
25156 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
25157 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
25158 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
25159 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
25160 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
25161 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
25162 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
25164 The Spam Statistics package adds support to Gnus for this kind of
25165 filtering. It can be used as one of the back ends of the Spam package
25166 (@pxref{Spam Package}), or by itself.
25168 Before using the Spam Statistics package, you need to set it up.
25169 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
25170 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
25171 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
25172 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
25175 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
25176 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
25177 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
25180 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
25181 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
25183 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
25184 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
25185 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
25186 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
25187 need several hundred emails in both collections.
25189 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
25190 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
25191 per mail. Use the following:
25193 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
25194 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
25195 is treated as one spam mail.
25198 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
25199 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
25200 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
25203 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
25204 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds to
25205 the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
25206 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
25207 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds to the group
25208 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
25210 When you are using @acronym{IMAP}, you won't have the mails available
25211 locally, so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent
25212 to cache the articles. Then you can use directories such as
25213 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
25214 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
25217 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics---the
25218 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
25219 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
25220 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
25223 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
25224 reset the dictionary.
25226 @defun spam-stat-reset
25227 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
25230 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
25231 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
25232 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
25233 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
25234 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
25235 only non-spam mails.
25237 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
25238 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
25239 to update the dictionary incrementally.
25242 @defun spam-stat-save
25243 Save the dictionary.
25246 @defvar spam-stat-file
25247 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
25248 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
25251 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
25252 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
25254 This section describes how to use the Spam statistics
25255 @emph{independently} of the @xref{Spam Package}.
25257 First, add the following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
25260 (require 'spam-stat)
25264 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
25267 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
25268 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
25269 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
25270 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
25272 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
25273 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
25274 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
25275 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
25278 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25279 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25283 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
25284 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
25287 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
25288 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
25289 expression are considered potential spam.
25292 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25293 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25294 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25298 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
25299 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
25300 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
25301 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
25302 mails, when creating the dictionary!
25305 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25306 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25307 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25311 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
25312 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
25313 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
25314 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
25315 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
25319 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25320 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
25321 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25322 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25327 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
25328 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
25330 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
25332 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
25333 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
25334 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
25337 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
25338 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
25339 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
25342 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
25343 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
25344 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
25345 already been processed as non-spam.
25348 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
25349 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
25350 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
25351 been processed as spam.
25354 @defun spam-stat-save
25355 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
25356 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
25359 @defun spam-stat-load
25360 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
25361 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
25364 @defun spam-stat-score-word
25365 Return the spam score for a word.
25368 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
25369 Return the spam score for a buffer.
25372 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
25373 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
25374 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
25377 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
25378 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
25381 (require 'spam-stat)
25385 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
25388 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
25389 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25390 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25391 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25392 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
25393 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
25394 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25395 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25396 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
25397 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25398 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
25399 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
25400 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25401 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25404 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
25407 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
25408 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25409 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25410 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
25411 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
25412 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25415 @node The Gnus Registry
25416 @section The Gnus Registry
25421 The Gnus registry is a package that tracks messages by their
25422 Message-ID across all backends. This allows Gnus users to do several
25423 cool things, be the envy of the locals, get free haircuts, and be
25424 experts on world issues. Well, maybe not all of those, but the
25425 features are pretty cool.
25427 Although they will be explained in detail shortly, here's a quick list
25428 of said features in case your attention span is... never mind.
25432 Split messages to their parent
25434 This keeps discussions in the same group. You can use the subject and
25435 the sender in addition to the Message-ID. Several strategies are
25439 Store custom flags and keywords
25441 The registry can store custom flags and keywords for a message. For
25442 instance, you can mark a message ``To-Do'' this way and the flag will
25443 persist whether the message is in the nnimap, nnml, nnmaildir,
25447 Store arbitrary data
25449 Through a simple ELisp API, the registry can remember any data for a
25450 message. A built-in inverse map, when activated, allows quick lookups
25451 of all messages matching a particular set of criteria.
25456 * Fancy splitting to parent::
25457 * Store custom flags and keywords::
25458 * Store arbitrary data::
25464 Fortunately, setting up the Gnus registry is pretty easy:
25467 (setq gnus-registry-max-entries 2500
25468 gnus-registry-use-long-group-names t)
25470 (gnus-registry-initialize)
25473 This adds registry saves to Gnus newsrc saves (which happen on exit
25474 and when you press @kbd{s} from the @code{*Group*} buffer. It also
25475 adds registry calls to article actions in Gnus (copy, move, etc.) so
25476 it's not easy to undo the initialization. See
25477 @code{gnus-registry-initialize} for the gory details.
25479 Here are other settings used by the author of the registry (understand
25480 what they do before you copy them blindly).
25484 gnus-registry-split-strategy 'majority
25485 gnus-registry-ignored-groups '(("nntp" t)
25489 gnus-registry-max-entries 500000
25490 gnus-registry-use-long-group-names t
25491 gnus-registry-track-extra '(sender subject))
25494 They say: keep a lot of messages around, use long group names, track
25495 messages by sender and subject (not just parent Message-ID), and when
25496 the registry splits incoming mail, use a majority rule to decide where
25497 messages should go if there's more than one possibility. In addition,
25498 the registry should ignore messages in groups that match ``nntp'',
25499 ``nnrss'', ``spam'', or ``train.''
25501 You are doubtless impressed by all this, but you ask: ``I am a Gnus
25502 user, I customize to live. Give me more.'' Here you go, these are
25503 the general settings.
25505 @defvar gnus-registry-unfollowed-groups
25506 The groups that will not be followed by
25507 @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent}. They will still be
25508 remembered by the registry. This is a list of regular expressions.
25511 @defvar gnus-registry-ignored-groups
25512 The groups that will not be remembered by the registry. This is a
25513 list of regular expressions, also available through Group/Topic
25514 customization (so you can ignore or keep a specific group or a whole
25518 @defvar gnus-registry-use-long-group-names
25519 Whether the registry will use long group names. It's recommended to
25520 set this to @code{t}, although everything works if you don't. Future
25521 functionality will require it.
25524 @defvar gnus-registry-max-entries
25525 The number (an integer or @code{nil} for unlimited) of entries the
25526 registry will keep.
25529 @defvar gnus-registry-cache-file
25530 The file where the registry will be stored between Gnus sessions.
25533 @node Fancy splitting to parent
25534 @subsection Fancy splitting to parent
25536 Simply put, this lets you put followup e-mail where it belongs.
25538 Every message has a Message-ID, which is unique, and the registry
25539 remembers it. When the message is moved or copied, the registry will
25540 notice this and offer the new group as a choice to the splitting
25543 When a followup is made, usually it mentions the original message's
25544 Message-ID in the headers. The registry knows this and uses that
25545 mention to find the group where the original message lives. You only
25546 have to put a rule like this:
25549 (setq nnimap-my-split-fancy '(|
25551 ;; split to parent: you need this
25552 (: gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent)
25554 ;; other rules, as an example
25560 in your fancy split setup. In addition, you may want to customize the
25561 following variables.
25563 @defvar gnus-registry-track-extra
25564 This is a list of symbols, so it's best to change it from the
25565 Customize interface. By default it's @code{nil}, but you may want to
25566 track @code{subject} and @code{sender} as well when splitting by parent.
25567 It may work for you. It can be annoying if your mail flow is large and
25568 people don't stick to the same groups.
25571 @defvar gnus-registry-split-strategy
25572 This is a symbol, so it's best to change it from the Customize
25573 interface. By default it's @code{nil}, but you may want to set it to
25574 @code{majority} or @code{first} to split by sender or subject based on
25575 the majority of matches or on the first found.
25578 @node Store custom flags and keywords
25579 @subsection Store custom flags and keywords
25581 The registry lets you set custom flags and keywords per message. You
25582 can use the Gnus->Registry Marks menu or the @kbd{M M x} keyboard
25583 shortcuts, where @code{x} is the first letter of the mark's name.
25585 @defvar gnus-registry-marks
25586 The custom marks that the registry can use. You can modify the
25587 default list, if you like. If you do, you'll have to exit Emacs
25588 before they take effect (you can also unload the registry and reload
25589 it or evaluate the specific macros you'll need, but you probably don't
25590 want to bother). Use the Customize interface to modify the list.
25592 By default this list has the @code{Important}, @code{Work},
25593 @code{Personal}, @code{To-Do}, and @code{Later} marks. They all have
25594 keyboard shortcuts like @kbd{M M i} for Important, using the first
25598 @defun gnus-registry-mark-article
25599 Call this function to mark an article with a custom registry mark. It
25600 will offer the available marks for completion.
25603 @node Store arbitrary data
25604 @subsection Store arbitrary data
25606 The registry has a simple API that uses a Message-ID as the key to
25607 store arbitrary data (as long as it can be converted to a list for
25610 @defun gnus-registry-store-extra-entry (id key value)
25611 Store @code{value} in the extra data key @code{key} for message
25615 @defun gnus-registry-delete-extra-entry (id key)
25616 Delete the extra data key @code{key} for message @code{id}.
25619 @defun gnus-registry-fetch-extra (id key)
25620 Get the extra data key @code{key} for message @code{id}.
25623 @defvar gnus-registry-extra-entries-precious
25624 If any extra entries are precious, their presence will make the
25625 registry keep the whole entry forever, even if there are no groups for
25626 the Message-ID and if the size limit of the registry is reached. By
25627 default this is just @code{(marks)} so the custom registry marks are
25632 @section Interaction with other modes
25637 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} provides some useful functions for dired
25638 buffers. It is enabled with
25640 (add-hook 'dired-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-dired-mode)
25645 @findex gnus-dired-attach
25646 @cindex attachments, selection via dired
25647 Send dired's marked files as an attachment (@code{gnus-dired-attach}).
25648 You will be prompted for a message buffer.
25651 @findex gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap
25652 Visit a file according to the appropriate mailcap entry
25653 (@code{gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap}). With prefix, open file in a new
25657 @findex gnus-dired-print
25658 Print file according to the mailcap entry (@code{gnus-dired-print}). If
25659 there is no print command, print in a PostScript image.
25662 @node Various Various
25663 @section Various Various
25669 @item gnus-home-directory
25670 @vindex gnus-home-directory
25671 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
25672 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
25674 @item gnus-directory
25675 @vindex gnus-directory
25676 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
25677 this variable, which defaults to the @env{SAVEDIR} environment
25678 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
25680 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{~/.gnus.el} file is read.
25681 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
25682 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
25683 @file{~/.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
25685 @item gnus-default-directory
25686 @vindex gnus-default-directory
25687 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
25688 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
25689 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
25690 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
25691 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
25692 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
25695 @vindex gnus-verbose
25696 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
25697 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
25698 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
25699 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
25700 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
25702 @item gnus-verbose-backends
25703 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
25704 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
25705 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
25707 @item gnus-add-timestamp-to-message
25708 @vindex gnus-add-timestamp-to-message
25709 This variable controls whether to add timestamps to messages that are
25710 controlled by @code{gnus-verbose} and @code{gnus-verbose-backends} and
25711 are issued. The default value is @code{nil} which means never to add
25712 timestamp. If it is @code{log}, add timestamps to only the messages
25713 that go into the @samp{*Messages*} buffer (in XEmacs, it is the
25714 @w{@samp{ *Message-Log*}} buffer). If it is neither @code{nil} nor
25715 @code{log}, add timestamps not only to log messages but also to the ones
25716 displayed in the echo area.
25718 @item nnheader-max-head-length
25719 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
25720 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
25721 as little as possible. This variable (default 8192) specifies
25722 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
25723 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
25724 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
25725 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
25726 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
25727 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
25729 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
25730 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
25731 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
25732 read when doing the operation described above.
25734 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
25735 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
25737 @cindex invalid characters in file names
25738 @cindex characters in file names
25739 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
25740 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
25741 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
25745 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
25750 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
25751 Windows (phooey) systems.
25753 @item gnus-hidden-properties
25754 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
25755 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
25756 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
25757 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
25759 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
25760 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
25761 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
25762 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
25763 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
25765 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
25766 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
25767 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
25769 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
25770 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
25772 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
25773 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
25774 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
25775 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
25778 @acronym{IMAP} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
25780 @item gnus-safe-html-newsgroups
25781 @vindex gnus-safe-html-newsgroups
25782 Groups in which links in html articles are considered all safe. The
25783 value may be a regexp matching those groups, a list of group names, or
25784 @code{nil}. This overrides @code{mm-w3m-safe-url-regexp}. The default
25785 value is @code{"\\`nnrss[+:]"}. This is effective only when emacs-w3m
25786 renders html articles, i.e., in the case @code{mm-text-html-renderer} is
25787 set to @code{w3m}. @xref{Display Customization, ,Display Customization,
25788 emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}.
25795 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
25796 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
25798 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
25800 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
25806 Not because of victories @*
25809 but for the common sunshine,@*
25811 the largess of the spring.
25815 but for the day's work done@*
25816 as well as I was able;@*
25817 not for a seat upon the dais@*
25818 but at the common table.@*
25823 @chapter Appendices
25826 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
25827 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
25828 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
25829 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
25830 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
25831 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
25832 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
25833 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
25834 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
25841 @cindex installing under XEmacs
25843 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
25844 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
25845 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{mail-lib}, @samp{xemacs-base},
25846 @samp{eterm}, @samp{sh-script}, @samp{net-utils}, @samp{os-utils},
25847 @samp{dired}, @samp{mh-e}, @samp{sieve}, @samp{ps-print}, @samp{W3},
25848 @samp{pgg}, @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{ecrypto}, and @samp{sasl}.
25855 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
25856 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
25858 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
25859 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
25860 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
25861 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
25862 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
25864 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
25865 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
25866 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
25867 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
25868 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
25869 appropriate name, don't you think?)
25871 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
25872 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
25873 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
25874 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
25877 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
25878 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
25879 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
25880 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
25881 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
25882 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
25883 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
25884 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
25885 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
25889 @node Gnus Versions
25890 @subsection Gnus Versions
25892 @cindex September Gnus
25894 @cindex Quassia Gnus
25895 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
25898 @cindex Gnus versions
25900 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
25901 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
25902 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
25904 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
25905 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
25907 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
25908 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
25910 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
25911 It was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
25913 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
25914 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
25917 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun and was released as
25918 Gnus 5.10 on May 1st 2003 (24 releases).
25920 On the January 4th 2004, No Gnus was begun.
25922 On April 19, 2010 Gnus development was moved to Git. See
25923 http://git.gnus.org for details (http://www.gnus.org will be updated
25924 with the information when possible).
25926 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
25927 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
25928 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'', ``No Gnus'' -- don't panic.
25929 Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever
25930 you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach.
25931 Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
25934 @node Other Gnus Versions
25935 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
25938 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
25939 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
25940 Japan. It's based on a library called @acronym{SEMI}, which provides
25941 @acronym{MIME} capabilities.
25943 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
25944 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
25945 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
25946 @acronym{MIME} and multilingualization things, especially important for
25953 What's the point of Gnus?
25955 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
25956 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
25957 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
25958 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
25959 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
25960 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
25961 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
25962 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
25963 keep track of millions of people who post?
25965 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
25966 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
25967 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
25968 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
25969 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
25970 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
25971 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
25972 every one of you to explore and invent.
25974 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
25975 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
25978 @node Compatibility
25979 @subsection Compatibility
25981 @cindex compatibility
25982 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
25983 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
25984 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
25989 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
25993 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
25996 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
25999 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
26000 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
26001 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
26002 important variables have their values copied into their global
26003 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
26004 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
26006 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
26007 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
26008 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
26009 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
26010 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
26014 @cindex highlighting
26015 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
26016 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
26017 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
26018 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
26019 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
26020 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
26023 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
26024 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
26025 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
26026 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
26028 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
26029 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
26030 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
26031 to stop doing it the old way.
26033 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
26035 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
26037 @cindex reporting bugs
26039 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
26040 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
26041 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
26043 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
26044 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
26045 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
26046 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
26051 @subsection Conformity
26053 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
26054 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
26062 There are no known breaches of this standard.
26066 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
26068 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
26069 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
26070 We do have some breaches to this one.
26076 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
26077 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
26078 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
26079 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
26080 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
26085 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
26086 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
26087 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
26088 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
26090 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
26091 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
26092 All the various @acronym{MIME} RFCs are supported.
26094 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
26095 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
26097 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
26100 RFC 1991 is the original @acronym{PGP} message specification,
26101 published as an informational RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now
26102 called Open PGP, and put on the Standards Track. Both document a
26103 non-@acronym{MIME} aware @acronym{PGP} format. Gnus supports both
26104 encoding (signing and encryption) and decoding (verification and
26107 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
26108 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
26109 1991) describes the @acronym{MIME}-wrapping around the RFC 1991/2440 format.
26110 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
26112 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
26113 RFC 2633 describes the @acronym{S/MIME} format.
26115 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
26116 RFC 1730 is @acronym{IMAP} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060
26117 (@acronym{IMAP} 4 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5
26118 authentication for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2086 describes access control
26119 lists (ACLs) for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2359 describes a @acronym{IMAP}
26120 protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper @acronym{TLS}
26121 integration (STARTTLS) with @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 1731 describes the
26122 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @acronym{IMAP}.
26126 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
26127 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
26132 @subsection Emacsen
26138 This version of Gnus should work on:
26146 XEmacs 21.4 and up.
26150 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
26151 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
26152 Emacs versions. Particularly, Gnus 5.10.8 should also work on Emacs
26153 20.7 and XEmacs 21.1.
26155 @c No-merge comment: The paragraph added in v5-10 here must not be
26158 @node Gnus Development
26159 @subsection Gnus Development
26161 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
26162 discussion on the development mailing list @samp{ding@@gnus.org}, where people
26163 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
26164 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
26165 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
26166 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
26167 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
26168 have names like ``Oort Gnus'' and ``No Gnus''. @xref{Gnus Versions}.
26170 After futzing around for 10-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
26171 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
26172 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.10.1'' instead. Normal people are
26173 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
26174 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup. This newgroup is mirrored to the
26175 mailing list @samp{info-gnus-english@@gnu.org} which is carried on Gmane
26176 as @samp{gmane.emacs.gnus.user}. These releases are finally integrated
26180 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
26181 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae,
26182 in particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming}. This is to prevent
26183 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
26184 @xref{Mail Source Customization}.
26186 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
26187 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
26188 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
26189 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
26190 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
26191 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
26192 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
26193 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
26194 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
26195 can't be assumed to do so.
26197 So if you have problems with or questions about the alpha versions,
26198 direct those to the ding mailing list @samp{ding@@gnus.org}. This list
26199 is also available on Gmane as @samp{gmane.emacs.gnus.general}.
26202 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
26203 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae,
26204 in particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming}. This is to prevent
26205 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
26206 @xref{Mail Source Customization}.
26209 @subsection Contributors
26210 @cindex contributors
26212 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
26213 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
26214 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
26215 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
26216 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
26217 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
26218 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
26219 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
26220 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
26221 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
26223 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for@dots{} oops,
26229 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
26232 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
26233 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @acronym{MIME} and
26234 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
26235 functionality and stuff.
26238 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
26239 well as numerous other things).
26242 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
26245 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
26248 Justin Sheehy---the @acronym{FAQ} maintainer.
26251 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
26254 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
26255 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
26258 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
26261 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section.
26264 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
26267 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
26270 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
26273 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
26276 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
26277 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
26280 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
26283 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
26286 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
26289 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
26293 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
26296 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
26299 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
26302 Fran@,{c}ois Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
26303 well as autoconf support.
26307 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
26308 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
26310 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
26325 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
26327 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
26331 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
26341 Alexei V. Barantsev,
26356 Massimo Campostrini,
26361 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
26362 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
26366 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
26369 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
26375 Michael Welsh Duggan,
26380 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
26384 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
26392 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
26394 Michelangelo Grigni,
26398 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
26400 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c Hayashi
26402 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
26410 Fran@,{c}ois Felix Ingrand,
26411 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c Ichikawa
26412 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
26414 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
26424 Peter Skov Knudsen,
26425 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
26427 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
26428 Thor Kristoffersen,
26431 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
26449 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
26450 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
26457 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
26462 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
26466 John McClary Prevost,
26472 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
26477 Christian von Roques,
26480 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
26487 Philippe Schnoebelen,
26489 Randal L. Schwartz,
26503 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
26508 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
26528 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
26529 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
26530 (550kB and counting).
26532 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
26535 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
26536 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
26540 @subsection New Features
26541 @cindex new features
26544 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
26545 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
26546 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
26547 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
26548 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
26549 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10/5.11.
26550 * No Gnus:: Very punny.
26553 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
26554 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
26555 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
26558 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
26560 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
26565 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
26566 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
26569 Local spool and several @acronym{NNTP} servers can be used at once
26570 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
26573 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
26576 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
26577 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
26578 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
26581 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
26582 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
26583 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
26584 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
26587 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
26588 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
26591 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
26592 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
26593 (@pxref{The Active File}).
26596 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
26597 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
26600 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
26601 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
26602 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
26605 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
26606 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
26607 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
26610 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{~/.gnus.el}) to avoid
26611 cluttering up the @file{.emacs} file.
26614 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
26615 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
26618 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
26619 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
26622 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
26623 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
26626 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
26627 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
26630 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
26633 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
26634 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
26637 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
26638 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
26641 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
26642 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
26645 Gnus can fetch @acronym{FAQ}s and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
26648 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
26649 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
26652 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
26656 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
26660 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
26661 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
26664 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
26670 @node September Gnus
26671 @subsubsection September Gnus
26675 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
26679 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
26684 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
26685 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
26689 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
26690 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
26694 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
26698 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
26699 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
26702 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
26706 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions.
26709 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
26712 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
26715 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
26719 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
26720 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
26723 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
26727 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
26731 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
26735 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
26739 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
26742 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
26743 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
26746 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
26750 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
26751 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
26754 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
26757 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
26758 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
26759 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
26762 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets.
26765 The Gnus cache is much faster.
26768 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
26772 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
26773 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
26776 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
26777 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
26780 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
26781 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
26784 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
26785 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
26786 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
26789 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
26790 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
26793 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
26796 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
26799 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
26802 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
26805 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
26806 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
26809 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
26813 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
26816 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
26821 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
26824 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
26828 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
26831 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
26834 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
26835 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
26838 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
26839 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
26843 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
26844 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
26847 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
26851 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
26852 buffer to allow easier treatment.
26855 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
26858 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
26862 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
26866 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
26867 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
26870 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
26874 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
26875 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
26878 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
26879 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
26882 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
26886 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
26889 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
26892 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
26898 @subsubsection Red Gnus
26900 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
26904 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
26911 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
26914 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
26915 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
26918 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
26919 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
26923 Article washing status can be displayed in the
26924 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
26927 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
26930 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
26931 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
26934 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
26938 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
26939 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
26943 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
26944 Server Internals}).
26947 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
26951 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
26954 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
26955 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
26958 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
26959 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
26960 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
26963 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
26964 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
26967 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
26968 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
26971 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
26975 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
26976 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
26979 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
26980 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
26983 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
26987 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
26990 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
26994 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
26995 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
26998 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
26999 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
27002 A new command for reading collections of documents
27003 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
27004 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
27007 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
27011 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @acronym{NNTP}
27012 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
27015 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
27016 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
27017 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
27020 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
27021 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
27025 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
27029 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
27033 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
27038 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
27042 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
27046 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
27047 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
27050 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
27056 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
27058 New features in Gnus 5.6:
27063 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
27064 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added.
27065 @xref{Gnus Unplugged}, for the full story.
27068 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
27069 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
27070 group, which is created automatically.
27073 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
27077 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
27080 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
27081 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
27084 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
27088 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
27091 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
27092 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
27095 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
27098 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. @xref{Symbolic Prefixes}, for
27102 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
27103 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the @file{all.SCORE} file.
27106 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
27107 control over simplification.
27110 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
27113 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
27117 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
27120 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
27123 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
27124 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
27125 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
27128 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
27129 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
27132 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
27136 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
27137 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
27140 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
27141 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @acronym{NNTP} servers.
27144 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
27148 A history of where mails have been split is available.
27151 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
27154 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
27155 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
27158 A new function for citing in Message has been
27159 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
27162 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
27165 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
27169 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
27170 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
27173 The ``lapsed date'' article header can be kept continually
27174 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
27177 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
27180 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
27184 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
27185 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
27187 New features in Gnus 5.8:
27192 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
27193 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
27195 If you used procmail like in
27198 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
27199 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
27200 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
27201 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
27204 this now has changed to
27208 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
27212 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}.
27215 Gnus is now a @acronym{MIME}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
27216 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
27219 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
27220 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
27223 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
27224 called to position point.
27227 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
27228 summary buffers and @acronym{NOV} files.
27231 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
27232 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
27235 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
27236 subtly different manner.
27239 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
27240 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
27241 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
27244 Gnus can now read @acronym{IMAP} mail via @code{nnimap}.
27249 @subsubsection Oort Gnus
27252 New features in Gnus 5.10:
27256 @item Installation changes
27257 @c ***********************
27261 Upgrading from previous (stable) version if you have used Oort.
27263 If you have tried Oort (the unstable Gnus branch leading to this
27264 release) but went back to a stable version, be careful when upgrading to
27265 this version. In particular, you will probably want to remove all
27266 @file{.marks} (nnml) and @file{.mrk} (nnfolder) files, so that flags are
27267 read from your @file{.newsrc.eld} instead of from the
27268 @file{.marks}/@file{.mrk} file where this release store flags. See a
27269 later entry for more information about marks. Note that downgrading
27270 isn't save in general.
27273 Lisp files are now installed in @file{.../site-lisp/gnus/} by default.
27274 It defaulted to @file{.../site-lisp/} formerly. In addition to this,
27275 the new installer issues a warning if other Gnus installations which
27276 will shadow the latest one are detected. You can then remove those
27277 shadows manually or remove them using @code{make
27278 remove-installed-shadows}.
27281 New @file{make.bat} for compiling and installing Gnus under MS Windows
27283 Use @file{make.bat} if you want to install Gnus under MS Windows, the
27284 first argument to the batch-program should be the directory where
27285 @file{xemacs.exe} respectively @file{emacs.exe} is located, if you want
27286 to install Gnus after compiling it, give @file{make.bat} @code{/copy} as
27287 the second parameter.
27289 @file{make.bat} has been rewritten from scratch, it now features
27290 automatic recognition of XEmacs and GNU Emacs, generates
27291 @file{gnus-load.el}, checks if errors occur while compilation and
27292 generation of info files and reports them at the end of the build
27293 process. It now uses @code{makeinfo} if it is available and falls
27294 back to @file{infohack.el} otherwise. @file{make.bat} should now
27295 install all files which are necessary to run Gnus and be generally a
27296 complete replacement for the @code{configure; make; make install}
27297 cycle used under Unix systems.
27299 The new @file{make.bat} makes @file{make-x.bat} and @file{xemacs.mak}
27300 superfluous, so they have been removed.
27303 @file{~/News/overview/} not used.
27305 As a result of the following change, the @file{~/News/overview/}
27306 directory is not used any more. You can safely delete the entire
27309 @c FIXME: `gnus-load' is mentioned in README, which is not included in
27310 @c the repository. We should find a better place for this item.
27312 @code{(require 'gnus-load)}
27314 If you use a stand-alone Gnus distribution, you'd better add
27315 @code{(require 'gnus-load)} into your @file{~/.emacs} after adding the Gnus
27316 lisp directory into load-path.
27318 File @file{gnus-load.el} contains autoload commands, functions and variables,
27319 some of which may not be included in distributions of Emacsen.
27323 @item New packages and libraries within Gnus
27324 @c *****************************************
27329 The revised Gnus @acronym{FAQ} is included in the manual,
27330 @xref{Frequently Asked Questions}.
27333 @acronym{TLS} wrapper shipped with Gnus
27335 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is now supported in @acronym{IMAP} and
27336 @acronym{NNTP} via @file{tls.el} and GNUTLS. The old
27337 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} support via (external third party)
27338 @file{ssl.el} and OpenSSL still works.
27341 Improved anti-spam features.
27343 Gnus is now able to take out spam from your mail and news streams
27344 using a wide variety of programs and filter rules. Among the supported
27345 methods are RBL blocklists, bogofilter and white/blacklists. Hooks
27346 for easy use of external packages such as SpamAssassin and Hashcash
27347 are also new. @ref{Thwarting Email Spam} and @ref{Spam Package}.
27348 @c FIXME: @xref{Spam Package}?. Should this be under Misc?
27351 Gnus supports server-side mail filtering using Sieve.
27353 Sieve rules can be added as Group Parameters for groups, and the
27354 complete Sieve script is generated using @kbd{D g} from the Group
27355 buffer, and then uploaded to the server using @kbd{C-c C-l} in the
27356 generated Sieve buffer. @xref{Sieve Commands}, and the new Sieve
27357 manual @ref{Top, , Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
27361 @item Changes in group mode
27362 @c ************************
27367 @code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group} can be called interactively,
27371 Retrieval of charters and control messages
27373 There are new commands for fetching newsgroup charters (@kbd{H c}) and
27374 control messages (@kbd{H C}).
27377 The new variable @code{gnus-parameters} can be used to set group parameters.
27379 Earlier this was done only via @kbd{G p} (or @kbd{G c}), which stored
27380 the parameters in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, but via this variable you can
27381 enjoy the powers of customize, and simplified backups since you set the
27382 variable in @file{~/.gnus.el} instead of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. The
27383 variable maps regular expressions matching group names to group
27386 (setq gnus-parameters
27388 (gnus-show-threads nil)
27389 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
27390 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
27391 (to-group . "\\1"))))
27395 Unread count correct in nnimap groups.
27397 The estimated number of unread articles in the group buffer should now
27398 be correct for nnimap groups. This is achieved by calling
27399 @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} from the
27400 @code{gnus-setup-news-hook} (called on startup) and
27401 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook}. (called after getting new
27402 mail). If you have modified those variables from the default, you may
27403 want to add @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} again. If
27404 you were happy with the estimate and want to save some (minimal) time
27405 when getting new mail, remove the function.
27408 Group names are treated as UTF-8 by default.
27410 This is supposedly what USEFOR wanted to migrate to. See
27411 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist} and
27412 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist} for customization.
27415 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} and
27416 @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
27418 The regexps in these variables are compared with full group names
27419 instead of real group names in 5.8. Users who customize these
27420 variables should change those regexps accordingly. For example:
27422 ("^han\\>" euc-kr) -> ("\\(^\\|:\\)han\\>" euc-kr)
27426 Old intermediate incoming mail files (@file{Incoming*}) are deleted
27427 after a couple of days, not immediately. @xref{Mail Source
27428 Customization}. (New in Gnus 5.10.10 / Emacs 22.2)
27432 @item Changes in summary and article mode
27433 @c **************************************
27438 @kbd{F} (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}) and @kbd{R}
27439 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}) only yank the text in the
27440 region if the region is active.
27443 In draft groups, @kbd{e} is now bound to @code{gnus-draft-edit-message}.
27444 Use @kbd{B w} for @code{gnus-summary-edit-article} instead.
27449 More buttons for URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man
27450 pages and Emacs or Gnus related references. @xref{Article Buttons}. The
27451 variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} can be used to control the
27452 appearance of all article buttons. @xref{Article Button Levels}.
27455 Single-part yenc encoded attachments can be decoded.
27460 The picons code has been reimplemented to work in GNU Emacs---some of
27461 the previous options have been removed or renamed.
27463 Picons are small ``personal icons'' representing users, domain and
27464 newsgroups, which can be displayed in the Article buffer.
27468 If the new option @code{gnus-treat-body-boundary} is non-@code{nil}, a
27469 boundary line is drawn at the end of the headers.
27472 Signed article headers (X-PGP-Sig) can be verified with @kbd{W p}.
27475 The Summary Buffer uses an arrow in the fringe to indicate the current
27476 article. Use @code{(setq gnus-summary-display-arrow nil)} to disable it.
27479 Warn about email replies to news
27481 Do you often find yourself replying to news by email by mistake? Then
27482 the new option @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} is just the thing for
27486 If the new option @code{gnus-summary-display-while-building} is
27487 non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer is shown and updated as it's being
27491 The new @code{recent} mark @samp{.} indicates newly arrived messages (as
27492 opposed to old but unread messages).
27495 Gnus supports RFC 2369 mailing list headers, and adds a number of
27496 related commands in mailing list groups. @xref{Mailing List}.
27499 The Date header can be displayed in a format that can be read aloud
27500 in English. @xref{Article Date}.
27503 diffs are automatically highlighted in groups matching
27504 @code{mm-uu-diff-groups-regexp}
27507 Better handling of Microsoft citation styles
27509 Gnus now tries to recognize the mangled header block that some Microsoft
27510 mailers use to indicate that the rest of the message is a citation, even
27511 though it is not quoted in any way. The variable
27512 @code{gnus-cite-unsightly-citation-regexp} matches the start of these
27515 The new command @kbd{W Y f}
27516 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}) allows deuglifying broken
27517 Outlook (Express) articles.
27520 @code{gnus-article-skip-boring}
27522 If you set @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} to @code{t}, then Gnus will
27523 not scroll down to show you a page that contains only boring text,
27524 which by default means cited text and signature. You can customize
27525 what is skippable using @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}.
27527 This feature is especially useful if you read many articles that
27528 consist of a little new content at the top with a long, untrimmed
27529 message cited below.
27532 Smileys (@samp{:-)}, @samp{;-)} etc) are now displayed graphically in
27535 Put @code{(setq gnus-treat-display-smileys nil)} in @file{~/.gnus.el} to
27539 Face headers handling. @xref{Face}.
27542 In the summary buffer, the new command @kbd{/ N} inserts new messages
27543 and @kbd{/ o} inserts old messages.
27546 Gnus decodes morse encoded messages if you press @kbd{W m}.
27549 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}
27551 The default value changed to @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%)
27552 %s\n}. Moreover @code{gnus-extra-headers},
27553 @code{nnmail-extra-headers} and @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses}
27554 changed their default so that the users name will be replaced by the
27555 recipient's name or the group name posting to for @acronym{NNTP}
27559 Deleting of attachments.
27561 The command @code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip} (bound to @kbd{C-o}
27562 on @acronym{MIME} buttons) saves a part and replaces the part with an
27563 external one. @code{gnus-mime-delete-part} (bound to @kbd{d} on
27564 @acronym{MIME} buttons) removes a part. It works only on back ends
27565 that support editing.
27568 @code{gnus-default-charset}
27570 The default value is determined from the
27571 @code{current-language-environment} variable, instead of
27572 @code{iso-8859-1}. Also the @samp{.*} item in
27573 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} is removed.
27576 Printing capabilities are enhanced.
27578 Gnus supports Muttprint natively with @kbd{O P} from the Summary and
27579 Article buffers. Also, each individual @acronym{MIME} part can be
27580 printed using @kbd{p} on the @acronym{MIME} button.
27583 Extended format specs.
27585 Format spec @samp{%&user-date;} is added into
27586 @code{gnus-summary-line-format-alist}. Also, user defined extended
27587 format specs are supported. The extended format specs look like
27588 @samp{%u&foo;}, which invokes function
27589 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{foo}}. Because @samp{&} is used as the
27590 escape character, old user defined format @samp{%u&} is no longer supported.
27593 @kbd{/ *} (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}) is rewritten.
27594 @c FIXME: Was this a user-visible change?
27596 It was aliased to @kbd{Y c}
27597 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}). The new function filters
27598 out other articles.
27601 Some limiting commands accept a @kbd{C-u} prefix to negate the match.
27603 If @kbd{C-u} is used on subject, author or extra headers, i.e., @kbd{/
27604 s}, @kbd{/ a}, and @kbd{/ x}
27605 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-@{subject,author,extra@}}) respectively, the
27606 result will be to display all articles that do not match the expression.
27609 Gnus inlines external parts (message/external).
27613 @item Changes in Message mode and related Gnus features
27614 @c ****************************************************
27621 You can delay the sending of a message with @kbd{C-c C-j} in the Message
27622 buffer. The messages are delivered at specified time. This is useful
27623 for sending yourself reminders. @xref{Delayed Articles}.
27626 If the new option @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil},
27627 the nnml back end allows compressed message files.
27630 The new option @code{gnus-gcc-mark-as-read} automatically marks
27631 Gcc articles as read.
27634 Externalizing of attachments
27636 If @code{gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments} or
27637 @code{message-fcc-externalize-attachments} is non-@code{nil}, attach
27638 local files as external parts.
27641 The envelope sender address can be customized when using Sendmail.
27642 @xref{Mail Variables, Mail Variables,, message, Message Manual}.
27645 Gnus no longer generate the Sender: header automatically.
27647 Earlier it was generated when the user configurable email address was
27648 different from the Gnus guessed default user address. As the guessing
27649 algorithm is rarely correct these days, and (more controversially) the
27650 only use of the Sender: header was to check if you are entitled to
27651 cancel/supersede news (which is now solved by Cancel Locks instead,
27652 see another entry), generation of the header has been disabled by
27653 default. See the variables @code{message-required-headers},
27654 @code{message-required-news-headers}, and
27655 @code{message-required-mail-headers}.
27658 Features from third party @file{message-utils.el} added to @file{message.el}.
27660 Message now asks if you wish to remove @samp{(was: <old subject>)} from
27661 subject lines (see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}). @kbd{C-c
27662 M-m} and @kbd{C-c M-f} inserts markers indicating included text.
27663 @kbd{C-c C-f a} adds a X-No-Archive: header. @kbd{C-c C-f x} inserts
27664 appropriate headers and a note in the body for cross-postings and
27665 followups (see the variables @code{message-cross-post-@var{*}}).
27668 References and X-Draft-From headers are no longer generated when you
27669 start composing messages and @code{message-generate-headers-first} is
27673 Easy inclusion of X-Faces headers. @xref{X-Face}.
27676 Group Carbon Copy (GCC) quoting
27678 To support groups that contains SPC and other weird characters, groups
27679 are quoted before they are placed in the Gcc: header. This means
27680 variables such as @code{gnus-message-archive-group} should no longer
27681 contain quote characters to make groups containing SPC work. Also, if
27682 you are using the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar} (indicating Gcc
27683 into two groups) you must change it to return the list
27684 @code{("nnml:foo" "nnml:bar")}, otherwise the Gcc: line will be quoted
27685 incorrectly. Note that returning the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar}
27686 was incorrect earlier, it just didn't generate any problems since it
27687 was inserted directly.
27690 @code{message-insinuate-rmail}
27692 @c FIXME should that not be 'message-user-agent?
27693 Adding @code{(message-insinuate-rmail)} and @code{(setq
27694 mail-user-agent 'gnus-user-agent)} in @file{.emacs} convinces Rmail to
27695 compose, reply and forward messages in message-mode, where you can
27696 enjoy the power of @acronym{MML}.
27699 @code{message-minibuffer-local-map}
27701 The line below enables BBDB in resending a message:
27703 (define-key message-minibuffer-local-map [(tab)]
27704 'bbdb-complete-name)
27708 @code{gnus-posting-styles}
27710 Add a new format of match like
27712 ((header "to" "larsi.*org")
27713 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
27715 The old format like the lines below is obsolete, but still accepted.
27717 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
27718 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
27722 @code{message-ignored-news-headers} and @code{message-ignored-mail-headers}
27724 @samp{X-Draft-From} and @samp{X-Gnus-Agent-Meta-Information} have been
27725 added into these two variables. If you customized those, perhaps you
27726 need add those two headers too.
27729 Gnus supports the ``format=flowed'' (RFC 2646) parameter. On
27730 composing messages, it is enabled by @code{use-hard-newlines}.
27731 Decoding format=flowed was present but not documented in earlier
27735 The option @code{mm-fill-flowed} can be used to disable treatment of
27736 ``format=flowed'' messages. Also, flowed text is disabled when sending
27737 inline PGP signed messages. @xref{Flowed text, , Flowed text,
27738 emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
27739 @c This entry is also present in the node "No Gnus".
27742 Gnus supports the generation of RFC 2298 Disposition Notification requests.
27744 This is invoked with the @kbd{C-c M-n} key binding from message mode.
27747 Message supports the Importance: (RFC 2156) header.
27749 In the message buffer, @kbd{C-c C-f C-i} or @kbd{C-c C-u} cycles through
27753 Gnus supports Cancel Locks in News.
27755 This means a header @samp{Cancel-Lock} is inserted in news posting. It is
27756 used to determine if you wrote an article or not (for canceling and
27757 superseding). Gnus generates a random password string the first time
27758 you post a message, and saves it in your @file{~/.emacs} using the Custom
27759 system. While the variable is called @code{canlock-password}, it is not
27760 security sensitive data. Publishing your canlock string on the web
27761 will not allow anyone to be able to anything she could not already do.
27762 The behavior can be changed by customizing @code{message-insert-canlock}.
27765 Gnus supports @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991/2440), @acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC
27766 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME} (RFC 2630-2633).
27768 It needs an external @acronym{S/MIME} and OpenPGP implementation, but no
27769 additional Lisp libraries. This add several menu items to the
27770 Attachments menu, and @kbd{C-c RET} key bindings, when composing
27771 messages. This also obsoletes @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook}.
27774 @acronym{MML} (Mime compose) prefix changed from @kbd{M-m} to @kbd{C-c
27777 This change was made to avoid conflict with the standard binding of
27778 @code{back-to-indentation}, which is also useful in message mode.
27781 The default for @code{message-forward-show-mml} changed to the symbol
27784 The behavior for the @code{best} value is to show @acronym{MML} (i.e.,
27785 convert to @acronym{MIME}) when appropriate. @acronym{MML} will not be
27786 used when forwarding signed or encrypted messages, as the conversion
27787 invalidate the digital signature.
27790 If @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled, attachments are automatically
27791 decompressed when activated.
27792 @c FIXME: Does this affect article or message mode?
27795 Support for non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names
27797 Message supports non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To: and
27798 Cc: and will query you whether to perform encoding when you try to
27799 send a message. The variable @code{message-use-idna} controls this.
27800 Gnus will also decode non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To:
27801 and Cc: when you view a message. The variable @code{gnus-use-idna}
27804 @item You can now drag and drop attachments to the Message buffer.
27805 See @code{mml-dnd-protocol-alist} and @code{mml-dnd-attach-options}.
27806 @xref{MIME, ,MIME, message, Message Manual}.
27807 @c New in 5.10.9 / 5.11 (Emacs 22.1)
27809 @item @code{auto-fill-mode} is enabled by default in Message mode.
27810 See @code{message-fill-column}. @xref{Various Message Variables, ,
27811 Message Headers, message, Message Manual}.
27812 @c New in Gnus 5.10.12 / 5.11 (Emacs 22.3)
27816 @item Changes in back ends
27817 @c ***********************
27821 Gnus can display RSS newsfeeds as a newsgroup. @xref{RSS}.
27824 The nndoc back end now supports mailman digests and exim bounces.
27827 Gnus supports Maildir groups.
27829 Gnus includes a new back end @file{nnmaildir.el}. @xref{Maildir}.
27832 The nnml and nnfolder back ends store marks for each groups.
27834 This makes it possible to take backup of nnml/nnfolder servers/groups
27835 separately of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, while preserving marks. It also
27836 makes it possible to share articles and marks between users (without
27837 sharing the @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file) within e.g. a department. It
27838 works by storing the marks stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld} in a per-group
27839 file @file{.marks} (for nnml) and @file{@var{groupname}.mrk} (for
27840 nnfolder, named @var{groupname}). If the nnml/nnfolder is moved to
27841 another machine, Gnus will automatically use the @file{.marks} or
27842 @file{.mrk} file instead of the information in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
27843 The new server variables @code{nnml-marks-is-evil} and
27844 @code{nnfolder-marks-is-evil} can be used to disable this feature.
27854 The menu bar item (in Group and Summary buffer) named ``Misc'' has
27855 been renamed to ``Gnus''.
27858 The menu bar item (in Message mode) named ``@acronym{MML}'' has been
27859 renamed to ``Attachments''. Note that this menu also contains security
27860 related stuff, like signing and encryption (@pxref{Security, Security,,
27861 message, Message Manual}).
27864 The tool bars have been updated to use GNOME icons in Group, Summary and
27865 Message mode. You can also customize the tool bars: @kbd{M-x
27866 customize-apropos RET -tool-bar$} should get you started. This is a new
27867 feature in Gnus 5.10.10. (Only for Emacs, not in XEmacs.)
27869 @item The tool bar icons are now (de)activated correctly
27870 in the group buffer, see the variable @code{gnus-group-update-tool-bar}.
27871 Its default value depends on your Emacs version. This is a new feature
27876 @item Miscellaneous changes
27877 @c ************************
27884 The Gnus Agent has seen a major updated and is now enabled by default,
27885 and all nntp and nnimap servers from @code{gnus-select-method} and
27886 @code{gnus-secondary-select-method} are agentized by default. Earlier
27887 only the server in @code{gnus-select-method} was agentized by the
27888 default, and the agent was disabled by default. When the agent is
27889 enabled, headers are now also retrieved from the Agent cache instead
27890 of the back ends when possible. Earlier this only happened in the
27891 unplugged state. You can enroll or remove servers with @kbd{J a} and
27892 @kbd{J r} in the server buffer. Gnus will not download articles into
27893 the Agent cache, unless you instruct it to do so, though, by using
27894 @kbd{J u} or @kbd{J s} from the Group buffer. You revert to the old
27895 behavior of having the Agent disabled with @code{(setq gnus-agent
27896 nil)}. Note that putting @code{(gnus-agentize)} in @file{~/.gnus.el}
27897 is not needed any more.
27900 Gnus reads the @acronym{NOV} and articles in the Agent if plugged.
27902 If one reads an article while plugged, and the article already exists
27903 in the Agent, it won't get downloaded once more. @code{(setq
27904 gnus-agent-cache nil)} reverts to the old behavior.
27909 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} (see @ref{Other modes}) installs key
27910 bindings in dired buffers to send a file as an attachment, open a file
27911 using the appropriate mailcap entry, and print a file using the mailcap
27915 The format spec @code{%C} for positioning point has changed to @code{%*}.
27918 @code{gnus-slave-unplugged}
27920 A new command which starts Gnus offline in slave mode.
27927 @subsubsection No Gnus
27930 New features in No Gnus:
27931 @c FIXME: Gnus 5.12?
27933 @include gnus-news.texi
27939 @section The Manual
27943 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
27944 either @code{texi2dvi}
27946 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
27947 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
27949 to get what you hold in your hands now.
27951 The following conventions have been used:
27956 This is a @samp{string}
27959 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
27962 This is a @file{file}
27965 This is a @code{symbol}
27969 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
27973 (setq flargnoze "yes")
27976 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
27979 (setq flumphel 'yes)
27982 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
27983 ever get them confused.
27987 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
27988 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
27989 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
27990 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
27991 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
27992 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
27993 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
27999 @node On Writing Manuals
28000 @section On Writing Manuals
28002 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
28003 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
28004 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
28005 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
28006 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
28007 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code go hand
28010 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
28011 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
28012 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
28015 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
28016 reference manual as source material. It would look quite different.
28021 @section Terminology
28023 @cindex terminology
28028 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
28029 News is generally fetched from a nearby @acronym{NNTP} server, and is
28030 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
28031 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
28032 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
28036 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
28037 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
28038 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
28039 not posting, and replying is not following up.
28043 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
28047 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
28052 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
28053 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
28054 commonly fetched via the protocol @acronym{NNTP}, whereas mail
28055 messages could be read from a file on the local disk. The internal
28056 architecture of Gnus thus comprises a ``front end'' and a number of
28057 ``back ends''. Internally, when you enter a group (by hitting
28058 @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke a function in the front end in
28059 Gnus. The front end then ``talks'' to a back end and says things like
28060 ``Give me the list of articles in the foo group'' or ``Show me article
28063 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back
28064 end accesses news via @acronym{NNTP}, the @code{nnimap} back end
28065 accesses mail via @acronym{IMAP}) or a file format and directory
28066 layout (the @code{nnspool} back end accesses news via the common
28067 ``spool directory'' format, the @code{nnml} back end access mail via a
28068 file format and directory layout that's quite similar).
28070 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
28071 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
28072 access the articles.
28074 However, sometimes the term ``back end'' is also used where ``server''
28075 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term ``select
28076 method'' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
28081 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
28082 default, way of getting news.
28086 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
28087 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
28092 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
28093 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
28097 A message that has been posted as news.
28100 @cindex mail message
28101 A message that has been mailed.
28105 A mail message or news article
28109 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
28114 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
28119 A line from the head of an article.
28123 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
28124 collection of @acronym{NOV} lines.
28126 @item @acronym{NOV}
28127 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
28128 @acronym{NOV} stands for News OverView, which is a type of news server
28129 header which provide datas containing the condensed header information
28130 of articles. They are produced by the server itself; in the @code{nntp}
28131 back end Gnus uses the ones that the @acronym{NNTP} server makes, but
28132 Gnus makes them by itself for some backends (in particular, @code{nnml}).
28134 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
28135 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
28136 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
28137 normal @sc{head} format.
28139 The @acronym{NOV} data consist of one or more text lines (@pxref{Text
28140 Lines, ,Motion by Text Lines, elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual})
28141 where each line has the header information of one article. The header
28142 information is a tab-separated series of the header's contents including
28143 an article number, a subject, an author, a date, a message-id,
28146 Those data enable Gnus to generate summary lines quickly. However, if
28147 the server does not support @acronym{NOV} or you disable it purposely or
28148 for some reason, Gnus will try to generate the header information by
28149 parsing each article's headers one by one. It will take time.
28150 Therefore, it is not usually a good idea to set nn*-nov-is-evil
28151 (@pxref{Slow/Expensive Connection}) to a non-@code{nil} value unless you
28152 know that the server makes wrong @acronym{NOV} data.
28156 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
28157 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
28158 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
28159 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
28160 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
28161 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
28163 @item killed groups
28164 @cindex killed groups
28165 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
28166 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
28168 @item zombie groups
28169 @cindex zombie groups
28170 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
28173 @cindex active file
28174 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
28175 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
28176 is rather large, as you might surmise.
28179 @cindex bogus groups
28180 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
28181 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
28182 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
28185 @cindex activating groups
28186 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
28187 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
28188 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
28192 News servers store their articles locally in one fashion or other.
28193 One old-fashioned storage method is to have just one file per
28194 article. That's called a ``traditional spool''.
28198 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
28200 @item select method
28201 @cindex select method
28202 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
28205 @item virtual server
28206 @cindex virtual server
28207 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
28208 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
28209 whole is a virtual server.
28213 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
28214 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
28217 @item ephemeral groups
28218 @cindex ephemeral groups
28219 @cindex temporary groups
28220 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
28221 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
28222 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
28225 @cindex solid groups
28226 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
28227 group buffer are solid groups.
28229 @item sparse articles
28230 @cindex sparse articles
28231 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
28232 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
28236 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
28237 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
28241 @cindex thread root
28242 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
28243 articles in the thread.
28247 An article that has responses.
28251 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
28255 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
28256 specified by RFC 1153.
28259 @cindex splitting, terminology
28260 @cindex mail sorting
28261 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
28262 The action of sorting your emails according to certain rules. Sometimes
28263 incorrectly called mail filtering.
28269 @node Customization
28270 @section Customization
28271 @cindex general customization
28273 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
28274 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
28275 for some quite common situations.
28278 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
28279 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
28280 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
28281 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
28285 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
28286 @subsection Slow/Expensive Connection
28288 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
28289 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
28290 Gnus has to get from the server.
28294 @item gnus-read-active-file
28295 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
28296 entire active file from the server. This file is often very large. You
28297 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
28298 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
28299 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
28301 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
28302 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
28303 Usually this one must @emph{always} be @code{nil} (which is the
28304 default). If, for example, you wish to not use @acronym{NOV}
28305 (@pxref{Terminology}) with the @code{nntp} back end (@pxref{Crosspost
28306 Handling}), set @code{nntp-nov-is-evil} to a non-@code{nil} value
28307 instead of setting this. But you normally do not need to set
28308 @code{nntp-nov-is-evil} since Gnus by itself will detect whether the
28309 @acronym{NNTP} server supports @acronym{NOV}. Anyway, grabbing article
28310 headers from the @acronym{NNTP} server will not be very fast if you tell
28311 Gnus not to use @acronym{NOV}.
28313 As the variables for the other back ends, there are
28314 @code{nndiary-nov-is-evil}, @code{nndir-nov-is-evil},
28315 @code{nnfolder-nov-is-evil}, @code{nnimap-nov-is-evil},
28316 @code{nnml-nov-is-evil}, and @code{nnspool-nov-is-evil}. Note that a
28317 non-@code{nil} value for @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} overrides all those
28322 @node Slow Terminal Connection
28323 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
28325 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
28326 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
28327 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
28331 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
28332 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
28333 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
28334 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
28335 horizontal and vertical recentering.
28337 @item gnus-visible-headers
28338 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
28339 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
28340 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
28341 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
28343 Use the following to enable all the available hiding features:
28345 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
28346 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
28347 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
28350 @item gnus-use-full-window
28351 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
28352 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
28353 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
28354 want to read them anyway.
28356 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
28357 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
28361 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
28362 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
28363 lines, which might save some time.
28367 @node Little Disk Space
28368 @subsection Little Disk Space
28371 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
28372 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
28376 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
28377 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
28378 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
28379 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
28382 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
28383 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
28384 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
28385 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
28388 @item gnus-save-killed-list
28389 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
28390 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
28391 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
28392 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
28398 @subsection Slow Machine
28399 @cindex slow machine
28401 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
28402 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
28404 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
28405 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
28407 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
28408 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
28409 summary buffer faster. Also @pxref{Slow/Expensive Connection}.
28413 @node Troubleshooting
28414 @section Troubleshooting
28415 @cindex troubleshooting
28417 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
28425 Make sure your computer is switched on.
28428 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
28429 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
28433 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
28435 @samp{No Gnus v0.10} @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change this line!
28437 you have the right files loaded. Otherwise you have some old @file{.el}
28438 files lying around. Delete these.
28441 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a
28442 @acronym{FAQ} and a how-to.
28445 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
28446 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
28447 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
28448 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
28449 something like that.
28452 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
28455 @cindex reporting bugs
28457 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
28459 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
28460 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
28461 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
28462 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
28464 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
28465 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
28466 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
28467 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
28470 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
28471 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
28472 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
28473 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
28474 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
28475 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
28477 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
28478 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
28479 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
28483 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
28484 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
28487 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
28488 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
28489 edebug. Debugging Lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
28490 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
28491 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
28492 you discover some weird behavior when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
28493 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
28494 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
28495 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
28496 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
28497 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
28498 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
28499 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
28500 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
28505 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate an elisp error but
28506 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
28507 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press @kbd{C-g} when things are
28508 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
28509 helps isolating the real problem areas).
28511 A fancier approach is to use the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is
28512 (or should be) fully documented elsewhere, but to get you started
28513 there are a few steps that need to be followed. First, instrument the
28514 part of Gnus you are interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x
28515 elp-instrument-package RET gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package
28516 RET message}. Then perform the operation that is slow and press
28517 @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will then see which operations that takes
28518 time, and can debug them further. If the entire operation takes much
28519 longer than the time spent in the slowest function in the profiler
28520 output, you probably profiled the wrong part of Gnus. To reset
28521 profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x
28522 elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove profiling, but given the
28523 complexities and dynamic code generation in Gnus, it might not always
28526 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
28527 @cindex ding mailing list
28528 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
28529 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful. You can also ask on
28530 @email{ding@@gnus.org, the ding mailing list}. Write to
28531 @email{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
28535 @node Gnus Reference Guide
28536 @section Gnus Reference Guide
28538 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
28539 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
28540 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
28541 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
28544 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
28545 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
28546 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
28547 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
28548 and general methods of operation.
28551 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
28552 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
28553 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
28554 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
28555 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
28556 * Group Info:: The group info format.
28557 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
28558 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
28559 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
28563 @node Gnus Utility Functions
28564 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
28565 @cindex Gnus utility functions
28566 @cindex utility functions
28568 @cindex internal variables
28570 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
28571 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
28572 Below is a list of the most common ones.
28576 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
28577 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
28578 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
28580 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
28581 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
28582 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
28584 @item gnus-group-real-name
28585 @findex gnus-group-real-name
28586 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
28589 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
28590 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
28591 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
28592 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
28594 @item gnus-get-info
28595 @findex gnus-get-info
28596 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
28598 @item gnus-group-unread
28599 @findex gnus-group-unread
28600 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
28604 @findex gnus-active
28605 The active entry for @var{group}.
28607 @item gnus-set-active
28608 @findex gnus-set-active
28609 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
28611 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
28612 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
28613 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
28616 @item gnus-continuum-version
28617 @findex gnus-continuum-version
28618 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
28619 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
28622 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
28623 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
28624 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
28626 @item gnus-news-group-p
28627 @findex gnus-news-group-p
28628 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
28630 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
28631 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
28632 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
28634 @item gnus-server-to-method
28635 @findex gnus-server-to-method
28636 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
28638 @item gnus-server-equal
28639 @findex gnus-server-equal
28640 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
28642 @item gnus-group-native-p
28643 @findex gnus-group-native-p
28644 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
28646 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
28647 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
28648 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
28650 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
28651 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
28652 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
28654 @item gnus-group-find-parameter
28655 @findex gnus-group-find-parameter
28656 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
28657 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
28659 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
28660 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
28661 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
28663 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
28664 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
28665 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
28667 @item gnus-check-backend-function
28668 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
28669 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
28670 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
28673 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
28677 @item gnus-read-method
28678 @findex gnus-read-method
28679 Prompts the user for a select method.
28684 @node Back End Interface
28685 @subsection Back End Interface
28687 Gnus doesn't know anything about @acronym{NNTP}, spools, mail or virtual
28688 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
28689 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
28690 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
28691 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
28692 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
28694 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
28695 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
28696 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
28697 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
28698 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
28699 been opened, the function should fail.
28701 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
28702 name. Take this example:
28706 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
28707 (nntp-port-number 4324))
28710 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
28711 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
28713 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
28714 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
28715 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
28717 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
28718 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
28719 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
28721 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
28722 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
28723 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
28724 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
28725 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
28726 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
28729 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
28730 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
28731 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
28732 ---they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
28735 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
28736 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
28737 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
28738 possible for later articles to ``re-use'' older article numbers without
28739 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
28740 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
28741 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
28742 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
28743 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
28744 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
28746 The previous paragraph already mentions all the ``hard'' restrictions that
28747 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
28748 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
28749 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
28750 the ``no-reuse'' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
28751 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
28752 of numbers as long as possible.
28754 Note that by convention, back ends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
28755 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
28756 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
28758 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
28761 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
28764 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
28765 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
28766 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
28767 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
28768 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
28769 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
28773 @node Required Back End Functions
28774 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
28778 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
28780 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
28781 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
28782 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
28783 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
28785 The result data should either be HEADs or @acronym{NOV} lines, and the result
28786 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
28787 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
28788 of HEADs and @acronym{NOV} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
28790 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching ``extra
28791 headers'', in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
28792 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
28793 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
28794 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
28795 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
28796 number, do maximum fetches.
28798 Here's an example HEAD:
28801 221 1056 Article retrieved.
28802 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
28803 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
28804 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
28805 Subject: Re: Something very droll
28806 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
28807 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
28809 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
28810 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
28811 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
28815 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
28816 these in the data buffer.
28818 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
28822 head = error / valid-head
28823 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
28824 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
28825 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
28826 header = <text> eol
28830 (The version of BNF used here is the one used in RFC822.)
28832 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
28833 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
28837 nov-buffer = *nov-line
28838 nov-line = field 7*8[ <TAB> field ] eol
28839 field = <text except TAB>
28842 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
28846 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
28848 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
28849 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
28851 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
28852 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
28853 server. In fact, it should do so.
28855 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
28856 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
28859 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
28861 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
28862 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
28865 There should be no data returned.
28868 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
28870 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
28871 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
28872 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
28873 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
28875 There should be no data returned.
28878 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
28880 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
28881 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
28882 non-@code{nil} value. This function should under no circumstances
28883 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
28885 There should be no data returned.
28888 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
28890 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
28892 There should be no data returned.
28895 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
28897 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
28898 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
28899 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
28900 it would be nice if that were possible.
28902 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
28903 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
28904 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
28905 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
28906 into its article buffer.
28908 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
28909 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
28910 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
28911 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
28912 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
28913 on successful article retrieval.
28916 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST INFO)
28918 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
28919 making @var{group} the current group.
28921 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
28924 If @var{info}, it allows the backend to update the group info
28927 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
28930 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
28933 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
28934 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
28935 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
28936 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
28937 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
28938 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
28939 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
28940 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
28941 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
28945 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
28946 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
28947 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
28951 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
28953 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
28954 a no-op on most back ends.
28956 There should be no data returned.
28959 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
28961 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
28964 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
28967 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
28968 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
28971 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
28972 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
28973 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
28974 and the highest as 0.
28977 active-file = *active-line
28978 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
28980 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
28983 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
28984 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
28985 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
28988 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
28990 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
28991 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
28992 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
28993 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
28994 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
28995 clear if the posting could not be completed.
28997 There should be no result data from this function.
29002 @node Optional Back End Functions
29003 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
29007 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
29009 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
29010 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
29011 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
29013 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
29014 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
29015 former is in the same format as the data from
29016 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
29017 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
29020 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
29024 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
29026 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
29027 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all
29028 the information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
29029 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
29030 should return a non-@code{nil} value (exceptionally,
29031 @code{nntp-request-update-info} always returns @code{nil} not to waste
29032 the network resources).
29034 There should be no result data from this function.
29037 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
29039 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
29040 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
29041 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
29042 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
29043 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
29044 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
29045 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
29046 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
29048 There should be no result data from this function.
29051 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
29053 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
29054 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
29055 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @acronym{IMAP}) however carry
29056 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
29057 propagate the mark information to the server.
29059 @var{action} is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
29062 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
29065 @var{range} is a range of articles you wish to update marks on.
29066 @var{action} is @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove
29067 marks (preserving all marks not mentioned). @var{mark} is a list of
29068 marks; where each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are
29069 @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
29070 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
29071 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
29072 possible, not limit itself to these.
29074 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
29075 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
29076 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
29077 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
29079 An example action list:
29082 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
29083 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
29084 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
29087 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
29088 mark on (currently not used for anything).
29090 There should be no result data from this function.
29092 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
29094 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
29095 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
29096 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
29097 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
29098 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
29100 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
29101 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
29102 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
29105 There should be no result data from this function.
29108 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
29110 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
29111 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
29112 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query
29113 the @acronym{POP} server when this function is invoked. The
29114 @var{group} doesn't have to be heeded---if the back end decides that
29115 it is too much work just scanning for a single group, it may do a
29116 total scan of all groups. It would be nice, however, to keep things
29117 local if that's practical.
29119 There should be no result data from this function.
29122 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
29124 The result data from this function should be a description of
29128 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
29130 description = <text>
29133 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
29135 The result data from this function should be the description of all
29136 groups available on the server.
29139 description-buffer = *description-line
29143 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
29145 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
29146 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
29147 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
29148 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
29149 in the active buffer format.
29151 It is okay for this function to return ``too many'' groups; some back ends
29152 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
29153 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
29154 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
29155 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
29156 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
29157 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
29160 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
29162 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
29164 There should be no return data.
29167 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
29169 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
29170 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
29171 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
29172 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
29173 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
29176 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
29179 There should be no result data returned.
29182 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM &optional LAST)
29184 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
29185 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
29187 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
29188 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
29189 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
29190 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
29191 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
29192 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
29194 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
29195 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
29198 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
29199 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
29201 There should be no data returned.
29204 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
29206 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
29207 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
29208 this function in short order.
29210 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
29211 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
29213 The group should exist before the back end is asked to accept the
29214 article for that group.
29216 There should be no data returned.
29219 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
29221 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
29222 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
29224 There should be no data returned.
29227 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
29229 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
29230 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
29231 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
29233 There should be no data returned.
29236 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
29238 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
29239 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
29241 There should be no data returned.
29246 @node Error Messaging
29247 @subsubsection Error Messaging
29249 @findex nnheader-report
29250 @findex nnheader-get-report
29251 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
29252 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
29253 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
29254 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
29255 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
29256 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
29259 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
29261 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
29264 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
29265 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
29266 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
29267 takes one argument---the server symbol.
29269 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
29270 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
29271 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
29274 @node Writing New Back Ends
29275 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
29277 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
29278 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
29279 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
29280 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
29281 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
29284 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
29285 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
29286 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
29288 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
29289 package called @code{nnoo}.
29291 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
29292 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
29298 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
29299 parameters. For instance:
29302 (nnoo-declare nndir
29306 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
29307 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
29310 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
29311 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
29312 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
29314 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
29315 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
29316 a function in those back ends.
29319 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
29320 "Where nndir will look for groups."
29321 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
29324 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
29325 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
29326 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
29328 @item nnoo-define-basics
29329 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
29333 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
29337 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
29338 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
29339 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
29341 @item nnoo-map-functions
29342 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
29343 functions from the parent back ends.
29346 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
29347 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
29348 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
29351 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
29352 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
29353 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
29354 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
29357 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
29358 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
29359 haven't already been defined.
29365 nnmh-request-newgroups)
29369 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
29370 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
29371 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
29376 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
29379 ;;; @r{nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus}
29380 ;; @r{Copyright (C) 1995,1996 Free Software Foundation, Inc.}
29384 (require 'nnheader)
29388 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
29390 (nnoo-declare nndir
29393 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
29394 "Where nndir will look for groups."
29395 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
29397 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
29398 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
29401 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
29403 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
29404 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
29405 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
29407 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
29408 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
29410 ;;; @r{Interface functions.}
29412 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
29414 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
29415 (setq nndir-directory
29416 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
29418 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
29419 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
29420 (push `(nndir-current-group
29421 ,(file-name-nondirectory
29422 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
29424 (push `(nndir-top-directory
29425 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
29427 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
29429 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
29430 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
29431 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
29432 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
29433 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
29437 nnmh-status-message
29439 nnmh-request-newgroups))
29445 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
29446 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
29448 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
29449 @findex gnus-declare-backend
29450 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
29451 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
29452 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
29454 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
29455 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
29460 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
29463 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
29465 The abilities can be:
29469 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
29471 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
29473 This back end supports both mail and news.
29475 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
29478 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
29479 articles and groups.
29481 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
29482 true for almost all back ends.
29483 @item prompt-address
29484 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
29485 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
29486 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
29490 @node Mail-like Back Ends
29491 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
29493 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
29494 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
29495 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
29496 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
29499 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
29500 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
29501 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
29504 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
29505 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
29508 This function takes four parameters.
29512 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
29515 @item exit-function
29516 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
29518 @item temp-directory
29519 Where the temporary files should be stored.
29522 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
29523 performed for one group only.
29526 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
29527 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
29528 find the article number assigned to this article.
29530 The function also uses the following variables:
29531 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
29532 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
29533 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
29534 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
29538 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
29539 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
29543 @node Score File Syntax
29544 @subsection Score File Syntax
29546 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
29547 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
29548 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
29550 Here's a typical score file:
29554 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
29561 BNF definition of a score file:
29564 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
29565 element = rule / atom
29566 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
29567 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
29568 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
29569 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
29571 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
29572 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
29573 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
29574 date-header = "date"
29575 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
29576 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
29577 score = "nil" / <integer>
29578 date = "nil" / <natural number>
29579 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
29580 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
29581 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
29582 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
29583 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
29584 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
29585 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
29586 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
29587 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
29588 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
29589 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
29590 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
29591 exclude-files / read-only / touched
29592 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
29593 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
29594 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
29595 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
29596 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
29597 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
29598 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
29599 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
29600 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
29601 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
29602 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
29603 eval = "eval" space <form>
29604 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
29607 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
29610 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
29611 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
29612 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
29613 one looong line, then that's ok.
29615 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
29616 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
29620 @subsection Headers
29622 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
29623 corresponds to the @acronym{NOV} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
29624 almost suspect that the author looked at the @acronym{NOV} specification and
29625 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
29627 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
29628 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
29629 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
29630 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
29631 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
29632 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
29633 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
29635 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
29636 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
29637 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
29638 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
29639 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
29641 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
29642 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
29648 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
29649 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
29651 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
29652 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
29653 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
29654 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
29656 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
29660 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
29663 is transformed into
29666 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
29669 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
29670 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
29673 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
29676 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
29677 is slightly tricky:
29680 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
29686 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
29689 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
29695 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
29702 and is equal to the previous range.
29704 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
29705 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
29706 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
29710 range = simple-range / normal-range
29711 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
29712 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
29713 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
29714 number *[ " " contents ]
29717 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
29718 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
29719 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
29720 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
29721 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
29726 @subsection Group Info
29728 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
29729 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
29730 describes the group.
29732 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
29733 second is a more complex one:
29736 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
29738 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
29739 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
29741 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
29744 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
29745 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
29746 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
29747 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
29748 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
29749 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
29750 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
29751 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
29752 this section is about.
29754 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
29755 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
29756 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
29758 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
29761 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
29762 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
29763 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
29764 group = quote <string> quote
29765 ralevel = rank / level
29766 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
29767 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
29768 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
29770 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
29771 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
29772 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
29773 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
29776 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
29777 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
29780 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
29781 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
29784 @item gnus-info-group
29785 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
29786 @findex gnus-info-group
29787 @findex gnus-info-set-group
29788 Get/set the group name.
29790 @item gnus-info-rank
29791 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
29792 @findex gnus-info-rank
29793 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
29794 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
29796 @item gnus-info-level
29797 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
29798 @findex gnus-info-level
29799 @findex gnus-info-set-level
29800 Get/set the group level.
29802 @item gnus-info-score
29803 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
29804 @findex gnus-info-score
29805 @findex gnus-info-set-score
29806 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
29808 @item gnus-info-read
29809 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
29810 @findex gnus-info-read
29811 @findex gnus-info-set-read
29812 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
29814 @item gnus-info-marks
29815 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
29816 @findex gnus-info-marks
29817 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
29818 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
29820 @item gnus-info-method
29821 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
29822 @findex gnus-info-method
29823 @findex gnus-info-set-method
29824 Get/set the group select method.
29826 @item gnus-info-params
29827 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
29828 @findex gnus-info-params
29829 @findex gnus-info-set-params
29830 Get/set the group parameters.
29833 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
29834 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
29836 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
29837 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
29838 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
29839 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
29842 @node Extended Interactive
29843 @subsection Extended Interactive
29844 @cindex interactive
29845 @findex gnus-interactive
29847 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
29848 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
29849 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
29852 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
29853 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
29858 The best thing to do would have been to implement
29859 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
29860 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
29861 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
29862 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
29863 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
29864 @code{interactive}.
29866 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
29871 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
29872 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
29876 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
29877 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
29878 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
29881 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
29885 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
29889 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
29895 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
29896 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
29900 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
29901 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
29902 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
29904 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
29905 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
29906 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
29907 Gnus, that's very useful.
29909 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
29910 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
29911 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
29912 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
29913 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
29914 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
29915 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
29916 following function:
29919 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
29923 (,function ,@@args))
29927 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
29928 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
29929 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
29932 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
29933 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
29934 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
29936 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
29937 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
29938 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
29941 @node Various File Formats
29942 @subsection Various File Formats
29945 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
29946 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
29950 @node Active File Format
29951 @subsubsection Active File Format
29953 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
29954 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
29957 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
29960 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
29961 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
29962 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
29963 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
29964 no.general 1000 900 y
29967 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
29970 active = *group-line
29971 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
29972 group = <non-white-space string>
29974 high-number = <non-negative integer>
29975 low-number = <positive integer>
29976 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
29979 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
29980 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
29983 @node Newsgroups File Format
29984 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
29986 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
29987 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
29988 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
29991 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
29992 Here's the definition:
29996 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
29997 group = <non-white-space string>
29999 description = <string>
30004 @node Emacs for Heathens
30005 @section Emacs for Heathens
30007 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
30008 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
30009 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
30010 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
30011 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
30012 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
30013 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
30017 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
30018 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
30023 @subsection Keystrokes
30027 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
30030 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
30033 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
30034 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
30035 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
30036 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
30037 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
30038 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
30040 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
30041 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
30042 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
30043 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
30044 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
30045 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
30046 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
30048 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
30049 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
30050 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
30051 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
30052 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
30053 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
30054 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
30056 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
30057 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
30058 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
30059 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
30060 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
30066 @subsection Emacs Lisp
30068 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
30069 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
30070 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
30071 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
30073 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
30074 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
30075 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
30076 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
30077 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
30078 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
30079 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{~/.gnus.el}
30080 file to customize Gnus. (You can also use the @file{~/.emacs} file, but
30081 in order to set things of Gnus up, it is much better to use the
30082 @file{~/.gnus.el} file, @xref{Startup Files}.)
30084 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
30085 write the following:
30088 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
30091 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
30092 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
30093 you can go and fill your @file{~/.gnus.el} file with lots of these to
30094 change how Gnus works.
30096 If you have put that thing in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, it will be
30097 read and @code{eval}ed (which is Lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
30098 start Gnus. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
30099 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
30100 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
30102 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
30103 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
30104 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
30108 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
30112 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
30115 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
30116 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
30119 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
30122 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
30123 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
30126 @include gnus-faq.texi
30128 @node GNU Free Documentation License
30129 @chapter GNU Free Documentation License
30130 @include doclicense.texi
30148 @c Local Variables:
30150 @c coding: iso-8859-1