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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
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 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
633 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
634 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
635 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
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 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
699 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
700 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
701 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
702 * Customizing W3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/W3 from Gnus.
706 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
707 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
708 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
709 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
710 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
711 * Debugging IMAP:: What to do when things don't work.
715 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
716 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
717 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
718 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
719 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
723 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
727 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
728 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
729 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
733 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
734 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
738 * The NNDiary Back End:: Basic setup and usage.
739 * The Gnus Diary Library:: Utility toolkit on top of nndiary.
740 * Sending or Not Sending:: A final note on sending diary messages.
744 * Diary Messages:: What makes a message valid for nndiary.
745 * Running NNDiary:: NNDiary has two modes of operation.
746 * Customizing NNDiary:: Bells and whistles.
748 The Gnus Diary Library
750 * Diary Summary Line Format:: A nicer summary buffer line format.
751 * Diary Articles Sorting:: A nicer way to sort messages.
752 * Diary Headers Generation:: Not doing it manually.
753 * Diary Group Parameters:: Not handling them manually.
757 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
758 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
759 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
760 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
761 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
762 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
763 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
764 * Agent and flags:: How the Agent maintains flags.
765 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
766 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
767 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
768 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
769 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
770 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
774 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
775 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
776 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
780 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
781 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
782 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
786 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
787 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
788 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
789 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
790 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
791 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
792 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
793 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
794 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
795 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
796 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
797 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
798 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
799 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
800 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
801 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
805 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
806 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
807 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
811 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
812 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
813 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
814 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
815 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
816 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
817 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
818 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
819 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
820 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
821 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
822 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
823 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
824 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
825 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
826 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
827 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
828 * Thwarting Email Spam:: Simple ways to avoid unsolicited commercial email.
829 * Spam Package:: A package for filtering and processing spam.
830 * The Gnus Registry:: A package for tracking messages by Message-ID.
831 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
832 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
836 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
837 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
838 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
839 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
840 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
841 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
842 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
843 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
847 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
848 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
849 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were
851 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
852 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
856 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
857 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
858 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
859 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
863 * Spam Package Introduction::
864 * Filtering Incoming Mail::
865 * Detecting Spam in Groups::
866 * Spam and Ham Processors::
867 * Spam Package Configuration Examples::
869 * Extending the Spam package::
870 * Spam Statistics Package::
872 Spam Statistics Package
874 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
875 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
876 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
880 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
881 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
882 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
883 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
884 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
885 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
886 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
887 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
888 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
892 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
893 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
894 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
895 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
896 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
897 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
898 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
899 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
900 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
904 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
905 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
906 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
907 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
908 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
909 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10/5.11.
910 * No Gnus:: Very punny.
914 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
915 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
916 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
917 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
921 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
922 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
923 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
924 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
925 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
926 * Group Info:: The group info format.
927 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
928 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
929 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
933 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
934 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
935 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
936 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
937 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
938 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
942 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
943 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
947 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
948 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
954 @chapter Starting Gnus
957 If you haven't used Emacs much before using Gnus, read @ref{Emacs for
962 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
963 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
964 your Emacs. If not, you should customize the variable
965 @code{gnus-select-method} as described in @ref{Finding the News}. For a
966 minimal setup for posting should also customize the variables
967 @code{user-full-name} and @code{user-mail-address}.
969 @findex gnus-other-frame
970 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
971 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
972 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
974 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
975 variables in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file. This file is similar to
976 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when Gnus starts.
978 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
979 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
982 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
983 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
984 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
985 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
986 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
987 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
988 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
989 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
990 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
991 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
995 @node Finding the News
996 @section Finding the News
999 @vindex gnus-select-method
1001 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
1002 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
1003 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
1004 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
1007 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @acronym{NNTP} server is where
1008 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
1011 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
1014 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
1017 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1020 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1021 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1022 server is running Leafnode (which is a simple, standalone private news
1023 server); in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1025 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1027 @cindex @acronym{NNTP} server
1028 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
1029 @env{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1030 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1031 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter.
1032 If that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs
1033 as an @acronym{NNTP} server. That's a long shot, though.
1035 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1036 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1037 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1038 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1040 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1041 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1042 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1043 @acronym{NNTP} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1044 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
1045 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1046 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1047 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1048 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1051 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1053 However, if you use one @acronym{NNTP} server regularly and are just
1054 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1055 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1056 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1057 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1058 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1060 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1062 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1063 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1064 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1065 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1066 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1067 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1070 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1071 you would typically set this variable to
1074 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1077 Note: the @acronym{NNTP} back end stores marks in marks files
1078 (@pxref{NNTP marks}). This feature makes it easy to share marks between
1079 several Gnus installations, but may slow down things a bit when fetching
1080 new articles. @xref{NNTP marks}, for more information.
1083 @node The First Time
1084 @section The First Time
1085 @cindex first time usage
1087 If no startup files exist (@pxref{Startup Files}), Gnus will try to
1088 determine what groups should be subscribed by default.
1090 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1091 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1092 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1093 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1096 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1097 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1098 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1100 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1101 help you with most common problems.
1103 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1104 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1108 @node The Server is Down
1109 @section The Server is Down
1110 @cindex server errors
1112 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1113 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1114 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1116 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1117 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1118 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1119 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1120 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1121 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1122 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1124 @findex gnus-no-server
1125 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1127 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1128 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1129 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1130 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1131 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1132 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1133 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1137 @section Slave Gnusae
1140 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1141 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1142 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1143 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1145 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1146 @file{.newsrc} file.
1148 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1149 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1150 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1151 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1152 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1153 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1154 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1157 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1158 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1159 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1160 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1161 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1162 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1163 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1164 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1166 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1167 information in the normal (i.e., master) @file{.newsrc} file.
1169 If the @file{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1170 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1171 file. If you answer ``yes'', the unsaved changes to the master will be
1172 incorporated into the slave. If you answer ``no'', the slave may see some
1173 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1180 @cindex subscription
1182 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1183 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1184 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1185 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1186 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1187 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1188 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1189 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1190 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1193 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1194 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1195 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1199 @node Checking New Groups
1200 @subsection Checking New Groups
1202 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1203 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1204 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1205 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1206 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1207 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1208 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1209 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1210 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1211 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1213 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1214 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1215 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1216 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1217 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1218 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1219 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1220 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1221 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1222 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1223 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1225 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1226 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1227 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1228 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1229 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1230 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1233 @node Subscription Methods
1234 @subsection Subscription Methods
1236 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1237 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1238 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1240 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1241 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1243 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1247 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1248 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1249 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1250 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1251 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1253 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1254 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1255 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1256 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1258 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1259 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1260 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1262 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1263 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1264 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1265 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1266 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1267 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1268 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1269 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1270 up. Or something like that.
1272 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1273 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1274 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1275 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1276 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1278 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1279 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1280 Kill all new groups.
1282 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1283 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1284 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1285 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1286 topic parameter that looks like
1292 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1295 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1300 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1301 A closely related variable is
1302 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1303 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1304 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1305 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1308 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1309 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1310 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1311 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1314 @node Filtering New Groups
1315 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1317 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1318 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1319 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1322 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1325 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1326 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1327 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1328 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1329 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1330 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1331 subscribing these groups.
1332 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1333 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1335 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1336 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1337 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1338 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1339 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1340 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1341 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1342 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1344 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1345 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1346 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1347 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous,
1348 but I thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is
1349 more meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is
1350 used more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new
1351 groups that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1352 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1353 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1356 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1357 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1360 @node Changing Servers
1361 @section Changing Servers
1362 @cindex changing servers
1364 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another.
1365 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1366 very flaky and you want to use another.
1368 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1369 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1373 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1374 @acronym{NNTP} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1375 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1376 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1379 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1380 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1381 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1382 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1384 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1385 @findex gnus-change-server
1386 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1387 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1388 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1389 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1390 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1392 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1393 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1394 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1395 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1396 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1398 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1399 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1400 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1401 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1402 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1403 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1405 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1406 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1407 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1408 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1410 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1411 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1412 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1413 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1414 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1415 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1416 cache for all groups).
1420 @section Startup Files
1421 @cindex startup files
1426 Most common Unix news readers use a shared startup file called
1427 @file{.newsrc}. This file contains all the information about what
1428 groups are subscribed, and which articles in these groups have been
1431 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1432 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1433 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1434 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1435 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1436 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1437 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1439 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1440 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1441 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1442 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1443 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1444 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1446 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1447 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1448 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1449 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1450 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1451 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1452 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1453 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1454 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which can be
1455 convenient if you use a different news reader occasionally, and you
1456 want to read a different subset of the available groups with that
1459 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1460 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1461 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1462 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1463 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1464 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1465 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1466 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1467 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1468 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1469 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1470 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1472 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1473 @vindex gnus-backup-startup-file
1474 @vindex version-control
1475 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1476 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1477 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1478 If you want version control for this file, set
1479 @code{gnus-backup-startup-file}. It respects the same values as the
1480 @code{version-control} variable.
1482 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1483 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1484 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1485 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1486 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1487 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1488 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1489 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1490 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1491 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1494 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1495 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1497 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1498 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1501 @vindex gnus-init-file
1502 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1503 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1504 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus-init} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1505 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1506 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1507 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1508 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1509 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1510 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1511 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order). If Emacs was invoked with
1512 the @option{-q} or @option{--no-init-file} options (@pxref{Initial
1513 Options, ,Initial Options, emacs, The Emacs Manual}), Gnus doesn't read
1514 @code{gnus-init-file}.
1519 @cindex dribble file
1522 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1523 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1524 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1525 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1526 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1529 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1530 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1533 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1534 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1535 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1537 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1538 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1539 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1540 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1541 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1542 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1544 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1545 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1546 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1549 @node The Active File
1550 @section The Active File
1552 @cindex ignored groups
1554 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1555 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1556 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1558 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1559 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1560 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1561 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1562 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1563 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1564 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1567 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1568 @c if you set it to anything else.
1570 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1572 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1573 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1574 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1576 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1577 you actually subscribe to.
1579 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1580 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1581 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1582 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1584 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1585 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1586 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1587 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1588 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1589 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1591 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1592 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1593 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1596 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1597 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1598 @acronym{NNTP} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1599 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1600 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1601 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1603 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1604 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1606 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1607 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1609 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1610 secondary select methods.
1613 @node Startup Variables
1614 @section Startup Variables
1618 @item gnus-load-hook
1619 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1620 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1621 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1622 times you start Gnus.
1624 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1625 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1626 A hook called as the first thing when Gnus is started.
1628 @item gnus-startup-hook
1629 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1630 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1632 @item gnus-started-hook
1633 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1634 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1637 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1638 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1639 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1640 generating the group buffer.
1642 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1643 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1644 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1645 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1646 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1647 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1648 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1649 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1651 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1652 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1653 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1654 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1655 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1656 @file{~/.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1658 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1659 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1660 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1662 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1663 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1664 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1666 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1667 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1668 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1669 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1675 @chapter Group Buffer
1676 @cindex group buffer
1678 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1680 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1681 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1682 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1683 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1684 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1685 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1686 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1687 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1688 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1689 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1690 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1691 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1692 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1693 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1694 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1695 @c human rights at 9...
1698 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1699 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1700 long as Gnus is active.
1704 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1705 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1706 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1707 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1708 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1709 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1710 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1711 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1717 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1718 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1719 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1720 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1721 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1722 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1723 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1724 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1725 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1726 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1727 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1728 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1729 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1730 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1731 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1732 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1733 * Non-ASCII Group Names:: Accessing groups of non-English names.
1734 * Searching:: Mail search engines.
1735 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1739 @node Group Buffer Format
1740 @section Group Buffer Format
1743 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1744 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
1745 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1748 You can customize the Group Mode tool bar, see @kbd{M-x
1749 customize-apropos RET gnus-group-tool-bar}. This feature is only
1752 The tool bar icons are now (de)activated correctly depending on the
1753 cursor position. Therefore, moving around in the Group Buffer is
1754 slower. You can disable this via the variable
1755 @code{gnus-group-update-tool-bar}. Its default value depends on your
1758 @node Group Line Specification
1759 @subsection Group Line Specification
1760 @cindex group buffer format
1762 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1763 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1765 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1768 25: news.announce.newusers
1769 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1774 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1775 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1776 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1777 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1779 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1780 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1781 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1782 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1783 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1784 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1786 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1788 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1789 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1790 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1791 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1792 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1794 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1795 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1796 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1798 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1803 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1806 Whether the group is subscribed.
1809 Level of subscribedness.
1812 Number of unread articles.
1815 Number of dormant articles.
1818 Number of ticked articles.
1821 Number of read articles.
1824 Number of unseen articles.
1827 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1828 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1830 Gnus uses this estimation because the @acronym{NNTP} protocol provides
1831 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1832 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1833 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1834 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1835 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1836 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job.
1838 The nnml backend (@pxref{Mail Spool}) has a feature called ``group
1839 compaction'' which circumvents this deficiency: the idea is to
1840 renumber all articles from 1, removing all gaps between numbers, hence
1841 getting a correct total count. Other backends may support this in the
1842 future. In order to keep your total article count relatively up to
1843 date, you might want to compact your groups (or even directly your
1844 server) from time to time. @xref{Misc Group Stuff}, @xref{Server Commands}.
1847 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1850 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1859 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1860 comment element in the group parameters.
1863 Newsgroup description. You need to read the group descriptions
1864 before these will appear, and to do that, you either have to set
1865 @code{gnus-read-active-file} or use the group buffer @kbd{M-d}
1869 @samp{m} if moderated.
1872 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1878 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1884 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1888 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1891 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1892 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1893 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1894 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1895 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1898 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1900 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1904 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1907 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1911 The disk space used by the articles fetched by both the cache and
1912 agent. The value is automatically scaled to bytes(B), kilobytes(K),
1913 megabytes(M), or gigabytes(G) to minimize the column width. A format
1914 of %7F is sufficient for a fixed-width column.
1917 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1918 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1919 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1920 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1921 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1922 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1927 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1928 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1929 group, or a bogus native group.
1932 @node Group Mode Line Specification
1933 @subsection Group Mode Line Specification
1934 @cindex group mode line
1936 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1937 The mode line can be changed by setting
1938 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1939 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1943 The native news server.
1945 The native select method.
1949 @node Group Highlighting
1950 @subsection Group Highlighting
1951 @cindex highlighting
1952 @cindex group highlighting
1954 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1955 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1956 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1957 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1958 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1960 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1964 (cond (window-system
1965 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1966 (defface my-group-face-1
1967 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1968 (defface my-group-face-2
1969 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t)))
1970 "Second group face")
1971 (defface my-group-face-3
1972 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1973 (defface my-group-face-4
1974 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1975 (defface my-group-face-5
1976 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1978 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1979 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1980 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1981 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1982 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1983 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1986 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1988 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1995 The number of unread articles in the group.
1999 Whether the group is a mail group.
2001 The level of the group.
2003 The score of the group.
2005 The number of ticked articles in the group.
2007 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather,
2008 @var{max-number} minus @var{min-number} plus one.
2010 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
2011 topic being inserted.
2014 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
2015 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
2016 functions for snarfing info on the group.
2018 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
2019 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
2020 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
2021 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
2022 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
2025 @node Group Maneuvering
2026 @section Group Maneuvering
2027 @cindex group movement
2029 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
2030 expected, hopefully.
2036 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
2037 Go to the next group that has unread articles
2038 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
2044 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
2045 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
2046 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
2050 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2051 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2055 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2056 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2060 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2061 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2062 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2066 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2067 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2068 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2071 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2077 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2078 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2079 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2084 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2085 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2086 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2090 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2091 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2092 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2095 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2096 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2097 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2098 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2101 @vindex gnus-summary-next-group-on-exit
2102 If @code{gnus-summary-next-group-on-exit} is @code{t}, when a summary is
2103 exited, the point in the group buffer is moved to the next unread group.
2104 Otherwise, the point is set to the group just exited. The default is
2107 @node Selecting a Group
2108 @section Selecting a Group
2109 @cindex group selection
2114 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2115 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2116 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2117 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2118 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2119 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2120 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{n}, @var{n}
2121 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{n} is
2122 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{n} newest articles, if @var{n} is
2123 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{n})} oldest articles.
2125 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2126 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2127 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2129 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2130 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2135 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2136 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2137 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2138 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2139 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2143 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2144 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2145 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2146 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2147 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2148 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2149 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2150 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2151 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2152 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2155 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2156 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2157 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2158 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2159 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2162 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2163 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2164 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2165 doing any processing of its contents
2166 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2167 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2168 manner will have no permanent effects.
2172 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2173 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should
2174 consider to be a big group. If it is @code{nil}, no groups are
2175 considered big. The default value is 200. If the group has more
2176 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2177 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many
2178 articles should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a
2179 negative number (@var{-n}), the @var{n} oldest articles will be
2180 fetched. If it is positive, the @var{n} articles that have arrived
2181 most recently will be fetched.
2183 @vindex gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup
2184 @code{gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup} is the same as
2185 @code{gnus-large-newsgroup}, but is only used for ephemeral
2188 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-maximum-articles
2189 In groups in some news servers, there might be a big gap between a few
2190 very old articles that will never be expired and the recent ones. In
2191 such a case, the server will return the data like @code{(1 . 30000000)}
2192 for the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, for example. Even if there
2193 are actually only the articles 1-10 and 29999900-30000000, Gnus doesn't
2194 know it at first and prepares for getting 30000000 articles. However,
2195 it will consume hundreds megabytes of memories and might make Emacs get
2196 stuck as the case may be. If you use such news servers, set the
2197 variable @code{gnus-newsgroup-maximum-articles} to a positive number.
2198 The value means that Gnus ignores articles other than this number of the
2199 latest ones in every group. For instance, the value 10000 makes Gnus
2200 get only the articles 29990001-30000000 (if the latest article number is
2201 30000000 in a group). Note that setting this variable to a number might
2202 prevent you from reading very old articles. The default value of the
2203 variable @code{gnus-newsgroup-maximum-articles} is @code{nil}, which
2204 means Gnus never ignores old articles.
2206 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2207 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2208 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2209 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2210 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2211 Which article this is controlled by the
2212 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2218 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2221 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2224 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2226 @item unseen-or-unread
2227 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2228 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2232 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2236 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2237 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2239 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2240 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2241 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2242 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2246 @node Subscription Commands
2247 @section Subscription Commands
2248 @cindex subscription
2256 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2257 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2258 Toggle subscription to the current group
2259 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2265 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2266 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2267 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2268 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2274 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2275 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2276 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2282 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2283 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2286 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2287 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2288 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2289 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2290 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2296 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2297 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2301 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2302 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2305 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2306 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2307 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2308 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2309 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2310 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2311 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2312 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2313 @file{.newsrc} file.
2317 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2327 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2328 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2329 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2330 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2331 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2332 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2337 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2338 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2339 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2343 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2344 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2345 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2347 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2348 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2349 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2350 If you have switched from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another, all your marks
2351 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2352 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2359 @section Group Levels
2363 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2364 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2365 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2366 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2367 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2369 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2375 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2376 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2377 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2378 prompted for a level.
2381 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2382 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2383 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2384 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2385 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2386 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2387 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2388 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2389 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2390 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2391 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2392 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2393 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2394 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2395 reasons of efficiency.
2397 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2398 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2400 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2401 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2402 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2403 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2404 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2405 groups are hidden, in a way.
2407 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2408 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2409 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2410 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2411 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2412 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2414 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2415 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2416 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2417 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2418 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2419 list of killed groups.)
2421 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2422 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2423 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2425 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2426 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2427 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2428 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2429 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2430 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2431 relevant valid ranges.
2433 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2434 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2435 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2436 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2437 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2438 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2441 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2442 one with the best level.
2444 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2445 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2446 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2449 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2450 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2451 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2452 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2455 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2456 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2457 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2458 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2460 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2461 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2462 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2463 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2464 to 5. The default is 6.
2468 @section Group Score
2473 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2474 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2475 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2478 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2479 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2480 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2481 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2482 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2483 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2484 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2485 least significant part.))
2487 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2488 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2489 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2490 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2491 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2492 action after each summary exit, you can add
2493 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2494 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2495 slow things down somewhat.
2498 @node Marking Groups
2499 @section Marking Groups
2500 @cindex marking groups
2502 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2503 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2504 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2505 bidding on those groups.
2507 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2508 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2509 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2517 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2518 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2524 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2525 Remove the mark from the current group
2526 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2530 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2531 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2535 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2536 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2540 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2541 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2545 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2546 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2547 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2550 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2552 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2553 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2554 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2555 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2556 the command to be executed.
2559 @node Foreign Groups
2560 @section Foreign Groups
2561 @cindex foreign groups
2563 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2564 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2565 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2566 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2569 Changes from the group editing commands are stored in
2570 @file{~/.newsrc.eld} (@code{gnus-startup-file}). An alternative is the
2571 variable @code{gnus-parameters}, @xref{Group Parameters}.
2577 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2578 @cindex making groups
2579 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2580 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2581 to subscribe to @acronym{NNTP} groups (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
2585 @findex gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group
2586 Make an ephemeral group (@code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group}). Gnus
2587 will prompt you for a name, a method and an @dfn{address}.
2591 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2592 @cindex renaming groups
2593 Rename the current group to something else
2594 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2595 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2601 @findex gnus-group-customize
2602 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2606 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2607 @cindex renaming groups
2608 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2609 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2613 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2614 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2615 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2619 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2620 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2621 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2625 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2627 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2628 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2633 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2634 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2638 @cindex (ding) archive
2639 @cindex archive group
2640 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2641 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2642 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2643 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2644 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2645 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2646 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2650 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2652 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2653 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2654 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2655 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2659 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2661 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2662 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2663 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2667 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2668 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2670 Make a group based on some file or other
2671 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2672 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2673 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2674 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2675 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2676 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2677 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2678 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2679 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2683 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2684 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2685 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2686 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2690 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2694 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2695 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2696 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2697 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2698 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2699 @xref{Web Searches}.
2701 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2702 to a particular group by using a match string like
2703 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2707 @findex gnus-group-make-rss-group
2708 Make a group based on an @acronym{RSS} feed
2709 (@code{gnus-group-make-rss-group}). You will be prompted for an URL.
2713 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2714 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2715 This function will delete the current group
2716 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2717 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2718 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2719 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2720 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} groups), though.
2724 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2725 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2726 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2730 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2731 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2732 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2735 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2738 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2739 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2740 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2741 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2742 groups from different @acronym{NNTP} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2743 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2747 The following commands create ephemeral groups. They can be called not
2748 only from the Group buffer, but in any Gnus buffer.
2751 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group
2752 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group
2753 @vindex gnus-gmane-group-download-format
2754 Read an ephemeral group on Gmane.org. The articles are downloaded via
2755 HTTP using the URL specified by @code{gnus-gmane-group-download-format}.
2756 Gnus will prompt you for a group name, the start article number and an
2759 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group-url
2760 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group-url
2761 This command is similar to @code{gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group}, but
2762 the group name and the article number and range are constructed from a
2763 given @acronym{URL}. Supported @acronym{URL} formats include e.g.
2764 @url{http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12300/focus=12399},
2765 @url{http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12345/},
2766 @url{http://article.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12345/},
2767 @url{http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12345/}, and
2768 @url{http://news.gmane.org/group/gmane.foo.bar/thread=12345}.
2770 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group
2771 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group
2772 Read an Emacs bug report in an ephemeral group. Gnus will prompt for a
2773 bug number. The default is the number at point. The @acronym{URL} is
2774 specified in @code{gnus-bug-group-download-format-alist}.
2776 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-debian-bug-group
2777 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-debian-bug-group
2778 Read a Debian bug report in an ephemeral group. Analog to
2779 @code{gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group}.
2782 Some of these command are also useful for article buttons, @xref{Article
2790 '("#\\([0-9]+\\)\\>" 1
2791 (string-match "\\<emacs\\>" (or gnus-newsgroup-name ""))
2792 gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group 1))
2796 @node Group Parameters
2797 @section Group Parameters
2798 @cindex group parameters
2800 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2802 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2803 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2804 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2805 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2806 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2807 Additionally, you can set group parameters via the
2808 @code{gnus-parameters} variable, see below.
2810 Here's an example group parameter list:
2813 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2817 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing before
2818 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2819 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2820 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2822 Some parameters have correspondent customizable variables, each of which
2823 is an alist of regexps and values.
2825 The following group parameters can be used:
2830 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2833 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2836 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2837 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2838 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2839 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2840 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2842 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2843 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2844 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2845 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2846 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2847 list address instead.
2849 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2853 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2856 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2859 It is totally ignored
2860 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2861 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2863 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2864 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2865 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2866 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2867 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2869 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2870 @cindex mail list groups
2871 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2872 entering summary buffer.
2874 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2879 @cindex Mail-Followup-To
2880 @findex gnus-find-subscribed-addresses
2881 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2882 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2883 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2884 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2885 headers for your posts to these lists. The second step is to put the
2886 following in your @file{.gnus.el}
2889 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
2890 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
2893 @xref{Mailing Lists, ,Mailing Lists, message, The Message Manual}, for
2894 a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2898 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2899 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2900 of whether it has any unread articles.
2902 This parameter cannot be set via @code{gnus-parameters}. See
2903 @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} as an alternative.
2905 @item broken-reply-to
2906 @cindex broken-reply-to
2907 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2908 headers in this group are to be ignored, and for the header to be hidden
2909 if @code{reply-to} is part of @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}. This
2910 can be useful if you're reading a mailing list group where the listserv
2911 has inserted @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv
2912 itself. That is broken behavior. So there!
2916 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2917 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2921 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2922 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2923 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2928 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2929 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2930 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2931 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2932 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2933 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2934 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2936 @strong{Caveat}: Adding @code{(gcc-self . t)} to the parameter list of
2937 @code{nntp} groups (or the like) isn't valid. An @code{nntp} server
2938 doesn't accept articles.
2942 @cindex expiring mail
2943 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2944 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2945 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2947 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2950 @cindex total-expire
2951 @cindex expiring mail
2952 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2953 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2954 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2955 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2958 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2962 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2963 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2964 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2965 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2966 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2967 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2968 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2971 @cindex expiry-target
2972 Where expired messages end up. This parameter overrides
2973 @code{nnmail-expiry-target}.
2976 @cindex score file group parameter
2977 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2978 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2979 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2982 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2983 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2984 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2985 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2988 @cindex admin-address
2989 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2990 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2991 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2992 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2996 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2997 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
3001 Display all articles, both read and unread.
3004 Display the last @var{integer} articles in the group. This is the same as
3005 entering the group with @kbd{C-u @var{integer}}.
3008 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
3012 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
3014 Here are some examples:
3018 Display only unread articles.
3021 Display everything except expirable articles.
3023 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
3024 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
3028 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
3029 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
3030 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
3031 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
3032 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
3036 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
3037 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
3038 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
3042 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
3043 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
3044 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
3048 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
3049 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
3050 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
3052 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
3054 @item ignored-charsets
3055 @cindex ignored-charset
3056 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
3057 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
3058 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
3060 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
3063 @cindex posting-style
3064 You can store additional posting style information for this group
3065 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
3066 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
3067 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
3068 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
3070 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
3071 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
3072 like this in the group parameters:
3077 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
3078 (signature "Funky Signature"))
3081 If you're using topics to organize your group buffer
3082 (@pxref{Group Topics}), note that posting styles can also be set in
3083 the topics parameters. Posting styles in topic parameters apply to all
3084 groups in this topic. More precisely, the posting-style settings for a
3085 group result from the hierarchical merging of all posting-style
3086 entries in the parameters of this group and all the topics it belongs
3092 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
3093 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
3097 If it is set, and the setting of @code{mail-sources} includes a
3098 @code{group} mail source (@pxref{Mail Sources}), the value is a
3099 mail source for this group.
3103 An item like @code{(banner . @var{regexp})} causes any part of an article
3104 that matches the regular expression @var{regexp} to be stripped. Instead of
3105 @var{regexp}, you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
3106 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
3107 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
3111 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
3112 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
3113 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
3114 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
3116 For example, if the @samp{INBOX.list.sieve} group has the @code{(sieve
3117 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
3118 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
3119 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
3122 if address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com" @{
3123 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
3127 To generate tests for multiple email-addresses use a group parameter
3128 like @code{(sieve address "sender" ("name@@one.org" else@@two.org"))}.
3129 When generating a sieve script (@pxref{Sieve Commands}) Sieve code
3130 like the following is generated:
3133 if address "sender" ["name@@one.org", "else@@two.org"] @{
3134 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
3138 See @pxref{Sieve Commands} for commands and variables that might be of
3139 interest in relation to the sieve parameter.
3141 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve,
3142 Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
3144 @item (agent parameters)
3145 If the agent has been enabled, you can set any of the its parameters
3146 to control the behavior of the agent in individual groups. See Agent
3147 Parameters in @ref{Category Syntax}. Most users will choose to set
3148 agent parameters in either an agent category or group topic to
3149 minimize the configuration effort.
3151 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
3152 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
3153 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
3154 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
3155 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
3156 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
3157 @code{eval}ed there.
3159 Note that this feature sets the variable locally to the summary buffer
3160 if and only if @var{variable} has been bound as a variable. Otherwise,
3161 only evaluating the form will take place. So, you may want to bind the
3162 variable in advance using @code{defvar} or other if the result of the
3163 form needs to be set to it.
3165 But some variables are evaluated in the article buffer, or in the
3166 message buffer (of a reply or followup or otherwise newly created
3167 message). As a workaround, it might help to add the variable in
3168 question to @code{gnus-newsgroup-variables}. @xref{Various Summary
3169 Stuff}. So if you want to set @code{message-from-style} via the group
3170 parameters, then you may need the following statement elsewhere in your
3171 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3174 (add-to-list 'gnus-newsgroup-variables 'message-from-style)
3177 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
3178 A use for this feature is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
3179 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
3182 nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps
3185 has the tag @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this
3186 tag can be removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for
3187 the group by putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")}
3188 into the group parameters for the group.
3190 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function. If you want to
3191 hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put something like
3192 @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that group. If
3193 @code{dummy-variable} has been bound (see above), it will be set to the
3194 (meaningless) result of the @code{(ding)} form.
3196 Alternatively, since the VARIABLE becomes local to the group, this
3197 pattern can be used to temporarily change a hook. For example, if the
3198 following is added to a group parameter
3201 (gnus-summary-prepared-hook
3202 '(lambda nil (local-set-key "d" (local-key-binding "n"))))
3205 when the group is entered, the 'd' key will not mark the article as
3210 @vindex gnus-parameters
3211 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
3212 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect (For this
3213 case see @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} as an alternative.).
3217 (setq gnus-parameters
3219 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3220 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
3221 (gnus-summary-line-format
3222 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
3226 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
3230 (gnus-use-scoring t))
3234 (broken-reply-to . t))))
3237 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
3238 the @code{to-group} example shows.
3240 @vindex gnus-parameters-case-fold-search
3241 By default, whether comparing the group name and one of those regexps
3242 specified in @code{gnus-parameters} is done in a case-sensitive manner
3243 or a case-insensitive manner depends on the value of
3244 @code{case-fold-search} at the time when the comparison is done. The
3245 value of @code{case-fold-search} is typically @code{t}; it means, for
3246 example, the element @code{("INBOX\\.FOO" (total-expire . t))} might be
3247 applied to both the @samp{INBOX.FOO} group and the @samp{INBOX.foo}
3248 group. If you want to make those regexps always case-sensitive, set the
3249 value of the @code{gnus-parameters-case-fold-search} variable to
3250 @code{nil}. Otherwise, set it to @code{t} if you want to compare them
3251 always in a case-insensitive manner.
3253 You can define different sorting to different groups via
3254 @code{gnus-parameters}. Here is an example to sort an @acronym{NNTP}
3255 group by reverse date to see the latest news at the top and an
3256 @acronym{RSS} group by subject. In this example, the first group is the
3257 Debian daily news group @code{gmane.linux.debian.user.news} from
3258 news.gmane.org. The @acronym{RSS} group corresponds to the Debian
3259 weekly news RSS feed
3260 @url{http://packages.debian.org/unstable/newpkg_main.en.rdf},
3266 '(("nntp.*gmane\\.debian\\.user\\.news"
3267 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3268 (gnus-article-sort-functions '((not gnus-article-sort-by-date)))
3269 (gnus-use-adaptive-scoring nil)
3270 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
3272 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3273 (gnus-article-sort-functions 'gnus-article-sort-by-subject)
3274 (gnus-use-adaptive-scoring nil)
3275 (gnus-use-scoring t)
3276 (gnus-score-find-score-files-function 'gnus-score-find-single)
3277 (gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%d %I%(%[ %s %]%)\n"))))
3281 @node Listing Groups
3282 @section Listing Groups
3283 @cindex group listing
3285 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3293 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3294 List all groups that have unread articles
3295 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3296 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3297 only lists groups of level five (i.e.,
3298 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3305 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3306 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3307 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3308 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3309 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3310 unsubscribed groups).
3314 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3315 List all unread groups on a specific level
3316 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3317 with no unread articles.
3321 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3322 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3323 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3324 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3329 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3330 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3334 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3335 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3336 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3340 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3341 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3345 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3346 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3347 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3348 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3349 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3350 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3351 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3352 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3356 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3357 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3358 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3362 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3363 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3364 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3368 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3369 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3373 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3374 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3378 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3379 List groups limited within the current selection
3380 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3384 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3385 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3389 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3390 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3394 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3395 @cindex visible group parameter
3396 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3397 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3398 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3399 get the same effect.
3401 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3402 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3403 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3404 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3405 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3408 @node Sorting Groups
3409 @section Sorting Groups
3410 @cindex sorting groups
3412 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3413 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3414 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3415 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3416 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3417 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3422 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3423 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3424 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3426 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3427 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3428 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3430 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3431 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3432 Sort by group level.
3434 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3435 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3436 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3438 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3439 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3440 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3441 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3443 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3444 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3445 Sort by number of unread articles.
3447 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3448 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3449 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3451 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3452 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3453 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3458 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3459 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3463 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3464 some sorting criteria:
3468 @kindex G S a (Group)
3469 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3470 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3471 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3474 @kindex G S u (Group)
3475 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3476 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3477 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3480 @kindex G S l (Group)
3481 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3482 Sort the group buffer by group level
3483 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3486 @kindex G S v (Group)
3487 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3488 Sort the group buffer by group score
3489 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3492 @kindex G S r (Group)
3493 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3494 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3495 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3498 @kindex G S m (Group)
3499 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3500 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name@*
3501 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3504 @kindex G S n (Group)
3505 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3506 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3507 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3511 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3512 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3514 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3515 commands will sort in reverse order.
3517 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3521 @kindex G P a (Group)
3522 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3523 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3524 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3527 @kindex G P u (Group)
3528 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3529 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3530 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3533 @kindex G P l (Group)
3534 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3535 Sort the groups by group level
3536 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3539 @kindex G P v (Group)
3540 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3541 Sort the groups by group score
3542 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3545 @kindex G P r (Group)
3546 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3547 Sort the groups by group rank
3548 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3551 @kindex G P m (Group)
3552 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3553 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name@*
3554 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3557 @kindex G P n (Group)
3558 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3559 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3560 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3563 @kindex G P s (Group)
3564 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3565 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3569 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3573 @node Group Maintenance
3574 @section Group Maintenance
3575 @cindex bogus groups
3580 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3581 Find bogus groups and delete them
3582 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3586 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3587 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3588 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3589 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3590 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3594 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3595 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3596 @cindex expiring mail
3597 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3598 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3599 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3600 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3603 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3604 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3605 @cindex expiring mail
3606 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3607 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3612 @node Browse Foreign Server
3613 @section Browse Foreign Server
3614 @cindex foreign servers
3615 @cindex browsing servers
3620 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3621 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3622 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3623 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3626 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3627 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3628 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3629 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3631 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3636 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3637 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3641 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3642 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3645 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3646 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3647 Enter the current group and display the first article
3648 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3651 @kindex RET (Browse)
3652 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3653 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3657 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3658 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3659 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3665 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3666 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3670 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3671 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3675 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3676 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3677 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3682 @section Exiting Gnus
3683 @cindex exiting Gnus
3685 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3690 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3691 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3692 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3693 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3697 @findex gnus-group-exit
3698 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3699 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3703 @findex gnus-group-quit
3704 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3705 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3708 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3709 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3710 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3711 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3712 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3713 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3719 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3720 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3721 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3727 @section Group Topics
3730 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3731 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3732 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3733 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3734 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3735 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3739 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3740 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3751 2: alt.religion.emacs
3754 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3756 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3757 13: comp.sources.unix
3760 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3762 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3763 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3764 is a toggling command.)
3766 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3767 dum@dots{} Nice tune, that@dots{} la la la@dots{} What, you're back?
3768 Yes, and now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed
3769 under @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
3772 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3773 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3774 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3777 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3781 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3782 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3783 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3784 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3785 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3789 @node Topic Commands
3790 @subsection Topic Commands
3791 @cindex topic commands
3793 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3794 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3795 definitions slightly.
3797 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3798 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3799 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3800 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3801 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3802 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3804 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3811 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3812 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3813 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3817 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3819 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3820 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3821 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3822 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3825 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3826 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3827 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3828 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3832 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3833 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3834 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3835 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3841 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3842 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3843 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3847 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3848 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3849 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3852 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3853 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the ``cut'' part of cut and paste. Then,
3854 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the ``Gnus''
3855 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the ``paste'' part of cut and
3856 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3858 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3859 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3863 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3864 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3871 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3873 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3874 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3875 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3876 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3877 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3878 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3882 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3888 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3889 Move the current group to some other topic
3890 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3891 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3895 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3896 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3900 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3901 Copy the current group to some other topic
3902 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3903 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3907 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3908 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3909 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3913 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3914 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3915 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3919 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3920 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3921 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3922 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3923 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3924 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3925 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3928 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3929 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3933 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3934 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3935 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3939 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3940 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3941 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3945 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3946 Toggle hiding empty topics
3947 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3951 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3952 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3953 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3954 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3957 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3958 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3959 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3960 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3961 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3964 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3965 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3966 @cindex expiring mail
3967 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3968 expiry process (if any)
3969 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3973 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3974 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3977 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3978 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3979 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3983 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3984 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3985 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3988 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3989 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3990 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3993 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3994 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3995 Go to the previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3999 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
4000 @cindex group parameters
4001 @cindex topic parameters
4003 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
4004 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
4009 @node Topic Variables
4010 @subsection Topic Variables
4011 @cindex topic variables
4013 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
4014 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
4016 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
4017 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
4018 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4031 Number of groups in the topic.
4033 Number of unread articles in the topic.
4035 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
4038 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
4039 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
4040 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
4043 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
4044 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
4046 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
4047 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
4048 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
4052 @subsection Topic Sorting
4053 @cindex topic sorting
4055 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
4061 @kindex T S a (Topic)
4062 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
4063 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
4064 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
4067 @kindex T S u (Topic)
4068 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
4069 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
4070 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
4073 @kindex T S l (Topic)
4074 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
4075 Sort the current topic by group level
4076 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
4079 @kindex T S v (Topic)
4080 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
4081 Sort the current topic by group score
4082 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
4085 @kindex T S r (Topic)
4086 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
4087 Sort the current topic by group rank
4088 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
4091 @kindex T S m (Topic)
4092 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
4093 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
4094 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
4097 @kindex T S e (Topic)
4098 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
4099 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
4100 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
4103 @kindex T S s (Topic)
4104 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
4105 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
4106 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
4107 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
4111 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
4112 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
4116 @node Topic Topology
4117 @subsection Topic Topology
4118 @cindex topic topology
4121 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
4128 2: alt.religion.emacs
4131 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4133 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4134 13: comp.sources.unix
4138 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
4139 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
4140 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
4145 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
4146 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
4150 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
4151 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
4152 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
4153 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
4154 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
4155 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
4157 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
4158 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
4159 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
4162 @node Topic Parameters
4163 @subsection Topic Parameters
4164 @cindex topic parameters
4166 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent
4167 (and ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid
4168 topic parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}). When the agent is
4169 enabled, all agent parameters (See Agent Parameters in @ref{Category
4170 Syntax}) are also valid topic parameters.
4172 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
4177 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
4178 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
4179 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
4182 @item subscribe-level
4183 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
4184 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
4185 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
4189 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
4190 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
4191 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
4192 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
4199 2: alt.religion.emacs
4203 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4205 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4206 13: comp.sources.unix
4211 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
4212 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
4213 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
4214 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
4215 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
4216 . "religion.SCORE")}.
4218 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
4219 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
4220 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
4221 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
4222 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
4224 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
4225 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
4226 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
4227 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
4228 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
4229 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
4230 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
4231 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
4234 @node Non-ASCII Group Names
4235 @section Accessing groups of non-English names
4236 @cindex non-ascii group names
4238 There are some news servers that provide groups of which the names are
4239 expressed with their native languages in the world. For instance, in a
4240 certain news server there are some newsgroups of which the names are
4241 spelled in Chinese, where people are talking in Chinese. You can, of
4242 course, subscribe to such news groups using Gnus. Currently Gnus
4243 supports non-@acronym{ASCII} group names not only with the @code{nntp}
4244 back end but also with the @code{nnml} back end and the @code{nnrss}
4247 Every such group name is encoded by a certain charset in the server
4248 side (in an @acronym{NNTP} server its administrator determines the
4249 charset, but for groups in the other back ends it is determined by you).
4250 Gnus has to display the decoded ones for you in the group buffer and the
4251 article buffer, and needs to use the encoded ones when communicating
4252 with servers. However, Gnus doesn't know what charset is used for each
4253 non-@acronym{ASCII} group name. The following two variables are just
4254 the ones for telling Gnus what charset should be used for each group:
4257 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4258 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4259 An alist of select methods and charsets. The default value is
4260 @code{nil}. The names of groups in the server specified by that select
4261 method are all supposed to use the corresponding charset. For example:
4264 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4265 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4268 Charsets specified for groups with this variable are preferred to the
4269 ones specified for the same groups with the
4270 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist} variable (see below).
4272 A select method can be very long, like:
4276 (nntp-address "news.gmane.org")
4277 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
4278 (nntp-open-connection-function
4279 nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
4280 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
4281 (nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
4282 ("-C" "-t" "-e" "none"))
4283 (nntp-via-address @dots{}))
4286 In that case, you can truncate it into @code{(nntp "gmane")} in this
4287 variable. That is, it is enough to contain only the back end name and
4290 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4291 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4292 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4293 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names.
4294 @code{((".*" . utf-8))} is the default value if UTF-8 is supported,
4295 otherwise the default is @code{nil}. For example:
4298 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4299 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)
4303 Note that this variable is ignored if the match is made with
4304 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist}.
4307 Those two variables are used also to determine the charset for encoding
4308 and decoding non-@acronym{ASCII} group names that are in the back ends
4309 other than @code{nntp}. It means that it is you who determine it. If
4310 you do nothing, the charset used for group names in those back ends will
4311 all be @code{utf-8} because of the last element of
4312 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist}.
4314 There is one more important variable for non-@acronym{ASCII} group
4318 @item nnmail-pathname-coding-system
4319 @vindex nnmail-pathname-coding-system
4320 The value of this variable should be a coding system or @code{nil}. The
4321 default is @code{nil} in Emacs, or is the aliasee of the coding system
4322 named @code{file-name} (a certain coding system of which an alias is
4323 @code{file-name}) in XEmacs.
4325 The @code{nnml} back end, the @code{nnrss} back end, the @acronym{NNTP}
4326 marks feature (@pxref{NNTP marks}), the agent, and the cache use
4327 non-@acronym{ASCII} group names in those files and directories. This
4328 variable overrides the value of @code{file-name-coding-system} which
4329 specifies the coding system used when encoding and decoding those file
4330 names and directory names.
4332 In XEmacs (with the @code{mule} feature), @code{file-name-coding-system}
4333 is the only means to specify the coding system used to encode and decode
4334 file names. On the other hand, Emacs uses the value of
4335 @code{default-file-name-coding-system} if @code{file-name-coding-system}
4336 is @code{nil} or it is bound to the value of
4337 @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system} which is @code{nil}.
4339 Normally the value of @code{default-file-name-coding-system} in Emacs or
4340 @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system} in XEmacs is initialized according
4341 to the locale, so you will need to do nothing if the value is suitable
4342 to encode and decode non-@acronym{ASCII} group names.
4344 The value of this variable (or @code{default-file-name-coding-system})
4345 does not necessarily need to be the same value that is determined by
4346 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist} and
4347 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist}.
4349 If @code{default-file-name-coding-system} or this variable is
4350 initialized by default to @code{iso-latin-1} for example, although you
4351 want to subscribe to the groups spelled in Chinese, that is the most
4352 typical case where you have to customize
4353 @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system}. The @code{utf-8} coding system is
4354 a good candidate for it. Otherwise, you may change the locale in your
4355 system so that @code{default-file-name-coding-system} or this variable
4356 may be initialized to an appropriate value.
4359 Note that when you copy or move articles from a non-@acronym{ASCII}
4360 group to another group, the charset used to encode and decode group
4361 names should be the same in both groups. Otherwise the Newsgroups
4362 header will be displayed incorrectly in the article buffer.
4369 * nnir:: Searching on IMAP, with swish, namazu, etc.
4370 * nnmairix:: Searching maildir, MH or mbox with Mairix.
4375 FIXME: This node is a stub.
4377 FIXME: Add a brief overview of Gnus search capabilities. A brief
4378 comparison of nnir, nnmairix, contrib/gnus-namazu would be nice
4381 FIXME: Explain difference to @ref{Searching for Articles}, add reference
4387 FIXME: As a first step, convert the commentary of @file{nnir} to texi.
4391 @subsection nnmairix
4395 This paragraph describes how to set up mairix and the back end
4396 @code{nnmairix} for indexing and searching your mail from within
4397 Gnus. Additionally, you can create permanent ``smart'' groups which are
4398 bound to mairix searches and are automatically updated.
4401 * About mairix:: About the mairix mail search engine
4402 * nnmairix requirements:: What you will need for using nnmairix
4403 * What nnmairix does:: What does nnmairix actually do?
4404 * Setting up mairix:: Set up your mairix installation
4405 * Configuring nnmairix:: Set up the nnmairix back end
4406 * nnmairix keyboard shortcuts:: List of available keyboard shortcuts
4407 * Propagating marks:: How to propagate marks from nnmairix groups
4408 * nnmairix tips and tricks:: Some tips, tricks and examples
4409 * nnmairix caveats:: Some more stuff you might want to know
4412 @c FIXME: The markup in this section might need improvement.
4413 @c E.g. adding @samp, @var, @file, @command, etc.
4414 @c Cf. (info "(texinfo)Indicating")
4417 @subsubsection About mairix
4419 Mairix is a tool for indexing and searching words in locally stored
4420 mail. It was written by Richard Curnow and is licensed under the
4421 GPL. Mairix comes with most popular GNU/Linux distributions, but it also
4422 runs under Windows (with cygwin), Mac OS X and Solaris. The homepage can
4424 @uref{http://www.rpcurnow.force9.co.uk/mairix/index.html}
4426 Though mairix might not be as flexible as other search tools like
4427 swish++ or namazu, which you can use via the @code{nnir} back end, it
4428 has the prime advantage of being incredibly fast. On current systems, it
4429 can easily search through headers and message bodies of thousands and
4430 thousands of mails in well under a second. Building the database
4431 necessary for searching might take a minute or two, but only has to be
4432 done once fully. Afterwards, the updates are done incrementally and
4433 therefore are really fast, too. Additionally, mairix is very easy to set
4436 For maximum speed though, mairix should be used with mails stored in
4437 @code{Maildir} or @code{MH} format (this includes the @code{nnml} back
4438 end), although it also works with mbox. Mairix presents the search
4439 results by populating a @emph{virtual} maildir/MH folder with symlinks
4440 which point to the ``real'' message files (if mbox is used, copies are
4441 made). Since mairix already presents search results in such a virtual
4442 mail folder, it is very well suited for using it as an external program
4443 for creating @emph{smart} mail folders, which represent certain mail
4444 searches. This is similar to a Kiboze group (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}),
4447 @node nnmairix requirements
4448 @subsubsection nnmairix requirements
4450 Mairix searches local mail---that means, mairix absolutely must have
4451 direct access to your mail folders. If your mail resides on another
4452 server (e.g. an @acronym{IMAP} server) and you happen to have shell
4453 access, @code{nnmairix} supports running mairix remotely, e.g. via ssh.
4455 Additionally, @code{nnmairix} only supports the following Gnus back
4456 ends: @code{nnml}, @code{nnmaildir}, and @code{nnimap}. You must use
4457 one of these back ends for using @code{nnmairix}. Other back ends, like
4458 @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnfolder} or @code{nnmh}, won't work.
4460 If you absolutely must use mbox and still want to use @code{nnmairix},
4461 you can set up a local @acronym{IMAP} server, which you then access via
4462 @code{nnimap}. This is a rather massive setup for accessing some mbox
4463 files, so just change to MH or Maildir already... However, if you're
4464 really, really passionate about using mbox, you might want to look into
4465 the package @file{mairix.el}, which comes with Emacs 23.
4467 @node What nnmairix does
4468 @subsubsection What nnmairix does
4470 The back end @code{nnmairix} enables you to call mairix from within Gnus,
4471 either to query mairix with a search term or to update the
4472 database. While visiting a message in the summary buffer, you can use
4473 several pre-defined shortcuts for calling mairix, e.g. to quickly
4474 search for all mails from the sender of the current message or to
4475 display the whole thread associated with the message, even if the
4476 mails are in different folders.
4478 Additionally, you can create permanent @code{nnmairix} groups which are bound
4479 to certain mairix searches. This way, you can easily create a group
4480 containing mails from a certain sender, with a certain subject line or
4481 even for one specific thread based on the Message-ID. If you check for
4482 new mail in these folders (e.g. by pressing @kbd{g} or @kbd{M-g}), they
4483 automatically update themselves by calling mairix.
4485 You might ask why you need @code{nnmairix} at all, since mairix already
4486 creates the group, populates it with links to the mails so that you can
4487 then access it with Gnus, right? Well, this @emph{might} work, but often
4488 does not---at least not without problems. Most probably you will get
4489 strange article counts, and sometimes you might see mails which Gnus
4490 claims have already been canceled and are inaccessible. This is due to
4491 the fact that Gnus isn't really amused when things are happening behind
4492 its back. Another problem can be the mail back end itself, e.g. if you
4493 use mairix with an @acronym{IMAP} server (I had Dovecot complaining
4494 about corrupt index files when mairix changed the contents of the search
4495 group). Using @code{nnmairix} should circumvent these problems.
4497 @code{nnmairix} is not really a mail back end---it's actually more like
4498 a wrapper, sitting between a ``real'' mail back end where mairix stores
4499 the searches and the Gnus front end. You can choose between three
4500 different mail back ends for the mairix folders: @code{nnml},
4501 @code{nnmaildir} or @code{nnimap}. @code{nnmairix} will call the mairix
4502 binary so that the search results are stored in folders named
4503 @code{zz_mairix-<NAME>-<NUMBER>} on this mail back end, but it will
4504 present these folders in the Gnus front end only with @code{<NAME>}.
4505 You can use an existing mail back end where you already store your mail,
4506 but if you're uncomfortable with @code{nnmairix} creating new mail
4507 groups alongside your other mail, you can also create e.g. a new
4508 @code{nnmaildir} or @code{nnml} server exclusively for mairix, but then
4509 make sure those servers do not accidentally receive your new mail
4510 (@pxref{nnmairix caveats}). A special case exists if you want to use
4511 mairix remotely on an IMAP server with @code{nnimap}---here the mairix
4512 folders and your other mail must be on the same @code{nnimap} back end.
4514 @node Setting up mairix
4515 @subsubsection Setting up mairix
4517 First: create a backup of your mail folders (@pxref{nnmairix caveats}).
4519 Setting up mairix is easy: simply create a @file{.mairixrc} file with
4520 (at least) the following entries:
4523 # Your Maildir/MH base folder
4527 This is the base folder for your mails. All the following directories
4528 are relative to this base folder. If you want to use @code{nnmairix}
4529 with @code{nnimap}, this base directory has to point to the mail
4530 directory where the @acronym{IMAP} server stores the mail folders!
4533 maildir= ... your maildir folders which should be indexed ...
4534 mh= ... your nnml/mh folders which should be indexed ...
4535 mbox = ... your mbox files which should be indexed ...
4538 This specifies all your mail folders and mbox files (relative to the
4539 base directory!) you want to index with mairix. Note that the
4540 @code{nnml} back end saves mails in MH format, so you have to put those
4541 directories in the @code{mh} line. See the example at the end of this
4542 section and mairixrc's man-page for further details.
4548 @vindex nnmairix-group-prefix
4549 This should make sure that you don't accidentally index the mairix
4550 search results. You can change the prefix of these folders with the
4551 variable @code{nnmairix-group-prefix}.
4554 mformat= ... 'maildir' or 'mh' ...
4555 database= ... location of database file ...
4558 The @code{format} setting specifies the output format for the mairix
4559 search folder. Set this to @code{mh} if you want to access search results
4560 with @code{nnml}. Otherwise choose @code{maildir}.
4562 To summarize, here is my shortened @file{.mairixrc} file as an example:
4566 maildir=.personal:.work:.logcheck:.sent
4567 mh=../Mail/nnml/*...
4568 mbox=../mboxmail/mailarchive_year*
4571 database=~/.mairixdatabase
4574 In this case, the base directory is @file{~/Maildir}, where all my Maildir
4575 folders are stored. As you can see, the folders are separated by
4576 colons. If you wonder why every folder begins with a dot: this is
4577 because I use Dovecot as @acronym{IMAP} server, which again uses
4578 @code{Maildir++} folders. For testing nnmairix, I also have some
4579 @code{nnml} mail, which is saved in @file{~/Mail/nnml}. Since this has
4580 to be specified relative to the @code{base} directory, the @code{../Mail}
4581 notation is needed. Note that the line ends in @code{*...}, which means
4582 to recursively scan all files under this directory. Without the three
4583 dots, the wildcard @code{*} will not work recursively. I also have some
4584 old mbox files with archived mail lying around in @file{~/mboxmail}.
4585 The other lines should be obvious.
4587 See the man page for @code{mairixrc} for details and further options,
4588 especially regarding wildcard usage, which may be a little different
4589 than you are used to.
4591 Now simply call @code{mairix} to create the index for the first time.
4592 Note that this may take a few minutes, but every following index will do
4593 the updates incrementally and hence is very fast.
4595 @node Configuring nnmairix
4596 @subsubsection Configuring nnmairix
4598 In group mode, type @kbd{G b c}
4599 (@code{nnmairix-create-server-and-default-group}). This will ask you for all
4600 necessary information and create a @code{nnmairix} server as a foreign
4601 server. You will have to specify the following:
4606 The @strong{name} of the @code{nnmairix} server---choose whatever you
4610 The name of the @strong{back end server} where mairix should store its
4611 searches. This must be a full server name, like @code{nnml:mymail}.
4612 Just hit @kbd{TAB} to see the available servers. Currently, servers
4613 which are accessed through @code{nnmaildir}, @code{nnimap} and
4614 @code{nnml} are supported. As explained above, for locally stored
4615 mails, this can be an existing server where you store your mails.
4616 However, you can also create e.g. a new @code{nnmaildir} or @code{nnml}
4617 server exclusively for @code{nnmairix} in your secondary select methods
4618 (@pxref{Finding the News}). If you use a secondary @code{nnml} server
4619 just for mairix, make sure that you explicitly set the server variable
4620 @code{nnml-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}, or you might loose mail
4621 (@pxref{nnmairix caveats}). If you want to use mairix remotely on an
4622 @acronym{IMAP} server, you have to choose the corresponding
4623 @code{nnimap} server here.
4626 @vindex nnmairix-mairix-search-options
4627 The @strong{command} to call the mairix binary. This will usually just
4628 be @code{mairix}, but you can also choose something like @code{ssh
4629 SERVER mairix} if you want to call mairix remotely, e.g. on your
4630 @acronym{IMAP} server. If you want to add some default options to
4631 mairix, you could do this here, but better use the variable
4632 @code{nnmairix-mairix-search-options} instead.
4635 The name of the @strong{default search group}. This will be the group
4636 where all temporary mairix searches are stored, i.e. all searches which
4637 are not bound to permanent @code{nnmairix} groups. Choose whatever you
4641 If the mail back end is @code{nnimap} or @code{nnmaildir}, you will be
4642 asked if you work with @strong{Maildir++}, i.e. with hidden maildir
4643 folders (=beginning with a dot). For example, you have to answer
4644 @samp{yes} here if you work with the Dovecot @acronym{IMAP}
4645 server. Otherwise, you should answer @samp{no} here.
4649 @node nnmairix keyboard shortcuts
4650 @subsubsection nnmairix keyboard shortcuts
4657 @kindex G b c (Group)
4658 @findex nnmairix-create-server-and-default-group
4659 Creates @code{nnmairix} server and default search group for this server
4660 (@code{nnmairix-create-server-and-default-group}). You should have done
4661 this by now (@pxref{Configuring nnmairix}).
4664 @kindex G b s (Group)
4665 @findex nnmairix-search
4666 Prompts for query which is then sent to the mairix binary. Search
4667 results are put into the default search group which is automatically
4668 displayed (@code{nnmairix-search}).
4671 @kindex G b m (Group)
4672 @findex nnmairix-widget-search
4673 Allows you to create a mairix search or a permanent group more
4674 comfortably using graphical widgets, similar to a customization
4675 group. Just try it to see how it works (@code{nnmairix-widget-search}).
4678 @kindex G b i (Group)
4679 @findex nnmairix-search-interactive
4680 Another command for creating a mairix query more comfortably, but uses
4681 only the minibuffer (@code{nnmairix-search-interactive}).
4684 @kindex G b g (Group)
4685 @findex nnmairix-create-search-group
4686 Creates a permanent group which is associated with a search query
4687 (@code{nnmairix-create-search-group}). The @code{nnmairix} back end
4688 automatically calls mairix when you update this group with @kbd{g} or
4692 @kindex G b q (Group)
4693 @findex nnmairix-group-change-query-this-group
4694 Changes the search query for the @code{nnmairix} group under cursor
4695 (@code{nnmairix-group-change-query-this-group}).
4698 @kindex G b t (Group)
4699 @findex nnmairix-group-toggle-threads-this-group
4700 Toggles the 'threads' parameter for the @code{nnmairix} group under cursor,
4701 i.e. if you want see the whole threads of the found messages
4702 (@code{nnmairix-group-toggle-threads-this-group}).
4705 @kindex G b u (Group)
4706 @findex nnmairix-update-database
4707 @vindex nnmairix-mairix-update-options
4708 Calls mairix binary for updating the database
4709 (@code{nnmairix-update-database}). The default parameters are @code{-F}
4710 and @code{-Q} for making this as fast as possible (see variable
4711 @code{nnmairix-mairix-update-options} for defining these default
4715 @kindex G b r (Group)
4716 @findex nnmairix-group-toggle-readmarks-this-group
4717 Keep articles in this @code{nnmairix} group always read or unread, or leave the
4718 marks unchanged (@code{nnmairix-group-toggle-readmarks-this-group}).
4721 @kindex G b d (Group)
4722 @findex nnmairix-group-delete-recreate-this-group
4723 Recreate @code{nnmairix} group on the ``real'' mail back end
4724 (@code{nnmairix-group-delete-recreate-this-group}). You can do this if
4725 you always get wrong article counts with a @code{nnmairix} group.
4728 @kindex G b a (Group)
4729 @findex nnmairix-group-toggle-allowfast-this-group
4730 Toggles the @code{allow-fast} parameters for group under cursor
4731 (@code{nnmairix-group-toggle-allowfast-this-group}). The default
4732 behavior of @code{nnmairix} is to do a mairix search every time you
4733 update or enter the group. With the @code{allow-fast} parameter set,
4734 mairix will only be called when you explicitly update the group, but not
4735 upon entering. This makes entering the group faster, but it may also
4736 lead to dangling symlinks if something changed between updating and
4737 entering the group which is not yet in the mairix database.
4740 @kindex G b p (Group)
4741 @findex nnmairix-group-toggle-propmarks-this-group
4742 Toggle marks propagation for this group
4743 (@code{nnmairix-group-toggle-propmarks-this-group}). (@pxref{Propagating
4747 @kindex G b o (Group)
4748 @findex nnmairix-propagate-marks
4749 Manually propagate marks (@code{nnmairix-propagate-marks}); needed only when
4750 @code{nnmairix-propagate-marks-upon-close} is set to @code{nil}.
4759 @kindex $ m (Summary)
4760 @findex nnmairix-widget-search-from-this-article
4761 Allows you to create a mairix query or group based on the current
4762 message using graphical widgets (same as @code{nnmairix-widget-search})
4763 (@code{nnmairix-widget-search-from-this-article}).
4766 @kindex $ g (Summary)
4767 @findex nnmairix-create-search-group-from-message
4768 Interactively creates a new search group with query based on the current
4769 message, but uses the minibuffer instead of graphical widgets
4770 (@code{nnmairix-create-search-group-from-message}).
4773 @kindex $ t (Summary)
4774 @findex nnmairix-search-thread-this-article
4775 Searches thread for the current article
4776 (@code{nnmairix-search-thread-this-article}). This is effectively a
4777 shortcut for calling @code{nnmairix-search} with @samp{m:msgid} of the
4778 current article and enabled threads.
4781 @kindex $ f (Summary)
4782 @findex nnmairix-search-from-this-article
4783 Searches all messages from sender of the current article
4784 (@code{nnmairix-search-from-this-article}). This is a shortcut for
4785 calling @code{nnmairix-search} with @samp{f:From}.
4788 @kindex $ o (Summary)
4789 @findex nnmairix-goto-original-article
4790 (Only in @code{nnmairix} groups!) Tries determine the group this article
4791 originally came from and displays the article in this group, so that
4792 e.g. replying to this article the correct posting styles/group
4793 parameters are applied (@code{nnmairix-goto-original-article}). This
4794 function will use the registry if available, but can also parse the
4795 article file name as a fallback method.
4798 @kindex $ u (Summary)
4799 @findex nnmairix-remove-tick-mark-original-article
4800 Remove possibly existing tick mark from original article
4801 (@code{nnmairix-remove-tick-mark-original-article}). (@pxref{nnmairix
4806 @node Propagating marks
4807 @subsubsection Propagating marks
4809 First of: you really need a patched mairix binary for using the marks
4810 propagation feature efficiently. Otherwise, you would have to update
4811 the mairix database all the time. You can get the patch at
4813 @uref{http://www.randomsample.de/mairix-maildir-patch.tar}
4815 You need the mairix v0.21 source code for this patch; everything else
4816 is explained in the accompanied readme file. If you don't want to use
4817 marks propagation, you don't have to apply these patches, but they also
4818 fix some annoyances regarding changing maildir flags, so it might still
4821 With the patched mairix binary, you can use @code{nnmairix} as an
4822 alternative to mail splitting (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}). For
4823 example, instead of splitting all mails from @samp{david@@foobar.com}
4824 into a group, you can simply create a search group with the query
4825 @samp{f:david@@foobar.com}. This is actually what ``smart folders'' are
4826 all about: simply put everything in one mail folder and dynamically
4827 create searches instead of splitting. This is more flexible, since you
4828 can dynamically change your folders any time you want to. This also
4829 implies that you will usually read your mails in the @code{nnmairix}
4830 groups instead of your ``real'' mail groups.
4832 There is one problem, though: say you got a new mail from
4833 @samp{david@@foobar.com}; it will now show up in two groups, the
4834 ``real'' group (your INBOX, for example) and in the @code{nnmairix}
4835 search group (provided you have updated the mairix database). Now you
4836 enter the @code{nnmairix} group and read the mail. The mail will be
4837 marked as read, but only in the @code{nnmairix} group---in the ``real''
4838 mail group it will be still shown as unread.
4840 You could now catch up the mail group (@pxref{Group Data}), but this is
4841 tedious and error prone, since you may overlook mails you don't have
4842 created @code{nnmairix} groups for. Of course, you could first use
4843 @code{nnmairix-goto-original-article} (@pxref{nnmairix keyboard
4844 shortcuts}) and then read the mail in the original group, but that's
4845 even more cumbersome.
4847 Clearly, the easiest way would be if marks could somehow be
4848 automatically set for the original article. This is exactly what
4849 @emph{marks propagation} is about.
4851 Marks propagation is deactivated by default. You can activate it for a
4852 certain @code{nnmairix} group with
4853 @code{nnmairix-group-toggle-propmarks-this-group} (bound to @kbd{G b
4854 p}). This function will warn you if you try to use it with your default
4855 search group; the reason is that the default search group is used for
4856 temporary searches, and it's easy to accidentally propagate marks from
4857 this group. However, you can ignore this warning if you really want to.
4859 With marks propagation enabled, all the marks you set in a @code{nnmairix}
4860 group should now be propagated to the original article. For example,
4861 you can now tick an article (by default with @kbd{!}) and this mark should
4862 magically be set for the original article, too.
4864 A few more remarks which you may or may not want to know:
4866 @vindex nnmairix-propagate-marks-upon-close
4867 Marks will not be set immediately, but only upon closing a group. This
4868 not only makes marks propagation faster, it also avoids problems with
4869 dangling symlinks when dealing with maildir files (since changing flags
4870 will change the file name). You can also control when to propagate marks
4871 via @code{nnmairix-propagate-marks-upon-close} (see the doc-string for
4874 Obviously, @code{nnmairix} will have to look up the original group for every
4875 article you want to set marks for. If available, @code{nnmairix} will first use
4876 the registry for determining the original group. The registry is very
4877 fast, hence you should really, really enable the registry when using
4878 marks propagation. If you don't have to worry about RAM and disc space,
4879 set @code{gnus-registry-max-entries} to a large enough value; to be on
4880 the safe side, choose roughly the amount of mails you index with mairix.
4882 @vindex nnmairix-only-use-registry
4883 If you don't want to use the registry or the registry hasn't seen the
4884 original article yet, @code{nnmairix} will use an additional mairix
4885 search for determining the file name of the article. This, of course, is
4886 way slower than the registry---if you set hundreds or even thousands of
4887 marks this way, it might take some time. You can avoid this situation by
4888 setting @code{nnmairix-only-use-registry} to t.
4890 Maybe you also want to propagate marks the other way round, i.e. if you
4891 tick an article in a "real" mail group, you'd like to have the same
4892 article in a @code{nnmairix} group ticked, too. For several good
4893 reasons, this can only be done efficiently if you use maildir. To
4894 immediately contradict myself, let me mention that it WON'T work with
4895 @code{nnmaildir}, since @code{nnmaildir} stores the marks externally and
4896 not in the file name. Therefore, propagating marks to @code{nnmairix}
4897 groups will usually only work if you use an IMAP server which uses
4898 maildir as its file format.
4900 @vindex nnmairix-propagate-marks-to-nnmairix-groups
4901 If you work with this setup, just set
4902 @code{nnmairix-propagate-marks-to-nnmairix-groups} to @code{t} and see what
4903 happens. If you don't like what you see, just set it to @code{nil} again. One
4904 problem might be that you get a wrong number of unread articles; this
4905 usually happens when you delete or expire articles in the original
4906 groups. When this happens, you can recreate the @code{nnmairix} group on the
4907 back end using @kbd{G b d}.
4909 @node nnmairix tips and tricks
4910 @subsubsection nnmairix tips and tricks
4916 @findex nnmairix-update-groups
4917 I put all my important mail groups at group level 1. The mairix groups
4918 have group level 5, so they do not get checked at start up (@pxref{Group
4921 I use the following to check for mails:
4924 (defun my-check-mail-mairix-update (level)
4926 ;; if no prefix given, set level=1
4927 (gnus-group-get-new-news (or level 1))
4928 (nnmairix-update-groups "mairixsearch" t t)
4929 (gnus-group-list-groups))
4931 (define-key gnus-group-mode-map "g" 'my-check-mail-mairix-update)
4934 Instead of @samp{"mairixsearch"} use the name of your @code{nnmairix}
4935 server. See the doc string for @code{nnmairix-update-groups} for
4939 Example: search group for ticked articles
4941 For example, you can create a group for all ticked articles, where the
4942 articles always stay unread:
4944 Hit @kbd{G b g}, enter group name (e.g. @samp{important}), use
4945 @samp{F:f} as query and do not include threads.
4947 Now activate marks propagation for this group by using @kbd{G b p}. Then
4948 activate the always-unread feature by using @kbd{G b r} twice.
4950 So far so good---but how do you remove the tick marks in the @code{nnmairix}
4951 group? There are two options: You may simply use
4952 @code{nnmairix-remove-tick-mark-original-article} (bound to @kbd{$ u}) to remove
4953 tick marks from the original article. The other possibility is to set
4954 @code{nnmairix-propagate-marks-to-nnmairix-groups} to @code{t}, but see the above
4955 comments about this option. If it works for you, the tick marks should
4956 also exist in the @code{nnmairix} group and you can remove them as usual,
4957 e.g. by marking an article as read.
4959 When you have removed a tick mark from the original article, this
4960 article should vanish from the @code{nnmairix} group after you have updated the
4961 mairix database and updated the group. Fortunately, there is a function
4962 for doing exactly that: @code{nnmairix-update-groups}. See the previous code
4963 snippet and the doc string for details.
4966 Dealing with auto-subscription of mail groups
4968 As described before, all @code{nnmairix} groups are in fact stored on
4969 the mail back end in the form @samp{zz_mairix-<NAME>-<NUMBER>}. You can
4970 see them when you enter the back end server in the server buffer. You
4971 should not subscribe these groups! Unfortunately, these groups will
4972 usually get @emph{auto-subscribed} when you use @code{nnmaildir} or
4973 @code{nnml}, i.e. you will suddenly see groups of the form
4974 @samp{zz_mairix*} pop up in your group buffer. If this happens to you,
4975 simply kill these groups with C-k. For avoiding this, turn off
4976 auto-subscription completely by setting the variable
4977 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups} to @code{nil} (@pxref{Filtering New
4978 Groups}), or if you like to keep this feature use the following kludge
4979 for turning it off for all groups beginning with @samp{zz_}:
4982 (setq gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
4983 "^\\(nnml\\|nnfolder\\|nnmbox\\|nnmh\\|nnbabyl\\|nnmaildir\\).*:\\([^z]\\|z$\\|\\z[^z]\\|zz$\\|zz[^_]\\|zz_$\\).*")
4988 @node nnmairix caveats
4989 @subsubsection nnmairix caveats
4993 You can create a secondary @code{nnml} server just for nnmairix, but then
4994 you have to explicitly set the corresponding server variable
4995 @code{nnml-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}. Otherwise, new mail might get
4996 put into this secondary server (and would never show up again). Here's
4997 an example server definition:
5000 (nnml "mairix" (nnml-directory "mairix") (nnml-get-new-mail nil))
5003 (The @code{nnmaildir} back end also has a server variabe
5004 @code{get-new-mail}, but its default value is @code{nil}, so you don't
5005 have to explicitly set it if you use a @code{nnmaildir} server just for
5009 If you use the Gnus registry: don't use the registry with
5010 @code{nnmairix} groups (put them in
5011 @code{gnus-registry-unfollowed-groups}). Be @emph{extra careful} if
5012 you use @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent}; mails which are
5013 split into @code{nnmairix} groups are usually gone for good as soon as
5014 you check the group for new mail (yes, it has happened to me...).
5017 Therefore: @emph{Never ever} put ``real'' mails into @code{nnmairix}
5018 groups (you shouldn't be able to, anyway).
5021 If you use the Gnus agent (@pxref{Gnus Unplugged}): don't agentize
5022 @code{nnmairix} groups (though I have no idea what happens if you do).
5025 mairix does only support us-ascii characters.
5028 @code{nnmairix} uses a rather brute force method to force Gnus to
5029 completely reread the group on the mail back end after mairix was
5030 called---it simply deletes and re-creates the group on the mail
5031 back end. So far, this has worked for me without any problems, and I
5032 don't see how @code{nnmairix} could delete other mail groups than its
5033 own, but anyway: you really should have a backup of your mail
5037 All necessary information is stored in the group parameters
5038 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). This has the advantage that no active file
5039 is needed, but also implies that when you kill a @code{nnmairix} group,
5040 it is gone for good.
5043 @findex nnmairix-purge-old-groups
5044 If you create and kill a lot of @code{nnmairix} groups, the
5045 ``zz_mairix-*'' groups will accumulate on the mail back end server. To
5046 delete old groups which are no longer needed, call
5047 @code{nnmairix-purge-old-groups}. Note that this assumes that you don't
5048 save any ``real'' mail in folders of the form
5049 @code{zz_mairix-<NAME>-<NUMBER>}. You can change the prefix of
5050 @code{nnmairix} groups by changing the variable
5051 @code{nnmairix-group-prefix}.
5054 The following only applies if you @emph{don't} use the mentioned patch
5055 for mairix (@pxref{Propagating marks}):
5057 A problem can occur when using @code{nnmairix} with maildir folders and
5058 comes with the fact that maildir stores mail flags like @samp{Seen} or
5059 @samp{Replied} by appending chars @samp{S} and @samp{R} to the message
5060 file name, respectively. This implies that currently you would have to
5061 update the mairix database not only when new mail arrives, but also when
5062 mail flags are changing. The same applies to new mails which are indexed
5063 while they are still in the @samp{new} folder but then get moved to
5064 @samp{cur} when Gnus has seen the mail. If you don't update the database
5065 after this has happened, a mairix query can lead to symlinks pointing to
5066 non-existing files. In Gnus, these messages will usually appear with
5067 ``(none)'' entries in the header and can't be accessed. If this happens
5068 to you, using @kbd{G b u} and updating the group will usually fix this.
5072 @node Misc Group Stuff
5073 @section Misc Group Stuff
5076 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
5077 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
5078 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
5079 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
5080 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
5087 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Group)
5088 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
5089 command or better use it as a prefix key. For example:
5092 (define-key gnus-group-mode-map (kbd "v j d")
5095 (gnus-group-jump-to-group "nndraft:drafts")))
5098 On keys reserved for users in Emacs and on keybindings in general
5099 @xref{Keymaps, Keymaps, , emacs, The Emacs Editor}.
5103 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
5104 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
5105 @xref{Server Buffer}.
5109 @findex gnus-group-post-news
5110 Start composing a message (a news by default)
5111 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
5112 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5113 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
5114 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
5115 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
5119 @findex gnus-group-mail
5120 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
5121 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
5122 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5123 @xref{Composing Messages}.
5127 @findex gnus-group-news
5128 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
5129 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
5130 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
5132 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5133 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
5134 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5135 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5136 for this to work though.
5140 @findex gnus-group-compact-group
5142 Compact the group under point (@code{gnus-group-compact-group}).
5143 Currently implemented only in nnml (@pxref{Mail Spool}). This removes
5144 gaps between article numbers, hence getting a correct total article
5149 Variables for the group buffer:
5153 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
5154 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
5155 is called after the group buffer has been
5158 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
5159 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
5160 is called after the group buffer is
5161 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
5164 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
5165 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
5166 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
5167 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
5169 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
5170 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
5171 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
5172 whether they are empty or not.
5176 @node Scanning New Messages
5177 @subsection Scanning New Messages
5178 @cindex new messages
5179 @cindex scanning new news
5185 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
5186 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
5187 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
5188 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
5189 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
5190 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
5195 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
5196 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
5197 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
5198 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
5199 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
5200 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
5201 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
5203 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
5204 @cindex activating groups
5206 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
5207 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
5212 @findex gnus-group-restart
5213 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
5214 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
5215 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
5219 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
5220 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
5222 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
5223 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
5227 @node Group Information
5228 @subsection Group Information
5229 @cindex group information
5230 @cindex information on groups
5237 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
5238 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
5241 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} for the current group
5242 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the @acronym{FAQ}
5243 from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on
5244 a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
5245 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
5246 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be
5247 used for fetching the file.
5249 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
5250 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
5254 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
5255 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
5257 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
5258 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
5261 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
5262 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
5263 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
5267 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
5268 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
5269 @cindex control message
5270 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
5271 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
5272 group if given a prefix argument.
5274 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-@code{nil},
5275 Gnus will open the control messages in a browser using
5276 @code{browse-url}. Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp}
5277 and displayed in an ephemeral group.
5279 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
5280 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed
5281 Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
5285 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
5287 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
5288 @cindex describing groups
5289 @cindex group description
5290 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
5291 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
5292 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
5296 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
5297 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
5298 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
5305 @findex gnus-version
5306 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
5310 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
5311 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
5314 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
5317 @findex gnus-info-find-node
5318 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
5322 @node Group Timestamp
5323 @subsection Group Timestamp
5325 @cindex group timestamps
5327 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
5328 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
5329 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
5332 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
5335 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
5337 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
5338 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
5341 (setq gnus-group-line-format
5342 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
5345 This will result in lines looking like:
5348 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
5349 0: custom 19961002T012713
5352 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
5353 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
5357 (setq gnus-group-line-format
5358 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
5361 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
5362 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
5366 (setq gnus-group-line-format
5367 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
5368 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
5369 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
5371 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
5377 @subsection File Commands
5378 @cindex file commands
5384 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
5385 @vindex gnus-init-file
5386 @cindex reading init file
5387 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
5388 @file{~/.gnus.el}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
5392 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
5393 @cindex saving .newsrc
5394 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
5395 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
5396 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
5399 @c @kindex Z (Group)
5400 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
5401 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
5406 @node Sieve Commands
5407 @subsection Sieve Commands
5408 @cindex group sieve commands
5410 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
5411 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
5412 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
5413 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
5414 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
5416 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
5417 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
5418 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
5419 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
5420 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
5421 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
5422 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
5423 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
5424 regenerate the Sieve script.
5426 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
5427 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
5428 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
5429 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
5430 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
5431 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
5432 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
5433 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
5434 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
5435 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
5438 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
5439 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
5444 @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve, Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
5450 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
5451 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
5452 @cindex generating sieve script
5453 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
5454 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
5458 @findex gnus-sieve-update
5459 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
5460 @cindex updating sieve script
5461 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
5462 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
5463 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
5468 @node Summary Buffer
5469 @chapter Summary Buffer
5470 @cindex summary buffer
5472 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
5473 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
5475 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
5476 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
5478 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
5480 You can customize the Summary Mode tool bar, see @kbd{M-x
5481 customize-apropos RET gnus-summary-tool-bar}. This feature is only
5485 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Summary)
5486 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
5487 command or better use it as a prefix key. For example:
5489 (define-key gnus-summary-mode-map (kbd "v -") "LrS") ;; lower subthread
5493 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
5494 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
5495 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
5496 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
5497 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
5498 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
5499 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
5500 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
5501 * Threading:: How threads are made.
5502 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
5503 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
5504 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
5505 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
5506 * Sticky Articles:: Article buffers that are not reused.
5507 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
5508 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
5509 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
5510 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
5511 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
5512 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
5513 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
5514 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
5515 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
5516 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
5517 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
5518 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
5519 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
5520 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
5521 or reselecting the current group.
5522 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
5523 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
5524 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
5525 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
5529 @node Summary Buffer Format
5530 @section Summary Buffer Format
5531 @cindex summary buffer format
5535 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
5536 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
5537 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
5543 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
5544 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
5545 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
5546 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
5549 @findex mail-extract-address-components
5550 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
5551 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
5552 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
5553 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
5554 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
5555 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
5556 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
5557 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
5558 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
5559 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
5562 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
5563 'mail-extract-address-components)
5566 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
5567 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
5568 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
5569 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
5572 @node Summary Buffer Lines
5573 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
5575 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
5576 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
5577 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
5578 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
5579 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
5581 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
5582 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
5583 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
5584 possible to change this. Just write a new function
5585 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
5586 @xref{Positioning Point}.
5588 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
5590 The following format specification characters and extended format
5591 specification(s) are understood:
5597 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
5598 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
5600 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
5601 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
5602 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
5604 Full @code{From} header.
5606 The name (from the @code{From} header).
5608 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
5611 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
5612 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
5613 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
5614 may be more thorough.
5616 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
5619 Number of lines in the article.
5621 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
5622 in some methods (like nnfolder).
5624 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
5625 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
5627 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
5629 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
5630 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
5643 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
5644 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
5645 replacing the default @acronym{ASCII} characters with graphic
5646 line-drawing glyphs.
5648 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
5649 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
5650 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
5651 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
5653 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
5654 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
5655 Used for the false root of a thread (@pxref{Loose Threads}). If
5656 @code{nil}, use subject instead. The default is @samp{> }.
5658 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
5659 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
5660 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
5661 instead. The default is @samp{}.
5663 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
5664 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
5665 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
5667 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
5668 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
5669 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
5671 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
5672 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
5673 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
5675 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
5676 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
5677 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
5682 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
5683 pushes everything after it off the screen).
5685 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
5686 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
5688 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
5689 for adopted articles.
5691 One space for each thread level.
5693 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
5695 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
5698 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
5699 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
5700 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
5703 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
5705 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
5706 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
5707 default level. If the difference between
5708 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
5709 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
5717 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
5719 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
5725 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
5726 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
5728 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
5729 article has any children.
5735 Desired cursor position (instead of after first colon).
5737 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
5738 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
5740 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
5741 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
5742 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{x}}, where @var{x} is the letter
5743 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
5744 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
5745 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
5748 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
5749 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
5750 There can only be one such area.
5752 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
5753 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
5754 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
5755 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
5756 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
5757 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
5759 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
5760 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
5762 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
5765 @node To From Newsgroups
5766 @subsection To From Newsgroups
5770 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
5771 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
5772 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
5773 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
5774 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
5778 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
5779 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
5780 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
5784 (setq gnus-extra-headers
5785 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
5788 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
5789 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
5792 @findex gnus-extra-header
5793 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
5794 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
5795 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
5798 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
5802 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
5803 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
5804 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
5805 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
5806 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
5807 headers are used instead.
5809 To distinguish regular articles from those where the @code{From} field
5810 has been swapped, a string is prefixed to the @code{To} or
5811 @code{Newsgroups} header in the summary line. By default the string is
5812 @samp{-> } for @code{To} and @samp{=> } for @code{Newsgroups}, you can
5813 customize these strings with @code{gnus-summary-to-prefix} and
5814 @code{gnus-summary-newsgroup-prefix}.
5818 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
5819 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
5820 to include extra headers when generating overview (@acronym{NOV}) files.
5821 If you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after
5822 changing this variable, by entering the server buffer using @kbd{^},
5823 and then @kbd{g} on the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause
5826 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
5827 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
5828 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
5829 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
5831 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
5835 (setq gnus-extra-headers
5837 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
5838 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
5839 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
5840 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
5844 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
5847 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
5848 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
5851 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
5852 the @acronym{NOV} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
5853 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
5859 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
5860 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
5863 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
5864 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
5866 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
5867 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
5868 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
5869 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
5871 Here are the elements you can play with:
5877 Unprefixed group name.
5879 Current article number.
5881 Current article score.
5885 Number of unread articles in this group.
5887 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
5890 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
5891 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
5892 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
5893 and no unselected ones.
5895 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
5896 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
5898 Subject of the current article.
5900 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
5902 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
5904 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
5906 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
5908 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
5910 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
5914 @node Summary Highlighting
5915 @subsection Summary Highlighting
5919 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
5920 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
5921 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
5922 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
5923 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
5925 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
5926 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
5927 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
5928 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
5930 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
5931 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
5932 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
5933 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
5935 @item gnus-summary-highlight
5936 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
5937 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
5938 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
5939 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
5940 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
5943 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
5944 ((> score default) . bold))
5946 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
5947 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
5951 @node Summary Maneuvering
5952 @section Summary Maneuvering
5953 @cindex summary movement
5955 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
5956 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
5958 None of these commands select articles.
5963 @kindex M-n (Summary)
5964 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
5965 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
5966 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
5967 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
5971 @kindex M-p (Summary)
5972 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
5973 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
5974 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
5975 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
5978 @kindex G g (Summary)
5979 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
5980 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
5981 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
5984 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
5985 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
5986 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
5987 to the group buffer.
5989 Variables related to summary movement:
5993 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
5994 @item gnus-auto-select-next
5995 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
5996 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
5997 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
5998 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
5999 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
6000 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
6001 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
6002 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
6003 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
6004 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
6005 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
6006 @pxref{Group Levels}.
6008 @item gnus-auto-select-same
6009 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
6010 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
6011 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
6012 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
6013 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
6014 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
6016 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
6018 @item gnus-summary-check-current
6019 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
6020 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
6021 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
6022 Instead, they will choose the current article.
6024 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
6025 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
6026 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
6027 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
6028 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
6029 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
6030 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
6031 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
6034 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
6035 the given number of lines from the top.
6040 @node Choosing Articles
6041 @section Choosing Articles
6042 @cindex selecting articles
6045 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
6046 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
6050 @node Choosing Commands
6051 @subsection Choosing Commands
6053 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
6054 and they all select and display an article.
6056 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
6057 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
6061 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
6062 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
6063 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
6064 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
6066 If you have an article window open already and you press @kbd{SPACE}
6067 again, the article will be scrolled. This lets you conveniently
6068 @kbd{SPACE} through an entire newsgroup. @xref{Paging the Article}.
6073 @kindex G n (Summary)
6074 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
6075 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
6076 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
6081 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
6082 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
6083 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
6088 @kindex G N (Summary)
6089 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
6090 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
6095 @kindex G P (Summary)
6096 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
6097 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
6100 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
6101 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
6102 Go to the next article with the same subject
6103 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
6106 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
6107 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
6108 Go to the previous article with the same subject
6109 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
6113 @kindex G f (Summary)
6115 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
6116 Go to the first unread article
6117 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
6121 @kindex G b (Summary)
6123 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
6124 Go to the unread article with the highest score
6125 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
6126 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
6131 @kindex G l (Summary)
6132 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
6133 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
6136 @kindex G o (Summary)
6137 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
6139 @cindex article history
6140 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
6141 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
6142 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
6143 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
6144 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
6145 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
6150 @kindex G j (Summary)
6151 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
6152 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
6153 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
6158 @node Choosing Variables
6159 @subsection Choosing Variables
6161 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
6164 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
6165 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
6166 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
6167 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
6168 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
6169 the server and display it in the article buffer.
6171 @item gnus-select-article-hook
6172 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
6173 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. The default is
6174 @code{nil}. If you would like each article to be saved in the Agent as
6175 you read it, putting @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this
6178 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
6179 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
6180 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
6181 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
6182 @findex gnus-unread-mark
6183 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
6184 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
6185 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
6186 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-read-mark}. The only
6187 articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
6188 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
6189 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
6190 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
6191 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
6196 @node Paging the Article
6197 @section Scrolling the Article
6198 @cindex article scrolling
6203 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
6204 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
6205 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
6206 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
6207 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
6209 @vindex gnus-article-boring-faces
6210 @vindex gnus-article-skip-boring
6211 If @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} is non-@code{nil} and the rest of
6212 the article consists only of citations and signature, then it will be
6213 skipped; the next article will be shown instead. You can customize
6214 what is considered uninteresting with
6215 @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}. You can manually view the article's
6216 pages, no matter how boring, using @kbd{C-M-v}.
6219 @kindex DEL (Summary)
6220 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
6221 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
6224 @kindex RET (Summary)
6225 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
6226 Scroll the current article one line forward
6227 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
6230 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
6231 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
6232 Scroll the current article one line backward
6233 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
6237 @kindex A g (Summary)
6239 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
6240 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
6241 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
6242 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
6243 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
6244 the way it came from the server.
6246 @cindex charset, view article with different charset
6247 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
6248 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
6249 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
6252 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
6257 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
6262 @kindex A < (Summary)
6263 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
6264 Scroll to the beginning of the article
6265 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
6270 @kindex A > (Summary)
6271 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
6272 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
6276 @kindex A s (Summary)
6278 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
6279 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
6280 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
6284 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
6285 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
6290 @node Reply Followup and Post
6291 @section Reply, Followup and Post
6294 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
6295 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
6296 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
6297 * Canceling and Superseding::
6301 @node Summary Mail Commands
6302 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
6304 @cindex composing mail
6306 Commands for composing a mail message:
6312 @kindex S r (Summary)
6314 @findex gnus-summary-reply
6315 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
6316 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
6317 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
6318 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
6323 @kindex S R (Summary)
6324 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
6325 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
6326 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
6327 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
6328 command uses the process/prefix convention.
6331 @kindex S w (Summary)
6332 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
6333 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
6334 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
6335 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
6336 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers. If @code{Mail-Followup-To} is
6337 present, that's used instead.
6340 @kindex S W (Summary)
6341 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
6342 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
6343 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
6344 the process/prefix convention.
6347 @kindex S v (Summary)
6348 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
6349 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
6350 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
6351 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
6352 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
6353 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
6356 @kindex S V (Summary)
6357 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
6358 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
6359 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
6360 command uses the process/prefix convention.
6363 @kindex S B r (Summary)
6364 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
6365 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
6366 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
6367 If you need this because a mailing list incorrectly sets a
6368 @code{Reply-To} header pointing to the list, you probably want to set
6369 the @code{broken-reply-to} group parameter instead, so things will work
6370 correctly. @xref{Group Parameters}.
6373 @kindex S B R (Summary)
6374 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
6375 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
6376 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
6377 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
6381 @kindex S o m (Summary)
6382 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
6383 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
6384 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
6385 Forward the current article to some other person
6386 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
6387 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
6388 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
6389 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
6390 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
6391 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
6392 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
6393 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
6394 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME}
6400 @kindex S m (Summary)
6401 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
6402 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
6403 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
6404 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
6405 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
6410 @kindex S i (Summary)
6411 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
6412 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
6413 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
6414 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
6416 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
6417 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
6418 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
6419 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
6420 for this to work though.
6423 @kindex S D b (Summary)
6424 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
6425 @cindex bouncing mail
6426 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
6427 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
6428 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
6429 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
6430 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
6431 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
6432 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
6433 very well fail, though.
6436 @kindex S D r (Summary)
6437 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
6438 Not to be confused with the previous command,
6439 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
6440 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
6441 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
6442 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
6443 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
6444 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
6445 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
6447 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
6448 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
6449 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
6450 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
6451 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
6453 This command understands the process/prefix convention
6454 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6457 @kindex S D e (Summary)
6458 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message-edit
6460 Like the previous command, but will allow you to edit the message as
6461 if it were a new message before resending.
6464 @kindex S O m (Summary)
6465 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
6466 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
6467 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
6468 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6471 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
6472 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
6473 @cindex crossposting
6474 @cindex excessive crossposting
6475 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
6476 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
6478 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
6479 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
6480 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
6481 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
6482 command understands the process/prefix convention
6483 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
6487 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
6488 Manual}, for more information.
6491 @node Summary Post Commands
6492 @subsection Summary Post Commands
6494 @cindex composing news
6496 Commands for posting a news article:
6502 @kindex S p (Summary)
6503 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
6504 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
6505 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
6506 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
6507 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
6512 @kindex S f (Summary)
6513 @findex gnus-summary-followup
6514 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
6515 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
6519 @kindex S F (Summary)
6521 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
6522 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
6523 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
6524 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
6525 process/prefix convention.
6528 @kindex S n (Summary)
6529 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
6530 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
6531 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
6534 @kindex S N (Summary)
6535 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
6536 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
6537 message through mail and include the original message
6538 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
6539 the process/prefix convention.
6542 @kindex S o p (Summary)
6543 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
6544 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
6545 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
6546 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
6547 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
6548 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
6549 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
6550 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
6551 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
6552 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
6553 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
6554 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section.
6557 @kindex S O p (Summary)
6558 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
6560 @cindex making digests
6561 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
6562 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-post-forward}). This command uses the
6563 process/prefix convention.
6566 @kindex S u (Summary)
6567 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
6568 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
6569 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
6570 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
6573 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
6574 Manual}, for more information.
6577 @node Summary Message Commands
6578 @subsection Summary Message Commands
6582 @kindex S y (Summary)
6583 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
6584 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
6585 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
6586 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
6587 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6592 @node Canceling and Superseding
6593 @subsection Canceling Articles
6594 @cindex canceling articles
6595 @cindex superseding articles
6597 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
6598 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
6600 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
6602 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
6604 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
6605 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
6606 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
6607 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
6608 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
6609 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6611 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
6612 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
6615 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
6616 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
6617 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
6619 Gnus ensures that only you can cancel your own messages using a
6620 @code{Cancel-Lock} header (@pxref{Canceling News, Canceling News, ,
6621 message, Message Manual}).
6623 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
6624 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
6625 your original article.
6627 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
6629 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
6630 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
6631 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
6634 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
6635 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
6636 have posted almost the same article twice.
6638 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
6639 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
6640 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
6641 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
6642 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
6643 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
6644 header by substituting one of those words for the word
6645 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
6646 you would do normally. The previous article will be
6647 canceled/superseded.
6649 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
6651 @node Delayed Articles
6652 @section Delayed Articles
6653 @cindex delayed sending
6654 @cindex send delayed
6656 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
6657 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
6658 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
6659 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
6662 (gnus-delay-initialize)
6665 @findex gnus-delay-article
6666 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
6667 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
6668 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
6669 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
6673 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
6674 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
6675 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
6676 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
6679 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
6680 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
6681 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
6684 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
6685 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
6686 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
6687 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
6688 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
6689 that means a time tomorrow.
6692 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
6693 couple of variables:
6696 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
6697 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
6698 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
6699 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
6701 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
6702 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
6703 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
6704 formats described above.
6706 @item gnus-delay-group
6707 @vindex gnus-delay-group
6708 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
6709 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
6710 value is @code{"delayed"}.
6712 @item gnus-delay-header
6713 @vindex gnus-delay-header
6714 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
6715 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
6716 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
6719 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
6720 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
6721 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
6722 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
6723 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
6725 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
6726 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
6727 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
6728 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
6729 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
6730 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
6731 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
6734 @item gnus-delay-initialize
6735 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
6736 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
6737 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
6738 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
6739 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
6740 argument is ignored.
6742 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
6743 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
6744 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
6748 @node Marking Articles
6749 @section Marking Articles
6750 @cindex article marking
6751 @cindex article ticking
6754 There are several marks you can set on an article.
6756 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
6757 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
6758 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
6760 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
6763 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks.
6767 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
6768 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
6769 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
6770 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
6771 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
6772 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
6776 @node Unread Articles
6777 @subsection Unread Articles
6779 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
6784 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
6785 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
6787 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
6788 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
6789 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
6790 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
6791 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
6792 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
6793 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
6796 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
6797 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
6799 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
6800 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
6801 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
6802 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
6806 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
6807 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
6809 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
6814 @subsection Read Articles
6815 @cindex expirable mark
6817 All the following marks mark articles as read.
6822 @vindex gnus-del-mark
6823 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
6824 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
6827 @vindex gnus-read-mark
6828 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
6831 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
6832 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
6833 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
6836 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
6837 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
6840 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
6841 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
6844 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
6845 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
6848 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
6849 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
6852 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
6853 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
6856 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
6857 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
6860 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
6861 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
6865 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
6866 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
6867 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
6871 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
6872 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
6874 One more special mark, though:
6878 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
6879 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
6881 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
6882 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
6883 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
6884 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
6890 @subsection Other Marks
6891 @cindex process mark
6894 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
6900 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
6901 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
6902 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
6903 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
6904 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
6907 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
6908 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
6909 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
6910 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
6913 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
6914 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
6915 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
6918 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
6919 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
6920 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
6923 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
6924 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
6925 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
6926 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
6929 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
6930 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
6931 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
6932 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
6933 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
6934 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
6937 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
6938 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
6939 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
6940 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
6943 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
6944 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), articles may be
6945 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
6946 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
6947 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
6951 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
6952 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), some articles might
6953 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
6954 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
6955 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
6956 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
6959 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
6960 The Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}) downloads some articles
6961 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
6962 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
6963 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
6964 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
6968 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
6969 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
6970 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
6971 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
6972 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
6975 @vindex gnus-process-mark
6976 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
6977 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
6978 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
6979 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
6980 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
6984 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
6985 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
6986 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
6988 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
6989 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
6990 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
6994 @subsection Setting Marks
6995 @cindex setting marks
6997 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
7002 @kindex M c (Summary)
7003 @kindex M-u (Summary)
7004 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
7005 @cindex mark as unread
7006 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
7007 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
7013 @kindex M t (Summary)
7014 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
7015 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
7016 @xref{Article Caching}.
7021 @kindex M ? (Summary)
7022 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
7023 Mark the current article as dormant
7024 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
7028 @kindex M d (Summary)
7030 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
7031 Mark the current article as read
7032 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
7036 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
7037 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
7038 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
7043 @kindex M k (Summary)
7044 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
7045 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
7046 and then select the next unread article
7047 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
7051 @kindex M K (Summary)
7052 @kindex C-k (Summary)
7053 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
7054 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
7055 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
7058 @kindex M C (Summary)
7059 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
7060 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
7061 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
7064 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
7065 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
7066 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
7067 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
7070 @kindex M H (Summary)
7071 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
7072 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
7073 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
7076 @kindex M h (Summary)
7077 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
7078 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
7079 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
7082 @kindex C-w (Summary)
7083 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
7084 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
7085 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
7088 @kindex M V k (Summary)
7089 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
7090 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
7091 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
7095 @kindex M e (Summary)
7097 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
7098 Mark the current article as expirable
7099 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
7102 @kindex M b (Summary)
7103 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
7104 Set a bookmark in the current article
7105 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
7108 @kindex M B (Summary)
7109 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
7110 Remove the bookmark from the current article
7111 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
7114 @kindex M V c (Summary)
7115 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
7116 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
7117 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
7120 @kindex M V u (Summary)
7121 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
7122 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
7123 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
7126 @kindex M V m (Summary)
7127 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
7128 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
7129 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
7130 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
7133 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
7134 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
7135 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
7136 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
7137 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
7138 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
7139 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
7140 The default is @code{t}.
7143 @node Generic Marking Commands
7144 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
7146 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
7147 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
7148 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
7149 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
7150 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
7153 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
7154 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
7157 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
7158 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
7159 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
7160 to list in this manual.
7162 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
7163 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
7164 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
7165 article, you could say something like:
7169 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
7170 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
7171 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
7179 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
7180 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
7184 @node Setting Process Marks
7185 @subsection Setting Process Marks
7186 @cindex setting process marks
7188 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
7189 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
7190 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
7191 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
7192 articles into the cache. For more information,
7193 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
7200 @kindex M P p (Summary)
7201 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
7202 Mark the current article with the process mark
7203 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
7204 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
7208 @kindex M P u (Summary)
7209 @kindex M-# (Summary)
7210 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
7211 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
7214 @kindex M P U (Summary)
7215 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
7216 Remove the process mark from all articles
7217 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
7220 @kindex M P i (Summary)
7221 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
7222 Invert the list of process marked articles
7223 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
7226 @kindex M P R (Summary)
7227 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
7228 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
7229 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
7232 @kindex M P G (Summary)
7233 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
7234 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
7235 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
7238 @kindex M P r (Summary)
7239 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
7240 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
7243 @kindex M P g (Summary)
7244 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
7245 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
7248 @kindex M P t (Summary)
7249 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
7250 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
7251 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
7254 @kindex M P T (Summary)
7255 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
7256 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
7257 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
7260 @kindex M P v (Summary)
7261 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
7262 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
7263 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
7266 @kindex M P s (Summary)
7267 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
7268 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
7271 @kindex M P S (Summary)
7272 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
7273 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
7274 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
7277 @kindex M P a (Summary)
7278 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
7279 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}).
7282 @kindex M P b (Summary)
7283 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
7284 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
7285 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
7288 @kindex M P k (Summary)
7289 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
7290 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
7291 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
7294 @kindex M P y (Summary)
7295 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
7296 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
7297 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
7300 @kindex M P w (Summary)
7301 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
7302 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
7303 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
7307 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @ref{Searching for Articles}, for how to
7308 set process marks based on article body contents.
7315 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
7316 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
7317 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
7320 Limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched from
7321 the servers. These commands don't query the server for additional
7328 @kindex / / (Summary)
7329 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
7330 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
7331 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
7335 @kindex / a (Summary)
7336 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
7337 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
7338 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
7342 @kindex / R (Summary)
7343 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient
7344 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some recipient
7345 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient}). If given a prefix, exclude
7349 @kindex / A (Summary)
7350 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-address
7351 Limit the summary buffer to articles in which contents of From, To or Cc
7352 header match a given address (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-address}). If
7353 given a prefix, exclude matching articles.
7356 @kindex / S (Summary)
7357 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-singletons
7358 Limit the summary buffer to articles that aren't part of any displayed
7359 threads (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-singletons}). If given a prefix,
7360 limit to articles that are part of displayed threads.
7363 @kindex / x (Summary)
7364 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
7365 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
7366 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
7367 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
7372 @kindex / u (Summary)
7374 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
7375 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
7376 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
7377 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
7378 dormant articles will also be excluded.
7381 @kindex / m (Summary)
7382 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
7383 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
7384 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
7387 @kindex / t (Summary)
7388 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
7389 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
7390 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
7391 articles younger than that number of days.
7394 @kindex / n (Summary)
7395 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
7396 With prefix @samp{n}, limit the summary buffer to the next @samp{n}
7397 articles. If not given a prefix, use the process marked articles
7398 instead. (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}).
7401 @kindex / w (Summary)
7402 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
7403 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
7404 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
7408 @kindex / . (Summary)
7409 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
7410 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
7411 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
7414 @kindex / v (Summary)
7415 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
7416 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
7417 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
7420 @kindex / p (Summary)
7421 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
7422 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
7423 group parameter predicate
7424 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). @xref{Group
7425 Parameters}, for more on this predicate.
7428 @kindex / r (Summary)
7429 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-replied
7430 Limit the summary buffer to replied articles
7431 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-replied}). If given a prefix, exclude
7436 @kindex M S (Summary)
7437 @kindex / E (Summary)
7438 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
7439 Include all expunged articles in the limit
7440 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
7443 @kindex / D (Summary)
7444 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
7445 Include all dormant articles in the limit
7446 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
7449 @kindex / * (Summary)
7450 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
7451 Include all cached articles in the limit
7452 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
7455 @kindex / d (Summary)
7456 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
7457 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
7458 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
7461 @kindex / M (Summary)
7462 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
7463 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
7466 @kindex / T (Summary)
7467 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
7468 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
7471 @kindex / c (Summary)
7472 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
7473 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit@*
7474 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
7477 @kindex / C (Summary)
7478 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
7479 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
7480 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
7481 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
7484 @kindex / b (Summary)
7485 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-bodies
7486 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have bodies that match a
7487 certain regexp (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-bodies}). If given a
7488 prefix, reverse the limit. This command is quite slow since it
7489 requires selecting each article to find the matches.
7492 @kindex / h (Summary)
7493 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-headers
7494 Like the previous command, only limit to headers instead
7495 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-headers}).
7500 The following commands aren't limiting commands, but use the @kbd{/}
7505 @kindex / N (Summary)
7506 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
7507 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
7508 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
7511 @kindex / o (Summary)
7512 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
7513 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
7514 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
7522 @cindex article threading
7524 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
7525 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
7526 hierarchical fashion.
7528 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
7529 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
7530 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
7531 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
7532 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
7533 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
7534 @ref{Customizing Threading}.
7536 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
7540 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
7543 A tree-like article structure.
7546 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
7549 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
7550 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
7551 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
7552 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
7553 called loose threads.
7555 @item thread gathering
7556 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
7558 @item sparse threads
7559 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
7560 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
7566 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
7567 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
7571 @node Customizing Threading
7572 @subsection Customizing Threading
7573 @cindex customizing threading
7576 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
7577 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
7578 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
7579 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
7584 @subsubsection Loose Threads
7587 @cindex loose threads
7590 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
7591 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
7592 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
7593 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
7594 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
7595 read or killed the root in a previous session.
7597 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
7598 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
7599 There are four possible values:
7603 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
7604 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
7605 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
7606 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
7607 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
7612 @cindex adopting articles
7617 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
7618 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
7619 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
7620 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
7623 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
7624 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
7625 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
7626 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
7627 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
7628 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
7629 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
7630 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
7631 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
7632 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
7635 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
7636 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
7637 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
7641 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
7642 display them after one another.
7645 Don't gather loose threads.
7648 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
7649 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
7650 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
7651 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
7652 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
7653 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
7654 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
7655 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
7656 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
7657 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
7658 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
7660 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
7661 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
7662 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
7665 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
7666 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
7667 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
7668 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
7669 simplification is used.
7671 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
7672 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
7673 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
7674 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
7676 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
7678 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
7684 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
7685 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
7686 "answer" "reference" "announce"
7687 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
7692 (mapconcat 'identity
7693 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
7695 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
7698 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
7701 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
7702 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
7703 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
7704 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
7705 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
7706 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
7708 Useful functions to put in this list include:
7711 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
7712 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
7713 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
7715 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
7716 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
7719 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
7720 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
7721 Remove excessive whitespace.
7723 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
7724 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
7725 Remove all whitespace.
7728 You may also write your own functions, of course.
7731 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
7732 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
7733 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
7734 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
7735 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
7736 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
7737 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
7738 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
7740 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
7741 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
7742 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
7743 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
7744 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
7745 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
7746 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
7747 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
7748 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
7752 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
7753 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
7754 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
7755 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
7757 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
7758 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
7759 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
7762 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
7766 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
7767 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
7773 @node Filling In Threads
7774 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
7777 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
7778 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
7779 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
7780 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you would
7781 like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still connect as
7782 many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable to
7783 @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than that
7784 number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case, fetching
7785 old headers only works if the back end you are using carries overview
7786 files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
7787 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
7788 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can
7791 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
7792 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
7793 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
7795 The server has to support @acronym{NOV} for any of this to work.
7797 @cindex Gmane, gnus-fetch-old-headers
7798 This feature can seriously impact performance it ignores all locally
7799 cached header entries. Setting it to @code{t} for groups for a server
7800 that doesn't expire articles (such as news.gmane.org), leads to very
7801 slow summary generation.
7803 @item gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
7804 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
7805 Same as @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}, but only used for ephemeral
7808 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
7809 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
7810 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
7811 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
7812 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
7813 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
7814 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
7815 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
7816 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
7817 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
7818 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
7819 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
7820 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
7821 @code{nil} by default.
7823 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
7824 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
7825 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
7826 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
7827 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
7828 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
7829 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
7831 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
7832 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
7833 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
7838 @node More Threading
7839 @subsubsection More Threading
7842 @item gnus-show-threads
7843 @vindex gnus-show-threads
7844 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
7845 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
7846 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
7847 slower and more awkward.
7849 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
7850 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
7851 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
7854 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
7855 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
7856 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}.
7861 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
7862 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
7863 gnus-article-unseen-p))
7866 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
7867 unread, but you get my drift.)
7870 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
7871 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
7872 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
7873 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
7874 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
7875 threads are expunged.
7877 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
7878 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
7879 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
7882 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
7883 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
7884 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
7885 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
7886 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
7887 result in a new thread.
7889 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
7890 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
7891 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
7894 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
7895 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
7896 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
7897 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
7898 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
7899 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
7900 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
7901 Setting this variable to an alternate value
7902 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
7903 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
7904 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
7909 @node Low-Level Threading
7910 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
7914 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
7915 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
7916 Hook run before parsing any headers.
7918 @item gnus-alter-header-function
7919 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
7920 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
7921 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
7922 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
7923 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
7924 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
7925 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
7926 meaningful. Here's one example:
7929 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
7931 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
7932 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
7934 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
7936 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
7943 @node Thread Commands
7944 @subsection Thread Commands
7945 @cindex thread commands
7951 @kindex T k (Summary)
7952 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
7953 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
7954 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
7955 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
7956 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
7961 @kindex T l (Summary)
7962 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
7963 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
7964 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
7965 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
7968 @kindex T i (Summary)
7969 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
7970 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
7971 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
7974 @kindex T # (Summary)
7975 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
7976 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
7977 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
7980 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
7981 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
7982 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
7983 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
7986 @kindex T T (Summary)
7987 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
7988 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
7991 @kindex T s (Summary)
7992 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
7993 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any@*
7994 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
7997 @kindex T h (Summary)
7998 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
7999 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
8002 @kindex T S (Summary)
8003 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
8004 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
8007 @kindex T H (Summary)
8008 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
8009 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
8012 @kindex T t (Summary)
8013 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
8014 Re-thread the current article's thread
8015 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
8016 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
8019 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
8020 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
8021 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
8022 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
8025 @kindex T M-^ (Summary)
8026 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-children
8027 Make the current article the parent of the marked articles
8028 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-children}).
8032 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
8033 understand the numeric prefix.
8038 @kindex T n (Summary)
8040 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
8042 @kindex M-down (Summary)
8043 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
8044 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
8047 @kindex T p (Summary)
8049 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
8051 @kindex M-up (Summary)
8052 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
8053 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
8056 @kindex T d (Summary)
8057 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
8058 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
8061 @kindex T u (Summary)
8062 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
8063 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
8066 @kindex T o (Summary)
8067 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
8068 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
8071 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
8072 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
8073 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
8074 a command like @kbd{T k} (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
8075 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
8076 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
8077 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
8078 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
8079 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
8080 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
8081 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
8082 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
8086 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
8087 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
8089 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
8090 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
8091 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
8092 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
8093 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
8094 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient
8095 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
8096 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
8097 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
8098 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number
8099 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date
8100 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
8101 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
8102 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
8103 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
8105 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
8106 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
8107 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient},
8108 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
8109 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date},
8110 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
8111 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
8112 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
8113 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
8114 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
8116 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
8117 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
8118 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
8120 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
8121 last function in the list. You should probably always include
8122 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
8123 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
8124 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
8125 ascending article order.
8127 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
8128 by number, you could do something like:
8131 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
8132 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
8133 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
8134 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
8137 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
8138 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
8139 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
8140 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
8141 which the articles arrived.
8143 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
8147 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
8148 '((not gnus-thread-sort-by-number)
8149 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
8152 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
8153 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
8154 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
8155 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
8158 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
8159 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
8160 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-most-recent-date
8161 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
8162 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
8163 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
8164 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
8165 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
8166 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-most-recent-number
8167 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
8168 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
8169 variable. It is very similar to the
8170 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
8171 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
8172 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
8173 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
8174 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
8175 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
8176 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
8178 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
8182 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
8183 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
8184 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
8187 You can define group specific sorting via @code{gnus-parameters},
8188 @xref{Group Parameters}.
8191 @node Asynchronous Fetching
8192 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
8193 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
8194 @cindex article pre-fetch
8197 If you read your news from an @acronym{NNTP} server that's far away, the
8198 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
8199 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
8200 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
8201 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
8203 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
8204 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
8206 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
8207 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
8208 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
8209 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
8210 connection is blocked.
8212 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
8213 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
8214 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
8215 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
8217 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
8218 the link between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server will become more
8219 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
8220 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
8223 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing@dots{} unless
8226 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
8227 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
8228 happen automatically.
8230 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
8231 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
8232 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
8233 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
8234 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
8235 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
8236 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
8238 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
8239 @findex gnus-async-unread-p
8240 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
8241 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p}
8242 variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This
8243 function should return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is
8244 to be pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-unread-p}, which
8245 returns @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an
8246 article data structure as the only parameter.
8248 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
8249 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
8252 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
8253 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
8254 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
8255 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
8258 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
8261 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
8262 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
8263 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
8265 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
8266 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
8267 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
8268 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
8272 Remove articles when they are read.
8275 Remove articles when exiting the group.
8278 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
8280 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
8281 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
8282 @c from the next group.
8285 @node Article Caching
8286 @section Article Caching
8287 @cindex article caching
8290 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @acronym{NNTP} connection, you may
8291 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
8292 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
8293 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
8294 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
8296 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
8298 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
8299 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
8300 @vindex gnus-use-cache
8301 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
8302 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
8303 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
8304 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
8305 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
8307 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
8308 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
8309 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
8310 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
8311 as dormant, and don't worry.
8313 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
8315 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
8316 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
8317 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
8318 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
8319 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
8320 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
8321 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
8322 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
8323 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
8324 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
8326 @findex gnus-jog-cache
8327 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
8328 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
8329 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
8330 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
8331 command if 1) your connection to the @acronym{NNTP} server is really, really,
8332 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
8333 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
8334 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
8335 not then be downloaded by this command.
8337 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
8338 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
8339 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
8340 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
8341 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
8342 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
8344 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
8345 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
8346 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
8347 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
8348 variables, the group is not cached.
8350 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
8351 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
8352 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
8353 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
8354 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
8355 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
8356 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
8357 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @acronym{NOV}
8358 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
8361 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
8362 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
8363 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
8364 where, isn't that cool?
8366 @node Persistent Articles
8367 @section Persistent Articles
8368 @cindex persistent articles
8370 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
8371 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
8372 useful in my opinion.
8374 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
8375 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
8376 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
8377 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
8378 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
8379 the expiry going on at the news server.
8381 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
8382 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
8383 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
8389 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
8390 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
8393 @kindex M-* (Summary)
8394 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
8395 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
8396 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
8400 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
8402 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
8403 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
8404 interested in persistent articles:
8407 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
8410 @node Sticky Articles
8411 @section Sticky Articles
8412 @cindex sticky articles
8414 When you select an article the current article buffer will be reused
8415 according to the value of the variable
8416 @code{gnus-single-article-buffer}. If its value is non-@code{nil} (the
8417 default) all articles reuse the same article buffer. Else each group
8418 has its own article buffer.
8420 This implies that it's not possible to have more than one article buffer
8421 in a group at a time. But sometimes you might want to display all the
8422 latest emails from your mother, your father, your aunt, your uncle and
8423 your 17 cousins to coordinate the next christmas party.
8425 That's where sticky articles come in handy. A sticky article buffer
8426 basically is a normal article buffer, but it won't be reused when you
8427 select another article. You can make an article sticky with:
8431 @kindex A S (Summary)
8432 @findex gnus-sticky-article
8433 Make the current article sticky. If a prefix arg is given, ask for a
8434 name for this sticky article buffer.
8437 To close a sticky article buffer you can use these commands:
8443 Puts this sticky article buffer at the end of the list of all buffers.
8447 @findex gnus-kill-sticky-article-buffer
8448 Kills this sticky article buffer.
8451 To kill all sticky article buffers you can use:
8453 @defun gnus-kill-sticky-article-buffers ARG
8454 Kill all sticky article buffers.
8455 If a prefix ARG is given, ask for confirmation.
8458 @node Article Backlog
8459 @section Article Backlog
8461 @cindex article backlog
8463 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
8464 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
8465 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
8466 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
8467 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
8468 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
8469 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
8470 increase memory usage some.
8472 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
8473 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
8474 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
8475 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
8476 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
8477 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
8478 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
8480 The default value is 20.
8483 @node Saving Articles
8484 @section Saving Articles
8485 @cindex saving articles
8487 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
8488 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
8489 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
8490 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
8491 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
8493 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
8494 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
8495 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
8497 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
8498 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
8499 unwanted headers before saving the article.
8501 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
8502 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
8503 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
8504 deleted before saving.
8510 @kindex O o (Summary)
8512 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
8513 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
8514 Save the current article using the default article saver
8515 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
8518 @kindex O m (Summary)
8519 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
8520 Save the current article in a Unix mail box (mbox) file
8521 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
8524 @kindex O r (Summary)
8525 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
8526 Save the current article in Rmail format
8527 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}). This is mbox since Emacs 23,
8528 Babyl in older versions.
8531 @kindex O f (Summary)
8532 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
8533 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
8534 Save the current article in plain file format
8535 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
8538 @kindex O F (Summary)
8539 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
8540 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
8541 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
8544 @kindex O b (Summary)
8545 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
8546 Save the current article body in plain file format
8547 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
8550 @kindex O h (Summary)
8551 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
8552 Save the current article in mh folder format
8553 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
8556 @kindex O v (Summary)
8557 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
8558 Save the current article in a VM folder
8559 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
8563 @kindex O p (Summary)
8565 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
8566 @vindex gnus-summary-pipe-output-default-command
8567 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
8568 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
8569 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
8570 complete headers in the piped output. The symbolic prefix @code{r} is
8571 special; it lets this command pipe a raw article including all headers.
8572 The @code{gnus-summary-pipe-output-default-command} variable can be set
8573 to a string containing the default command and options (default
8577 @kindex O P (Summary)
8578 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
8579 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
8580 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
8581 external program @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/,
8582 Muttprint}. The program name and options to use is controlled by the
8583 variable @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}.
8584 (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
8588 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
8589 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
8590 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
8591 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
8592 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
8593 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
8594 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
8595 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
8596 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
8597 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
8598 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
8599 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
8603 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
8604 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
8605 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the eight ready-made
8606 functions below, or you can create your own.
8610 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
8611 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
8612 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
8613 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
8614 This is the default format, that used by the Rmail package. Since Emacs
8615 23, Rmail uses standard mbox format. Before this, it used the
8616 @dfn{Babyl} format. Accordingly, this command writes mbox format since
8617 Emacs 23, unless appending to an existing Babyl file. In older versions
8618 of Emacs, it always uses Babyl format. Uses the function in the
8619 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
8620 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
8622 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
8623 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
8624 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
8625 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
8626 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
8627 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
8629 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
8630 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
8631 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
8632 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
8633 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
8634 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
8635 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
8637 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
8638 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
8639 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
8640 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
8641 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
8642 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
8644 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
8645 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
8646 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
8647 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
8648 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
8650 @item gnus-summary-write-body-to-file
8651 @findex gnus-summary-write-body-to-file
8652 Write the article body straight to an ordinary file. The file is
8653 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
8654 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
8655 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
8657 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
8658 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
8659 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
8660 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
8661 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
8664 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
8665 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
8666 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
8667 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
8668 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
8670 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
8671 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
8672 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
8673 reader to use this setting.
8675 @item gnus-summary-save-in-pipe
8676 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-pipe
8677 Pipe the article to a shell command. This function takes optional two
8678 arguments COMMAND and RAW. Valid values for COMMAND include:
8682 The executable command name and possibly arguments.
8684 You will be prompted for the command in the minibuffer.
8685 @item the symbol @code{default}@*
8686 It will be replaced with the command which the variable
8687 @code{gnus-summary-pipe-output-default-command} holds or the command
8688 last used for saving.
8691 Non-@code{nil} value for RAW overrides @code{:decode} and
8692 @code{:headers} properties (see below) and the raw article including all
8693 headers will be piped.
8696 The symbol of each function may have the following properties:
8700 The value non-@code{nil} means save decoded articles. This is
8701 meaningful only with @code{gnus-summary-save-in-file},
8702 @code{gnus-summary-save-body-in-file},
8703 @code{gnus-summary-write-to-file},
8704 @code{gnus-summary-write-body-to-file}, and
8705 @code{gnus-summary-save-in-pipe}.
8708 The value specifies an alternative function which appends, not
8709 overwrites, articles to a file. This implies that when saving many
8710 articles at a time, @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} is bound to
8711 @code{t} and all articles are saved in a single file. This is
8712 meaningful only with @code{gnus-summary-write-to-file} and
8713 @code{gnus-summary-write-body-to-file}.
8716 The value specifies the symbol of a variable of which the value
8717 specifies headers to be saved. If it is omitted,
8718 @code{gnus-save-all-headers} and @code{gnus-saved-headers} control what
8719 headers should be saved.
8722 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
8723 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
8724 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
8725 @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
8728 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
8729 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
8730 available functions that generate names:
8734 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
8735 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
8736 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
8738 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
8739 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
8740 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
8742 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
8743 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
8744 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
8746 @item gnus-plain-save-name
8747 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
8748 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
8750 @item gnus-sender-save-name
8751 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
8752 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
8755 @vindex gnus-split-methods
8756 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
8757 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
8758 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
8759 related to VM in @file{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
8763 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
8764 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
8765 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
8766 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
8769 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
8770 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
8771 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
8772 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
8773 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
8774 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
8775 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
8776 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
8777 called returns a string or a list of strings.
8779 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
8780 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
8781 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
8782 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
8784 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
8785 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
8786 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
8789 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
8790 lots of mail groups called things like
8791 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
8792 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
8793 following will do just that:
8796 (defun my-save-name (group)
8797 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
8798 (substring group (match-end 0))))
8800 (setq gnus-split-methods
8801 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
8806 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
8807 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
8808 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
8809 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
8810 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
8811 all the files in the top level directory
8812 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
8813 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
8814 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
8815 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
8817 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
8818 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
8819 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
8820 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
8821 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
8824 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
8828 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; @r{to get a hierarchy}
8829 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
8830 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; @r{no encoding}
8833 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
8834 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
8835 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
8836 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
8839 @node Decoding Articles
8840 @section Decoding Articles
8841 @cindex decoding articles
8843 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
8844 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
8847 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
8848 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
8849 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
8850 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
8851 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
8852 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
8856 @cindex article series
8857 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
8858 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
8859 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
8860 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
8861 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
8863 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
8864 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
8865 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
8867 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
8868 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
8869 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
8871 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
8872 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
8873 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
8876 @node Uuencoded Articles
8877 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
8879 @cindex uuencoded articles
8884 @kindex X u (Summary)
8885 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
8886 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
8887 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
8890 @kindex X U (Summary)
8891 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
8892 Uudecodes and saves the current series
8893 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
8896 @kindex X v u (Summary)
8897 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
8898 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
8901 @kindex X v U (Summary)
8902 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
8903 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
8904 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
8908 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
8909 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
8910 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
8911 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
8912 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
8914 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
8915 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
8916 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
8917 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
8920 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
8921 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
8922 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
8923 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
8924 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
8925 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
8929 @node Shell Archives
8930 @subsection Shell Archives
8932 @cindex shell archives
8933 @cindex shared articles
8935 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
8936 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
8937 some commands to deal with these:
8942 @kindex X s (Summary)
8943 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
8944 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
8947 @kindex X S (Summary)
8948 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
8949 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
8952 @kindex X v s (Summary)
8953 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
8954 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
8957 @kindex X v S (Summary)
8958 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
8959 Unshars, views and saves the current series
8960 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
8964 @node PostScript Files
8965 @subsection PostScript Files
8971 @kindex X p (Summary)
8972 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
8973 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
8976 @kindex X P (Summary)
8977 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
8978 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
8979 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
8982 @kindex X v p (Summary)
8983 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
8984 View the current PostScript series
8985 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
8988 @kindex X v P (Summary)
8989 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
8990 View and save the current PostScript series
8991 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
8996 @subsection Other Files
9000 @kindex X o (Summary)
9001 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
9002 Save the current series
9003 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
9006 @kindex X b (Summary)
9007 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
9008 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
9009 doesn't really work yet.
9012 @kindex X Y (Summary)
9013 @findex gnus-uu-decode-yenc
9014 yEnc-decode the current series and save it (@code{gnus-uu-decode-yenc}).
9018 @node Decoding Variables
9019 @subsection Decoding Variables
9021 Adjective, not verb.
9024 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
9025 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
9026 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
9030 @node Rule Variables
9031 @subsubsection Rule Variables
9032 @cindex rule variables
9034 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
9035 variables are of the form
9038 (list '(regexp1 command2)
9045 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
9046 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
9048 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
9049 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @file{.au} sound file, you could
9052 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
9053 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
9056 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
9057 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
9058 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
9059 user and default view rules.
9061 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
9062 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
9063 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
9068 @node Other Decode Variables
9069 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
9072 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
9074 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
9075 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
9076 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
9077 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
9078 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
9082 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
9083 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
9086 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
9087 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
9088 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
9091 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
9092 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
9093 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
9094 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
9095 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
9098 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
9099 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
9100 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
9102 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
9103 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
9104 Files with a @acronym{MIME} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
9105 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
9106 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @acronym{MIME} package (yet), so this is slightly
9109 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
9110 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
9111 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
9113 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
9114 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
9115 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
9116 looking for files to display.
9118 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
9119 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
9120 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
9123 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
9124 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
9125 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
9128 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
9129 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
9130 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
9133 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
9134 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
9135 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
9138 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
9139 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
9140 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
9141 decoded articles as unread.
9143 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
9144 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
9145 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
9146 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
9148 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
9149 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
9150 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
9152 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
9153 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
9155 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
9156 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @acronym{MIME}
9157 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
9158 @code{metamail} for viewing.
9160 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
9161 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
9162 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
9163 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
9164 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
9165 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
9166 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
9167 simply dropped them.
9172 @node Uuencoding and Posting
9173 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
9177 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
9178 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
9179 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
9180 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
9181 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
9182 for you when you post the article.
9184 @item gnus-uu-post-length
9185 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
9186 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
9187 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
9189 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
9190 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
9191 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
9192 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
9193 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
9194 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
9195 think that counts@dots{}) Default is @code{nil}.
9197 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
9198 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
9199 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
9200 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
9201 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
9202 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
9203 Default is @code{t}.
9209 @subsection Viewing Files
9210 @cindex viewing files
9211 @cindex pseudo-articles
9213 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
9214 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
9215 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
9216 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
9217 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
9218 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
9219 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
9221 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
9222 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
9223 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
9224 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
9226 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
9227 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
9228 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
9230 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
9231 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
9232 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
9233 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
9234 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
9236 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
9237 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
9238 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
9239 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
9240 a list of parameters to that command.
9242 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
9243 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
9244 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
9246 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
9247 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
9248 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
9251 @node Article Treatment
9252 @section Article Treatment
9254 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
9255 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
9256 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
9257 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
9258 these articles easier.
9261 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
9262 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
9263 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
9264 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
9265 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
9266 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
9267 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
9268 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
9269 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
9270 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
9271 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
9275 @node Article Highlighting
9276 @subsection Article Highlighting
9277 @cindex highlighting
9279 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
9280 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
9285 @kindex W H a (Summary)
9286 @findex gnus-article-highlight
9287 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
9288 Do much highlighting of the current article
9289 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
9290 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
9293 @kindex W H h (Summary)
9294 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
9295 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
9296 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
9297 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
9298 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
9299 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
9300 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
9301 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
9302 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
9303 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
9304 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
9307 @kindex W H c (Summary)
9308 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
9309 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
9311 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
9314 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
9316 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
9317 If the article size in bytes is bigger than this variable (which is
9318 25000 by default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
9320 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
9321 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
9322 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
9324 @item gnus-cite-face-list
9325 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
9326 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
9327 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
9328 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
9329 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
9331 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
9332 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
9333 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
9335 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
9336 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
9337 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
9339 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
9340 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
9341 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
9342 that it's a citation.
9344 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
9345 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
9346 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
9348 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
9349 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
9350 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
9352 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
9353 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
9354 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
9355 cited text belonging to the attribution.
9357 @item gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
9358 @vindex gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
9359 If non-@code{nil}, no citation highlighting will be performed on lines
9360 beginning with @samp{>From }. Those lines may have been quoted by MTAs
9361 in order not to mix up with the envelope From line. The default value
9368 @kindex W H s (Summary)
9369 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
9370 @vindex gnus-signature-face
9371 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
9372 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
9373 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
9374 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
9375 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
9380 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
9383 @node Article Fontisizing
9384 @subsection Article Fontisizing
9386 @cindex article emphasis
9388 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
9389 @kindex W e (Summary)
9390 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
9391 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
9392 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
9393 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
9395 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
9396 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
9397 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
9398 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
9399 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
9400 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
9401 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
9402 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
9406 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
9407 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
9408 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
9417 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
9418 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
9419 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
9420 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
9421 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
9422 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
9423 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
9424 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
9425 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
9426 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
9427 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
9428 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
9429 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
9431 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
9432 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
9433 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
9437 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
9440 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
9442 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
9443 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
9444 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
9445 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
9447 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
9450 @node Article Hiding
9451 @subsection Article Hiding
9452 @cindex article hiding
9454 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
9455 too much cruft in most articles.
9460 @kindex W W a (Summary)
9461 @findex gnus-article-hide
9462 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
9463 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
9464 headers, @acronym{PGP}, cited text and the signature.
9467 @kindex W W h (Summary)
9468 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
9469 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
9473 @kindex W W b (Summary)
9474 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
9475 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
9476 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
9479 @kindex W W s (Summary)
9480 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
9481 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
9485 @kindex W W l (Summary)
9486 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
9487 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
9488 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
9489 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
9490 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
9491 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
9492 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
9496 @item gnus-list-identifiers
9497 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
9498 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
9499 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
9504 @kindex W W P (Summary)
9505 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
9506 Hide @acronym{PEM} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
9507 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
9510 @kindex W W B (Summary)
9511 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
9512 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
9513 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
9516 @cindex stripping advertisements
9517 @cindex advertisements
9518 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
9519 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
9520 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
9521 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
9522 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
9523 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
9524 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
9525 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
9526 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
9527 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
9530 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
9531 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
9532 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
9536 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
9537 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
9538 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
9539 @code{(@var{address} . @var{banner})}, where @var{address} is a regexp
9540 matching a mail address in the From header, @var{banner} is one of a
9541 symbol @code{signature}, an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist},
9542 a regexp and @code{nil}. If @var{address} matches author's mail
9543 address, it will remove things like advertisements. For example, if a
9544 sender has the mail address @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a
9545 banner something like @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he
9546 sends, you can use the following element to remove them:
9549 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" .
9550 "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
9556 @kindex W W c (Summary)
9557 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
9558 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
9559 customizing the hiding:
9563 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
9564 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
9565 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
9566 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
9567 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
9568 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
9569 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
9574 Starting point of the hidden text.
9576 Ending point of the hidden text.
9578 Number of characters in the hidden region.
9580 Number of lines of hidden text.
9583 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
9584 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
9585 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
9586 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
9587 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
9592 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
9593 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
9595 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
9596 following two variables:
9599 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
9600 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
9601 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
9602 50), hide the cited text.
9604 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
9605 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
9606 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
9611 @kindex W W C (Summary)
9612 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
9613 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
9614 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
9615 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
9616 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
9620 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
9621 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
9622 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
9624 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
9625 citation customization.
9627 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
9631 @node Article Washing
9632 @subsection Article Washing
9634 @cindex article washing
9636 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
9637 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
9639 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
9640 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
9643 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
9644 articles by default.
9649 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
9650 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
9654 Force redisplaying of the current article
9655 (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). This is also not really washing.
9656 If you type this, you see the article without any previously applied
9657 interactive Washing functions but with all default treatments
9658 (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
9661 @kindex W l (Summary)
9662 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
9663 Remove page breaks from the current article
9664 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
9668 @kindex W r (Summary)
9669 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
9670 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
9671 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
9672 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
9673 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
9674 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
9676 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
9677 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
9678 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
9679 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
9682 @kindex W m (Summary)
9683 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
9684 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
9687 @kindex W i (Summary)
9688 @findex gnus-summary-idna-message
9689 Decode IDNA encoded domain names in the current articles. IDNA
9690 encoded domain names looks like @samp{xn--bar}. If a string remain
9691 unencoded after running invoking this, it is likely an invalid IDNA
9692 string (@samp{xn--bar} is invalid). You must have GNU Libidn
9693 (@url{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/}) installed for this command
9698 @kindex W t (Summary)
9700 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
9701 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
9702 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
9705 @kindex W v (Summary)
9706 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
9707 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
9708 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
9711 @kindex W o (Summary)
9712 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
9713 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
9716 @kindex W d (Summary)
9717 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
9718 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
9720 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
9722 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
9723 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
9724 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
9725 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
9728 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
9729 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
9730 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
9731 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
9734 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
9735 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
9736 @cindex Outlook Express
9737 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
9738 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
9739 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
9742 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
9743 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
9744 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min
9745 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max
9746 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
9747 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
9748 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
9749 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the minimum and
9750 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
9751 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines}).
9754 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
9755 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
9756 Repair a broken attribution line.@*
9757 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
9760 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
9761 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
9762 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
9763 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
9766 @kindex W w (Summary)
9767 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
9768 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
9770 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
9774 @kindex W Q (Summary)
9775 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
9776 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
9779 @kindex W C (Summary)
9780 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
9781 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
9782 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
9785 @kindex W c (Summary)
9786 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
9787 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
9788 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
9789 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
9790 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
9793 @kindex W q (Summary)
9794 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
9795 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
9796 Quoted-Printable is one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when
9797 sending non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. It typically
9798 makes strings like @samp{d@'ej@`a vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu},
9799 which doesn't look very readable to me. Note that this is usually
9800 done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
9801 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
9802 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
9805 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
9806 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
9807 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}). Base64 is
9808 one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when sending
9809 non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is
9810 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
9811 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
9812 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
9815 @kindex W Z (Summary)
9816 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
9817 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
9818 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
9819 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
9822 @kindex W A (Summary)
9823 @findex gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences
9824 @cindex @acronym{ANSI} control sequences
9825 Translate @acronym{ANSI} SGR control sequences into overlays or
9826 extents (@code{gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences}). @acronym{ANSI}
9827 sequences are used in some Chinese hierarchies for highlighting.
9830 @kindex W u (Summary)
9831 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
9832 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
9833 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
9834 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
9835 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
9838 @kindex W h (Summary)
9839 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
9840 Treat @acronym{HTML} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
9841 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
9842 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @acronym{HTML}.
9844 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for. If it is a number,
9845 the charset defined in @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist}
9846 (@pxref{Paging the Article}) will be used.
9848 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
9849 The default is to use the function specified by
9850 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display
9851 Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) to convert the
9852 @acronym{HTML}, but this is controlled by the
9853 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
9861 Use @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/, emacs-w3m}.
9863 @item w3m-standalone
9864 Use @uref{http://w3m.sourceforge.net/, w3m}.
9867 Use @uref{http://links.sf.net/, Links}.
9870 Use @uref{http://lynx.isc.org/, Lynx}.
9873 Use html2text---a simple @acronym{HTML} converter included with Gnus.
9878 @kindex W b (Summary)
9879 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
9880 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
9881 @xref{Article Buttons}.
9884 @kindex W B (Summary)
9885 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
9886 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
9887 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
9890 @kindex W p (Summary)
9891 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
9892 Verify a signed control message
9893 (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}). Control messages such as
9894 @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are usually signed by the
9895 hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the @acronym{PGP} public key of
9896 the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
9897 message.@footnote{@acronym{PGP} keys for many hierarchies are
9898 available at @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
9901 @kindex W s (Summary)
9902 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
9903 Verify a signed (@acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME} or
9904 @acronym{S/MIME}) message
9905 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
9908 @kindex W a (Summary)
9909 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
9910 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
9911 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
9914 @kindex W E l (Summary)
9915 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
9916 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
9917 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
9920 @kindex W E m (Summary)
9921 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
9922 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
9923 lines with a single empty line.
9924 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
9927 @kindex W E t (Summary)
9928 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
9929 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
9930 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
9933 @kindex W E a (Summary)
9934 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
9935 Do all the three commands above
9936 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
9939 @kindex W E A (Summary)
9940 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
9941 Remove all blank lines
9942 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
9945 @kindex W E s (Summary)
9946 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
9947 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
9948 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
9951 @kindex W E e (Summary)
9952 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
9953 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
9954 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
9958 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
9961 @node Article Header
9962 @subsection Article Header
9964 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
9969 @kindex W G u (Summary)
9970 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
9971 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
9974 @kindex W G n (Summary)
9975 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
9976 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
9977 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
9980 @kindex W G f (Summary)
9981 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
9982 Fold all the message headers
9983 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
9986 @kindex W E w (Summary)
9987 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
9988 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
9989 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
9994 @node Article Buttons
9995 @subsection Article Buttons
9998 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
9999 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
10000 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
10001 button on these references.
10003 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
10004 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
10005 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man pages and
10006 Emacs or Gnus related references. This is controlled by two variables,
10007 one that handles article bodies and one that handles article heads:
10011 @item gnus-button-alist
10012 @vindex gnus-button-alist
10013 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
10016 (@var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
10022 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
10023 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
10024 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
10025 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
10026 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp} and @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp}.
10029 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
10030 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
10031 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
10034 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
10035 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
10036 avoid false matches. Often variables named
10037 @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} are used here, @xref{Article Button
10038 Levels}, but any other form may be used too.
10040 @c @code{use-p} is @code{eval}ed only if @code{regexp} matches.
10043 This function will be called when you click on this button.
10046 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
10047 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
10051 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
10054 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
10057 @item gnus-header-button-alist
10058 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
10059 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
10060 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
10061 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
10064 (@var{header} @var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
10067 @var{header} is a regular expression.
10070 @subsubsection Related variables and functions
10073 @item gnus-button-@var{*}-level
10074 @xref{Article Button Levels}.
10076 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-browse-level
10078 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
10079 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
10080 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
10081 default values of the variables above.
10083 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-man-level
10085 @item gnus-button-man-handler
10086 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
10087 The function to use for displaying man pages. It must take at least one
10088 argument with a string naming the man page.
10090 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-message-level
10092 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
10093 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
10094 Regular expression that matches a message ID or a mail address.
10096 @item gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
10097 @vindex gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
10098 This variable determines what to do when the button on a string as
10099 @samp{foo123@@bar.invalid} is pushed. Strings like this can be either a
10100 message ID or a mail address. If it is one of the symbols @code{mid} or
10101 @code{mail}, Gnus will always assume that the string is a message ID or
10102 a mail address, respectively. If this variable is set to the symbol
10103 @code{ask}, always query the user what to do. If it is a function, this
10104 function will be called with the string as its only argument. The
10105 function must return @code{mid}, @code{mail}, @code{invalid} or
10106 @code{ask}. The default value is the function
10107 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
10109 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
10110 @findex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
10111 Function that guesses whether its argument is a message ID or a mail
10112 address. Returns @code{mid} if it's a message IDs, @code{mail} if
10113 it's a mail address, @code{ask} if unsure and @code{invalid} if the
10116 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
10117 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
10118 An alist of @code{(RATE . REGEXP)} pairs used by the function
10119 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
10121 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-tex-level
10123 @item gnus-button-ctan-handler
10124 @findex gnus-button-ctan-handler
10125 The function to use for displaying CTAN links. It must take one
10126 argument, the string naming the URL.
10128 @item gnus-ctan-url
10129 @vindex gnus-ctan-url
10130 Top directory of a CTAN (Comprehensive TeX Archive Network) archive used
10131 by @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler}.
10135 @item gnus-article-button-face
10136 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
10137 Face used on buttons.
10139 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
10140 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
10141 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
10145 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
10148 @node Article Button Levels
10149 @subsection Article button levels
10150 @cindex button levels
10151 The higher the value of the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level},
10152 the more buttons will appear. If the level is zero, no corresponding
10153 buttons are displayed. With the default value (which is 5) you should
10154 already see quite a lot of buttons. With higher levels, you will see
10155 more buttons, but you may also get more false positives. To avoid them,
10156 you can set the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} local to
10157 specific groups (@pxref{Group Parameters}). Here's an example for the
10158 variable @code{gnus-parameters}:
10161 ;; @r{increase @code{gnus-button-*-level} in some groups:}
10162 (setq gnus-parameters
10163 '(("\\<\\(emacs\\|gnus\\)\\>" (gnus-button-emacs-level 10))
10164 ("\\<unix\\>" (gnus-button-man-level 10))
10165 ("\\<tex\\>" (gnus-button-tex-level 10))))
10170 @item gnus-button-browse-level
10171 @vindex gnus-button-browse-level
10172 Controls the display of references to message IDs, mail addresses and
10173 news URLs. Related variables and functions include
10174 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}, @code{browse-url}, and
10175 @code{browse-url-browser-function}.
10177 @item gnus-button-emacs-level
10178 @vindex gnus-button-emacs-level
10179 Controls the display of Emacs or Gnus references. Related functions are
10180 @code{gnus-button-handle-custom},
10181 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-function},
10182 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-variable},
10183 @code{gnus-button-handle-symbol},
10184 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-key},
10185 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos},
10186 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-command},
10187 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-variable},
10188 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-documentation}, and
10189 @code{gnus-button-handle-library}.
10191 @item gnus-button-man-level
10192 @vindex gnus-button-man-level
10193 Controls the display of references to (Unix) man pages.
10194 See @code{gnus-button-man-handler}.
10196 @item gnus-button-message-level
10197 @vindex gnus-button-message-level
10198 Controls the display of message IDs, mail addresses and news URLs.
10199 Related variables and functions include
10200 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp},
10201 @code{gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail},
10202 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}, and
10203 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist}.
10205 @item gnus-button-tex-level
10206 @vindex gnus-button-tex-level
10207 Controls the display of references to @TeX{} or LaTeX stuff, e.g. for CTAN
10208 URLs. See the variables @code{gnus-ctan-url},
10209 @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler},
10210 @code{gnus-button-ctan-directory-regexp}, and
10211 @code{gnus-button-handle-ctan-bogus-regexp}.
10217 @subsection Article Date
10219 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
10220 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
10221 when the article was sent.
10226 @kindex W T u (Summary)
10227 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
10228 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
10229 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
10232 @kindex W T i (Summary)
10233 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
10235 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
10236 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
10239 @kindex W T l (Summary)
10240 @findex gnus-article-date-local
10241 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
10244 @kindex W T p (Summary)
10245 @findex gnus-article-date-english
10246 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
10247 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
10250 @kindex W T s (Summary)
10251 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
10252 @findex gnus-article-date-user
10253 @findex format-time-string
10254 Display the date using a user-defined format
10255 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
10256 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
10257 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
10258 for a list of possible format specs.
10261 @kindex W T e (Summary)
10262 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
10263 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
10264 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
10265 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
10266 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
10269 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
10272 @vindex gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header
10273 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
10274 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
10277 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
10278 into wonderful absurdities.
10280 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
10283 (gnus-start-date-timer)
10286 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
10287 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
10291 @kindex W T o (Summary)
10292 @findex gnus-article-date-original
10293 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
10294 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
10295 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
10296 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
10297 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
10301 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
10302 preferred format automatically.
10305 @node Article Display
10306 @subsection Article Display
10311 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
10312 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
10314 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
10315 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
10317 @code{Face} headers are small colored images supplied by the message
10318 headers (@pxref{Face}).
10320 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
10321 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
10323 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
10324 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
10326 All these functions are toggles---if the elements already exist,
10327 they'll be removed.
10331 @kindex W D x (Summary)
10332 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
10333 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
10334 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
10337 @kindex W D d (Summary)
10338 @findex gnus-article-display-face
10339 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
10340 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
10343 @kindex W D s (Summary)
10344 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
10345 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
10348 @kindex W D f (Summary)
10349 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
10350 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
10353 @kindex W D m (Summary)
10354 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
10355 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
10356 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
10359 @kindex W D n (Summary)
10360 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
10361 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
10362 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
10365 @kindex W D D (Summary)
10366 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
10367 Remove all images from the article buffer
10368 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
10374 @node Article Signature
10375 @subsection Article Signature
10377 @cindex article signature
10379 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
10380 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
10381 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
10382 that says what is to be considered a signature is
10383 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
10384 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
10385 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
10386 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
10387 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
10390 (setq gnus-signature-separator
10391 '("^-- $" ; @r{The standard}
10392 "^-- *$" ; @r{A common mangling}
10393 "^-------*$" ; @r{Many people just use a looong}
10394 ; @r{line of dashes. Shame!}
10395 "^ *--------*$" ; @r{Double-shame!}
10396 "^________*$" ; @r{Underscores are also popular}
10397 "^========*$")) ; @r{Pervert!}
10400 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
10403 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
10404 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
10405 signature when displaying articles.
10409 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
10412 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
10415 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
10416 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
10418 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
10419 in question is not a signature.
10422 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
10423 listed above. Here's an example:
10426 (setq gnus-signature-limit
10427 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
10430 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
10431 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
10432 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
10433 signature after all.
10436 @node Article Miscellanea
10437 @subsection Article Miscellanea
10441 @kindex A t (Summary)
10442 @findex gnus-article-babel
10443 Translate the article from one language to another
10444 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
10449 @node MIME Commands
10450 @section MIME Commands
10451 @cindex MIME decoding
10452 @cindex attachments
10453 @cindex viewing attachments
10455 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
10456 instance, @kbd{3 K v} means ``view the third @acronym{MIME} part''.
10461 @kindex b (Summary)
10462 @kindex K v (Summary)
10463 View the @acronym{MIME} part.
10466 @kindex K o (Summary)
10467 Save the @acronym{MIME} part.
10470 @kindex K O (Summary)
10471 Prompt for a file name, then save the @acronym{MIME} part and strip it
10472 from the article. The stripped @acronym{MIME} object will be referred
10473 via the message/external-body @acronym{MIME} type.
10476 @kindex K r (Summary)
10477 Replace the @acronym{MIME} part with an external body.
10480 @kindex K d (Summary)
10481 Delete the @acronym{MIME} part and add some information about the
10485 @kindex K c (Summary)
10486 Copy the @acronym{MIME} part.
10489 @kindex K e (Summary)
10490 View the @acronym{MIME} part externally.
10493 @kindex K i (Summary)
10494 View the @acronym{MIME} part internally.
10497 @kindex K | (Summary)
10498 Pipe the @acronym{MIME} part to an external command.
10501 The rest of these @acronym{MIME} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
10506 @kindex K H (Summary)
10507 @findex gnus-article-browse-html-article
10508 View @samp{text/html} parts of the current article with a WWW browser.
10509 The message header is added to the beginning of every html part unless
10510 the prefix argument is given.
10512 Warning: Spammers use links to images in HTML articles to verify whether
10513 you have read the message. As this command passes the @acronym{HTML}
10514 content to the browser without eliminating these ``web bugs'' you should
10515 only use it for mails from trusted senders.
10517 If you always want to display @acronym{HTML} parts in the browser, set
10518 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} to @code{nil}.
10521 @kindex K b (Summary)
10522 Make all the @acronym{MIME} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
10523 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
10527 @kindex K m (Summary)
10528 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
10529 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
10530 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
10531 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
10532 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
10535 @kindex X m (Summary)
10536 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
10537 Save all parts matching a @acronym{MIME} type to a directory
10538 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
10539 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10542 @kindex M-t (Summary)
10543 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
10544 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
10545 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
10548 @kindex W M w (Summary)
10549 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
10550 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
10551 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
10554 @kindex W M c (Summary)
10555 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
10556 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
10557 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
10559 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
10560 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
10561 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
10562 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
10563 include @acronym{MIME} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
10564 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
10567 @kindex W M v (Summary)
10568 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
10569 View all the @acronym{MIME} parts in the current article
10570 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
10574 Relevant variables:
10577 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
10578 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
10579 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
10580 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
10583 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
10586 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
10590 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
10591 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
10592 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't require the @samp{MIME-Version} header
10593 before interpreting the message as a @acronym{MIME} message. This helps
10594 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
10595 default is @code{t}.
10597 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
10598 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
10601 There are other, non-@acronym{MIME} encoding methods used. The most common
10602 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
10603 this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
10604 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
10605 Gnus @acronym{MIME} machinery. The default is @code{t}. Only
10606 single-part yEnc encoded attachments can be decoded. There's no support
10607 for encoding in Gnus.
10609 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
10610 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
10611 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
10612 this list won't have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
10613 displayed or this variable is overridden by
10614 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
10615 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
10616 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is @code{nil}.
10618 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
10619 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
10620 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
10621 this list will have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
10622 displayed. This variable overrides
10623 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
10624 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
10627 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
10628 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
10629 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
10631 You could also add @code{"multipart/alternative"} to this list to
10632 display radio buttons that allow you to choose one of two media types
10633 those mails include. See also @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}
10634 (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The
10635 Emacs MIME Manual}).
10637 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
10638 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
10639 If this is non-@code{nil}, then all @acronym{MIME} parts get buttons. The
10640 default value is @code{nil}.
10642 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
10643 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
10644 For each @acronym{MIME} part, this function will be called with the @acronym{MIME}
10645 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
10646 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
10647 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
10648 save all jpegs into some directory).
10650 Here's an example function the does the latter:
10653 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
10654 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
10656 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
10657 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
10658 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
10659 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
10660 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
10663 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
10664 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
10665 Alist of @acronym{MIME} multipart types and functions to handle them.
10667 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
10668 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
10669 Display "multipart/alternative" parts as "multipart/mixed".
10671 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
10672 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
10673 Display "multipart/related" parts as "multipart/mixed".
10675 If displaying @samp{text/html} is discouraged, see
10676 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}, images or other material inside a
10677 "multipart/related" part might be overlooked when this variable is
10678 @code{nil}. @ref{Display Customization, Display Customization, ,
10679 emacs-mime, Emacs-Mime Manual}.
10681 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
10682 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
10683 Display "multipart" parts as "multipart/mixed". If @code{t}, it
10684 overrides @code{nil} values of
10685 @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed} and
10686 @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed}.
10688 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
10689 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
10690 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @acronym{MIME} parts.
10691 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
10693 Ready-made functions include@*
10694 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
10695 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
10696 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
10697 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
10698 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
10699 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
10700 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
10701 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
10702 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
10703 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
10704 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
10705 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
10707 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
10708 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
10710 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
10711 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
10712 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
10715 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
10716 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
10717 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
10718 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
10722 to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
10731 People use different charsets, and we have @acronym{MIME} to let us know what
10732 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
10733 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @acronym{MIME}, and
10734 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
10735 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
10736 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
10737 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp}.
10739 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
10740 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
10741 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
10742 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
10744 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets
10745 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @acronym{MIME}-aware agents that
10746 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
10747 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
10748 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
10749 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
10750 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
10751 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
10752 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
10754 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
10755 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
10756 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @acronym{MIME}
10757 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
10758 quoted-printable header encoding.
10760 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
10761 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
10762 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
10766 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
10769 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
10770 means encode all charsets),
10772 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
10773 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
10774 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
10781 @cindex coding system aliases
10782 @cindex preferred charset
10784 @xref{Encoding Customization, , Encoding Customization, emacs-mime,
10785 The Emacs MIME Manual}, for additional variables that control which
10786 MIME charsets are used when sending messages.
10788 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
10790 If there are several @acronym{MIME} charsets that encode the same Emacs
10791 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
10794 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
10795 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
10798 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
10799 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @acronym{MIME} charset.
10801 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
10804 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
10807 This will almost do the right thing.
10809 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
10813 (codepage-setup 1251)
10814 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
10818 @node Article Commands
10819 @section Article Commands
10826 @kindex A P (Summary)
10827 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
10828 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
10829 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
10830 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
10831 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
10832 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
10837 @node Summary Sorting
10838 @section Summary Sorting
10839 @cindex summary sorting
10841 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
10842 can't really see why you'd want that.
10847 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
10848 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
10849 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
10851 @item C-c C-s C-m C-n
10852 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
10853 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-most-recent-number
10854 Sort by most recent article number
10855 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-most-recent-number}).
10858 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
10859 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
10860 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
10863 @kindex C-c C-s C-t (Summary)
10864 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-recipient
10865 Sort by recipient (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-recipient}).
10868 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
10869 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
10870 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
10873 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
10874 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
10875 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
10877 @item C-c C-s C-m C-d
10878 @kindex C-c C-s C-m C-d (Summary)
10879 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-most-recent-date
10880 Sort by most recent date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-most-recent-date}).
10883 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
10884 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
10885 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
10888 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
10889 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
10890 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
10893 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
10894 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
10895 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
10898 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
10899 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
10900 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
10903 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
10904 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
10905 Sort using the default sorting method
10906 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
10909 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
10910 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
10911 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
10912 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
10913 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
10916 If a prefix argument if given, the sort order is reversed.
10919 @node Finding the Parent
10920 @section Finding the Parent
10921 @cindex parent articles
10922 @cindex referring articles
10926 @kindex ^ (Summary)
10927 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
10928 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
10929 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
10930 if the current group is fetched by @acronym{NNTP}, the parent hasn't expired
10931 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
10932 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
10933 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
10934 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
10935 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
10937 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
10938 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
10939 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
10940 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
10941 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
10944 @item A R (Summary)
10945 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
10946 @kindex A R (Summary)
10947 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
10948 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
10950 @item A T (Summary)
10951 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
10952 @kindex A T (Summary)
10953 Display the full thread where the current article appears
10954 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
10955 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
10956 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
10957 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
10958 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
10959 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
10961 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
10962 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
10963 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
10964 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
10965 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
10966 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
10968 @item M-^ (Summary)
10969 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
10970 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
10972 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
10973 You can also ask Gnus for an arbitrary article, no matter what group it
10974 belongs to. @kbd{M-^} (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you
10975 for a @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read
10976 thingies that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}.
10977 You have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
10979 Gnus looks for the @code{Message-ID} in the headers that have already
10980 been fetched, but also tries all the select methods specified by
10981 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} if it is not found.
10984 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
10985 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
10986 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
10987 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @acronym{NNTP} method. It
10988 would, perhaps, be best if the @acronym{NNTP} server you consult is the one
10989 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
10992 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
10993 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
10994 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
10997 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
10998 then ask Google if that fails:
11001 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
11003 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
11006 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
11007 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
11008 @code{nnbabyl}, @code{nnmaildir}, @code{nnml}, are able to locate
11009 articles from any groups, while @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
11010 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current
11011 group. (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does
11012 not support this at all.
11015 @node Alternative Approaches
11016 @section Alternative Approaches
11018 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
11019 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
11022 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
11023 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
11027 @node Pick and Read
11028 @subsection Pick and Read
11029 @cindex pick and read
11031 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
11032 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
11033 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
11034 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
11036 @findex gnus-pick-mode
11037 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
11038 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
11039 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
11040 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
11041 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
11043 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
11048 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
11049 Pick the article or thread on the current line
11050 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
11051 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
11052 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
11053 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
11054 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
11055 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
11058 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
11059 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
11060 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
11061 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
11065 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
11066 Unpick the thread or article
11067 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
11068 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
11069 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
11070 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
11071 the thread or article at that line.
11075 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
11076 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
11077 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
11078 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
11079 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
11080 will still be visible when you are reading.
11084 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
11085 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
11086 which is mapped to the same function
11087 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
11089 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
11092 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
11095 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
11096 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
11098 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
11099 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
11100 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
11102 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
11103 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
11104 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
11105 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
11106 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
11107 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
11108 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
11111 @node Binary Groups
11112 @subsection Binary Groups
11113 @cindex binary groups
11115 @findex gnus-binary-mode
11116 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
11117 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
11118 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
11119 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
11120 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
11121 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
11124 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
11125 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
11126 command, when you have turned on this mode
11127 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
11129 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
11130 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
11134 @section Tree Display
11137 @vindex gnus-use-trees
11138 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
11139 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
11140 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
11141 in the tree buffer.
11143 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
11146 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
11147 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
11148 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
11150 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
11151 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
11152 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
11153 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
11154 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
11156 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
11157 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
11158 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
11159 default is @code{modeline}.
11161 @item gnus-tree-line-format
11162 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
11163 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
11164 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
11165 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
11166 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
11167 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
11173 The name of the poster.
11175 The @code{From} header.
11177 The number of the article.
11179 The opening bracket.
11181 The closing bracket.
11186 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
11188 Variables related to the display are:
11191 @item gnus-tree-brackets
11192 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
11193 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
11194 ``sparse'' articles. The format is
11196 ((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
11197 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close})
11198 (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))
11200 and the default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
11202 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
11203 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
11204 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
11205 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
11209 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
11210 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
11211 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
11212 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
11213 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
11214 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
11215 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
11216 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
11217 other windows displayed next to it.
11219 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
11223 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
11224 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
11227 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
11228 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
11229 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
11230 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
11231 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
11232 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
11233 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
11237 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
11240 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
11250 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
11255 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
11256 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
11258 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
11260 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
11266 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
11267 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
11268 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
11271 (setq gnus-use-trees t
11272 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
11273 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
11274 (gnus-add-configuration
11278 (summary 0.75 point)
11283 @xref{Window Layout}.
11286 @node Mail Group Commands
11287 @section Mail Group Commands
11288 @cindex mail group commands
11290 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
11291 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
11293 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
11294 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
11299 @kindex B e (Summary)
11300 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
11301 @cindex expiring mail
11302 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
11303 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
11304 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
11305 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
11308 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
11309 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
11310 @cindex expiring mail
11311 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
11312 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
11313 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
11314 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
11317 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
11318 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
11319 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
11320 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
11321 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
11322 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
11325 @kindex B m (Summary)
11327 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
11328 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
11329 Move the article from one mail group to another
11330 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
11331 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
11334 @kindex B c (Summary)
11336 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
11337 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
11338 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
11339 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
11340 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
11343 @kindex B B (Summary)
11344 @cindex crosspost mail
11345 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
11346 Crosspost the current article to some other group
11347 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
11348 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
11349 be properly updated.
11352 @kindex B i (Summary)
11353 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
11354 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
11355 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
11356 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
11359 @kindex B I (Summary)
11360 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
11361 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
11362 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
11363 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
11366 @kindex B r (Summary)
11367 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
11368 @vindex gnus-summary-respool-default-method
11369 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
11370 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
11371 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
11372 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
11373 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
11374 (which is the default).
11378 @kindex B w (Summary)
11379 @kindex e (Summary)
11380 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
11381 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
11382 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
11383 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
11384 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
11385 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
11386 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
11389 @kindex B q (Summary)
11390 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
11391 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
11392 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
11393 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
11396 @kindex B t (Summary)
11397 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
11398 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
11399 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
11402 @kindex B p (Summary)
11403 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
11404 Some people have a tendency to send you ``courtesy'' copies when they
11405 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
11406 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
11407 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
11408 article from your news server (or rather, from
11409 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
11410 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
11411 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
11412 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
11413 just not have arrived yet.
11416 @kindex K E (Summary)
11417 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
11418 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
11419 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
11420 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
11421 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
11425 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
11426 @cindex moving articles
11427 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
11428 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
11429 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
11430 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
11431 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
11432 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
11433 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
11436 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
11437 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
11438 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
11439 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
11443 @node Various Summary Stuff
11444 @section Various Summary Stuff
11447 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
11448 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
11449 * Summary Generation Commands::
11450 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
11454 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
11455 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
11456 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
11457 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
11458 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
11459 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
11461 @vindex gnus-summary-display-arrow
11462 @item gnus-summary-display-arrow
11463 If non-@code{nil}, display an arrow in the fringe to indicate the
11466 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
11467 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
11468 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
11470 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
11471 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
11472 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
11473 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
11474 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
11475 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
11478 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
11479 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
11480 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
11481 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
11482 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
11484 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
11485 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
11486 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
11489 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
11490 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
11491 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
11492 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
11493 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
11494 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
11495 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
11496 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
11497 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
11498 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
11500 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
11501 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
11502 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
11503 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
11504 list of articles to be selected.
11506 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
11507 the list in one particular group:
11510 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
11511 (if (string= group "some.group")
11512 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
11516 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
11517 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
11518 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
11519 variables and their default expressions to be evalled (when the default
11520 values are not @code{nil}), that should be made global while the summary
11523 Note: The default expressions will be evaluated (using function
11524 @code{eval}) before assignment to the local variable rather than just
11525 assigned to it. If the default expression is the symbol @code{global},
11526 that symbol will not be evaluated but the global value of the local
11527 variable will be used instead.
11529 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
11530 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
11531 buffers. For example:
11534 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
11535 '(message-use-followup-to
11536 (gnus-visible-headers .
11537 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
11540 Also @pxref{Group Parameters}.
11542 @vindex gnus-propagate-marks
11543 @item gnus-propagate-marks
11544 If non-@code{nil}, propagate marks to the backends for possible
11545 storing. @xref{NNTP marks}, and friends, for a more fine-grained
11551 @node Summary Group Information
11552 @subsection Summary Group Information
11557 @kindex H f (Summary)
11558 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
11559 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
11560 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} (list of frequently asked questions)
11561 for the current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try
11562 to get the @acronym{FAQ} from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which
11563 is usually a directory on a remote machine. This variable can also be
11564 a list of directories. In that case, giving a prefix to this command
11565 will allow you to choose between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp}
11566 or @code{efs} will probably be used for fetching the file.
11569 @kindex H d (Summary)
11570 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
11571 Give a brief description of the current group
11572 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
11573 rereading the description from the server.
11576 @kindex H h (Summary)
11577 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
11578 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
11579 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
11582 @kindex H i (Summary)
11583 @findex gnus-info-find-node
11584 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
11588 @node Searching for Articles
11589 @subsection Searching for Articles
11594 @kindex M-s (Summary)
11595 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
11596 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
11597 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
11600 @kindex M-r (Summary)
11601 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
11602 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
11603 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
11606 @kindex M-S (Summary)
11607 @findex gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-forward
11608 Repeat the previous search forwards
11609 (@code{gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-forward}).
11612 @kindex M-R (Summary)
11613 @findex gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-backward
11614 Repeat the previous search backwards
11615 (@code{gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-backward}).
11618 @kindex & (Summary)
11619 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
11620 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
11621 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
11622 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
11623 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
11624 search backward instead.
11626 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string RET #} will put the process mark on
11627 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
11630 @kindex M-& (Summary)
11631 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
11632 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
11633 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
11636 @node Summary Generation Commands
11637 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
11642 @kindex Y g (Summary)
11643 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
11644 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
11647 @kindex Y c (Summary)
11648 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
11649 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
11650 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
11653 @kindex Y d (Summary)
11654 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
11655 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
11656 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
11659 @kindex Y t (Summary)
11660 @findex gnus-summary-insert-ticked-articles
11661 Pull all ticked articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
11662 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-ticked-articles}).
11667 @node Really Various Summary Commands
11668 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
11674 @kindex C-d (Summary)
11675 @kindex A D (Summary)
11676 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
11677 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
11678 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
11679 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
11680 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
11681 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
11682 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
11683 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
11686 @vindex gnus-auto-select-on-ephemeral-exit
11687 The variable @code{gnus-auto-select-on-ephemeral-exit} controls what
11688 article should be selected after exiting a digest group. Valid values
11693 Select the next article.
11696 Select the next unread article.
11698 @item next-noselect
11699 Move the cursor to the next article. This is the default.
11701 @item next-unread-noselect
11702 Move the cursor to the next unread article.
11705 If it has any other value or there is no next (unread) article, the
11706 article selected before entering to the digest group will appear.
11709 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
11710 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
11711 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
11712 several documents into one biiig group
11713 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
11714 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
11715 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
11716 command understands the process/prefix convention
11717 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
11720 @kindex C-t (Summary)
11721 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
11722 Toggle truncation of summary lines
11723 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
11724 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
11725 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
11728 @kindex = (Summary)
11729 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
11730 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
11731 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
11734 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
11735 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
11736 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
11737 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
11740 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
11741 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
11742 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
11743 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
11748 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
11749 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
11750 @cindex summary exit
11751 @cindex exiting groups
11753 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
11754 group and return you to the group buffer.
11761 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
11762 @kindex Z Q (Summary)
11763 @kindex q (Summary)
11764 @findex gnus-summary-exit
11765 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
11766 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
11767 @vindex gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook
11768 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
11769 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
11770 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
11771 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
11772 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
11773 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
11774 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
11775 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
11779 @kindex Z E (Summary)
11780 @kindex Q (Summary)
11781 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
11782 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
11783 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
11787 @kindex Z c (Summary)
11788 @kindex c (Summary)
11789 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
11790 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
11791 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
11792 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
11795 @kindex Z C (Summary)
11796 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
11797 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
11798 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
11801 @kindex Z n (Summary)
11802 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
11803 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
11804 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
11807 @kindex Z p (Summary)
11808 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-prev-group
11809 Mark all articles as read and go to the previous group
11810 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-prev-group}).
11814 @kindex Z R (Summary)
11815 @kindex C-x C-s (Summary)
11816 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
11817 Exit this group, and then enter it again
11818 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
11819 all articles, both read and unread.
11823 @kindex Z G (Summary)
11824 @kindex M-g (Summary)
11825 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
11826 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
11827 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
11828 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
11829 articles, both read and unread.
11832 @kindex Z N (Summary)
11833 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
11834 Exit the group and go to the next group
11835 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
11838 @kindex Z P (Summary)
11839 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
11840 Exit the group and go to the previous group
11841 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
11844 @kindex Z s (Summary)
11845 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
11846 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
11847 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
11848 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
11849 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
11852 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
11853 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
11854 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
11855 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
11857 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
11858 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
11859 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
11860 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
11861 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
11862 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
11863 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
11864 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
11865 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
11866 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
11867 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
11868 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
11870 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
11872 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
11873 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
11874 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
11875 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
11876 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
11877 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
11878 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
11879 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
11880 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
11883 @node Crosspost Handling
11884 @section Crosspost Handling
11888 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
11889 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
11890 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
11891 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
11892 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
11893 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
11896 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
11897 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
11898 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
11899 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
11900 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
11902 @cindex cross-posting
11904 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
11905 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
11906 correctly is if you use an @acronym{NNTP} server that supports @sc{xover}
11907 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
11908 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @acronym{NOV} lines. This is
11909 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
11910 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
11911 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
11912 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
11913 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
11914 the cross reference mechanism.
11916 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
11917 @cindex overview.fmt
11918 To check whether your @acronym{NNTP} server includes the @code{Xref} header
11919 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
11920 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
11921 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
11922 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
11923 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
11926 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
11927 set @code{nntp-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
11928 considerably. Also @pxref{Slow/Expensive Connection}.
11932 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
11935 @node Duplicate Suppression
11936 @section Duplicate Suppression
11938 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
11939 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
11940 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
11941 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
11946 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
11947 is evil and not very common.
11950 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
11951 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
11954 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
11955 different @acronym{NNTP} servers.
11958 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
11961 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
11962 well, but these four are the most common situations.
11964 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
11965 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
11966 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
11967 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
11968 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
11969 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
11970 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
11973 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
11974 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
11975 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
11976 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
11977 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
11978 saw the article in.
11981 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
11982 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
11983 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
11985 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
11986 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
11987 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
11988 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
11989 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
11990 session are suppressed.
11992 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
11993 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
11994 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
11995 suppression list. The default is 10000.
11997 @item gnus-duplicate-file
11998 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
11999 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
12000 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
12003 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
12004 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
12005 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
12006 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
12007 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
12008 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
12009 to you to figure out, I think.
12014 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
12015 The formats that are supported are @acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME}
12016 and @acronym{S/MIME}, however you need some external programs to get
12021 To handle @acronym{PGP} and @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages, you have to
12022 install an OpenPGP implementation such as GnuPG. The Lisp interface
12023 to GnuPG included with Emacs is called EasyPG (@pxref{Top, ,EasyPG,
12024 epa, EasyPG Assistant user's manual}), but PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg,
12025 PGG Manual}), Mailcrypt, and gpg.el are also supported.
12028 To handle @acronym{S/MIME} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
12029 or newer is recommended.
12033 The variables that control security functionality on reading messages
12037 @item mm-verify-option
12038 @vindex mm-verify-option
12039 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
12040 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
12041 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
12043 @item mm-decrypt-option
12044 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
12045 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
12046 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
12047 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
12050 @vindex mml1991-use
12051 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
12052 @acronym{PGP} messages. The default is @code{epg}, but @code{pgg},
12053 @code{mailcrypt}, and @code{gpg} are also supported although
12054 deprecated. By default, Gnus uses the first available interface in
12058 @vindex mml2015-use
12059 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
12060 @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages. The default is @code{epg}, but
12061 @code{pgg}, @code{mailcrypt}, and @code{gpg} are also supported
12062 although deprecated. By default, Gnus uses the first available
12063 interface in this order.
12067 By default the buttons that display security information are not
12068 shown, because they clutter reading the actual e-mail. You can type
12069 @kbd{K b} manually to display the information. Use the
12070 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types} and
12071 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} variables to control this
12072 permanently. @ref{MIME Commands} for further details, and hints on
12073 how to customize these variables to always display security
12076 @cindex snarfing keys
12077 @cindex importing PGP keys
12078 @cindex PGP key ring import
12079 Snarfing OpenPGP keys (i.e., importing keys from articles into your
12080 key ring) is not supported explicitly through a menu item or command,
12081 rather Gnus do detect and label keys as @samp{application/pgp-keys},
12082 allowing you to specify whatever action you think is appropriate
12083 through the usual @acronym{MIME} infrastructure. You can use a
12084 @file{~/.mailcap} entry (@pxref{mailcap, , mailcap, emacs-mime, The
12085 Emacs MIME Manual}) such as the following to import keys using GNU
12086 Privacy Guard when you click on the @acronym{MIME} button
12087 (@pxref{Using MIME}).
12090 application/pgp-keys; gpg --import --interactive --verbose; needsterminal
12093 This happens to also be the default action defined in
12094 @code{mailcap-mime-data}.
12096 More information on how to set things for sending outgoing signed and
12097 encrypted messages up can be found in the message manual
12098 (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
12101 @section Mailing List
12102 @cindex mailing list
12105 @kindex A M (summary)
12106 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
12107 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
12108 add a @code{to-list} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
12109 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
12112 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
12117 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
12118 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
12119 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
12122 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
12123 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
12124 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
12127 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
12128 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
12129 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
12133 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
12134 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
12135 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
12138 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
12139 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
12140 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
12143 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
12144 @findex gnus-mailing-list-archive
12145 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
12150 @node Article Buffer
12151 @chapter Article Buffer
12152 @cindex article buffer
12154 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
12155 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
12156 tell Gnus otherwise.
12159 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
12160 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
12161 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
12162 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
12163 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
12167 @node Hiding Headers
12168 @section Hiding Headers
12169 @cindex hiding headers
12170 @cindex deleting headers
12172 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
12173 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
12175 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
12176 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
12177 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
12178 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
12179 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
12180 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
12181 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseam---and you'll probably want to get rid
12182 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
12183 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
12185 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
12189 @item gnus-visible-headers
12190 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
12191 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
12192 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
12193 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
12195 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
12196 the article and the subject, you'd say:
12199 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
12202 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
12205 @item gnus-ignored-headers
12206 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
12207 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
12208 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
12209 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
12210 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
12212 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
12213 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
12216 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
12219 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
12222 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
12223 variable will have no effect.
12227 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
12228 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
12229 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
12230 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
12231 the headers are to be displayed.
12233 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
12234 and then the subject, you might say something like:
12237 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
12240 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
12241 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
12243 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
12244 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
12245 You can hide further boring headers by setting
12246 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
12247 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
12248 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead it
12249 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
12252 These conditions are:
12255 Remove all empty headers.
12257 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
12258 @code{Newsgroups} header.
12260 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same addresses as
12261 the @code{From} header, or if the @code{broken-reply-to} group
12264 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
12267 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
12268 the current group's @code{to-address} parameter.
12270 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
12271 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
12273 Remove the @code{Cc} header if it only contains the address identical to
12274 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
12276 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
12279 Remove the @code{To} and/or @code{Cc} header if it is very long.
12281 Remove all @code{To} and/or @code{Cc} headers if there are more than one.
12284 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
12287 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
12288 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
12291 This is also the default value for this variable.
12295 @section Using MIME
12296 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
12298 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
12299 while people stand around yawning.
12301 @acronym{MIME}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
12302 while all newsreaders die of fear.
12304 @acronym{MIME} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
12305 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
12306 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
12308 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
12309 @findex gnus-display-mime
12310 Gnus pushes @acronym{MIME} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
12311 to display the @acronym{MIME} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
12312 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
12313 display, save and manipulate the @acronym{MIME} objects.
12315 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
12316 @acronym{MIME} button:
12319 @findex gnus-article-press-button
12320 @item RET (Article)
12321 @kindex RET (Article)
12322 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
12323 Toggle displaying of the @acronym{MIME} object
12324 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}). If built-in viewers can not display
12325 the object, Gnus resorts to external viewers in the @file{mailcap}
12326 files. If a viewer has the @samp{copiousoutput} specification, the
12327 object is displayed inline.
12329 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
12330 @item M-RET (Article)
12331 @kindex M-RET (Article)
12333 Prompt for a method, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
12334 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
12336 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
12338 @kindex t (Article)
12339 View the @acronym{MIME} object as if it were a different @acronym{MIME} media type
12340 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
12342 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
12344 @kindex C (Article)
12345 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
12346 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
12348 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
12350 @kindex o (Article)
12351 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @acronym{MIME} object
12352 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
12354 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
12355 @item C-o (Article)
12356 @kindex C-o (Article)
12357 Prompt for a file name, then save the @acronym{MIME} object and strip it from
12358 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
12359 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
12360 like. The stripped @acronym{MIME} object will be referred via the
12361 message/external-body @acronym{MIME} type.
12362 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
12364 @findex gnus-mime-replace-part
12366 @kindex r (Article)
12367 Prompt for a file name, replace the @acronym{MIME} object with an
12368 external body refering to the file via the message/external-body
12369 @acronym{MIME} type. (@code{gnus-mime-replace-part}).
12371 @findex gnus-mime-delete-part
12373 @kindex d (Article)
12374 Delete the @acronym{MIME} object from the article and replace it with some
12375 information about the removed @acronym{MIME} object
12376 (@code{gnus-mime-delete-part}).
12378 @c FIXME: gnus-auto-select-part should be documented here
12380 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
12382 @kindex c (Article)
12383 Copy the @acronym{MIME} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
12384 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}). If given a prefix, copy the raw contents
12385 without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual
12386 charset stuff (see @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in
12387 @ref{Paging the Article}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and
12388 @file{.bz2} are automatically decompressed if
12389 @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled (@pxref{Compressed Files,,
12390 Accessing Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
12392 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
12394 @kindex p (Article)
12395 Print the @acronym{MIME} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
12396 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
12397 @file{.mailcap} file.
12399 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
12401 @kindex i (Article)
12402 Insert the contents of the @acronym{MIME} object into the buffer
12403 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as @samp{text/plain}. If given a prefix, insert
12404 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
12405 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
12406 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @ref{Paging the
12407 Article}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and @file{.bz2} are
12408 automatically decompressed depending on @code{jka-compr} regardless of
12409 @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed Files,, Accessing
12410 Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
12412 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-internally
12414 @kindex E (Article)
12415 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
12416 viewer is available, use an external viewer
12417 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-internally}).
12419 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-externally
12421 @kindex e (Article)
12422 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an external viewer.
12423 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-externally}).
12425 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
12427 @kindex | (Article)
12428 Output the @acronym{MIME} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
12430 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
12432 @kindex . (Article)
12433 Interactively run an action on the @acronym{MIME} object
12434 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
12438 Gnus will display some @acronym{MIME} objects automatically. The way Gnus
12439 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs
12440 @acronym{MIME} manual.
12442 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
12443 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
12444 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @acronym{MIME} has
12445 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
12446 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
12447 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
12448 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
12449 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
12450 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
12452 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
12454 Also @pxref{MIME Commands}.
12457 @node Customizing Articles
12458 @section Customizing Articles
12459 @cindex article customization
12461 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
12462 exist. You can call these functions interactively
12463 (@pxref{Article Washing}), or you can have them
12464 called automatically when you select the articles.
12466 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
12467 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
12468 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
12469 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
12471 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
12472 for sensible values.
12476 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
12479 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
12482 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
12485 @code{first}: Do this treatment on the first body part.
12488 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last body part.
12491 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
12495 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
12496 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
12497 regexps in the list.
12500 A list where the first element is not a string:
12502 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
12503 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
12504 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
12508 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
12513 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
12514 to the fact that some messages are @acronym{MIME} multipart articles that may
12515 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
12516 considered to contain just a single part.
12518 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
12519 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
12520 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
12521 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
12522 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
12523 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
12524 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
12527 @c Avoid sort of redundant entries in the same section for the printed
12528 @c manual, but add them in info to allow `i gnus-treat-foo-bar RET' or
12530 @vindex gnus-treat-buttonize
12531 @vindex gnus-treat-buttonize-head
12532 @vindex gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences
12533 @vindex gnus-treat-overstrike
12534 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-cr
12535 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body
12536 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines
12537 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines
12538 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-pem
12539 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines
12540 @vindex gnus-treat-unsplit-urls
12541 @vindex gnus-treat-wash-html
12542 @vindex gnus-treat-date-english
12543 @vindex gnus-treat-date-iso8601
12544 @vindex gnus-treat-date-lapsed
12545 @vindex gnus-treat-date-local
12546 @vindex gnus-treat-date-original
12547 @vindex gnus-treat-date-user-defined
12548 @vindex gnus-treat-date-ut
12549 @vindex gnus-treat-from-picon
12550 @vindex gnus-treat-mail-picon
12551 @vindex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
12552 @vindex gnus-treat-display-smileys
12553 @vindex gnus-treat-body-boundary
12554 @vindex gnus-treat-display-x-face
12555 @vindex gnus-treat-display-face
12556 @vindex gnus-treat-emphasize
12557 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-article
12558 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-long-lines
12559 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers
12560 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation
12561 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe
12562 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-headers
12563 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-signature
12564 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-banner
12565 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers
12566 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-citation
12567 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-headers
12568 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-signature
12569 @vindex gnus-treat-play-sounds
12570 @vindex gnus-treat-translate
12571 @vindex gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig
12572 @vindex gnus-treat-unfold-headers
12573 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-headers
12574 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups
12575 @vindex gnus-treat-leading-whitespace
12578 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
12579 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
12580 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
12581 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
12584 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
12585 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
12587 @xref{Article Buttons}.
12589 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
12590 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
12591 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
12592 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
12593 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, first, integer)
12594 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
12595 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
12596 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
12597 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
12598 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
12600 @xref{Article Washing}.
12602 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
12603 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
12604 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
12605 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
12606 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
12607 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
12608 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
12610 @xref{Article Date}.
12612 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
12613 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
12614 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
12618 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
12620 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
12622 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
12623 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
12624 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
12628 @vindex gnus-treat-display-x-face
12629 @item gnus-treat-display-x-face (head)
12633 @vindex gnus-treat-display-face
12634 @item gnus-treat-display-face (head)
12638 @vindex gnus-treat-emphasize
12639 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
12640 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-article
12641 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
12642 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-long-lines
12643 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
12644 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers
12645 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
12646 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation
12647 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
12648 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe
12649 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
12650 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-headers
12651 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
12652 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-signature
12653 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
12654 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-banner
12655 @item gnus-treat-strip-banner (t, last)
12656 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers
12657 @item gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers (head)
12659 @xref{Article Hiding}.
12661 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-citation
12662 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
12663 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-headers
12664 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
12665 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-signature
12666 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
12668 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
12670 @vindex gnus-treat-play-sounds
12671 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
12672 @vindex gnus-treat-translate
12673 @item gnus-treat-translate
12674 @item gnus-treat-ansi-sequences (t)
12675 @vindex gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig
12676 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
12678 @vindex gnus-treat-unfold-headers
12679 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
12680 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-headers
12681 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
12682 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups
12683 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
12684 @vindex gnus-treat-leading-whitespace
12685 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
12687 @xref{Article Header}.
12692 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
12693 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
12694 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
12695 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
12696 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
12700 @node Article Keymap
12701 @section Article Keymap
12703 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
12704 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
12705 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
12706 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
12709 @kindex v (Article)
12710 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Article)
12711 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
12712 command or better use it as a prefix key.
12714 A few additional keystrokes are available:
12719 @kindex SPACE (Article)
12720 @findex gnus-article-next-page
12721 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
12722 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h SPACE h}.
12725 @kindex DEL (Article)
12726 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
12727 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
12728 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h DEL h}.
12731 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
12732 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
12733 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
12734 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
12735 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
12738 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
12739 @findex gnus-article-mail
12740 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
12741 given a prefix, include the mail.
12744 @kindex s (Article)
12745 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
12746 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
12747 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
12750 @kindex ? (Article)
12751 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
12752 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
12753 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
12756 @kindex TAB (Article)
12757 @findex gnus-article-next-button
12758 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
12759 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
12762 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
12763 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
12764 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
12767 @kindex R (Article)
12768 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
12769 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
12770 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If the region is active,
12771 only yank the text in the region.
12774 @kindex S W (Article)
12775 @findex gnus-article-wide-reply-with-original
12776 Send a wide reply to the current article and yank the current article
12777 (@code{gnus-article-wide-reply-with-original}). If the region is
12778 active, only yank the text in the region.
12781 @kindex F (Article)
12782 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
12783 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
12784 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If the region is active,
12785 only yank the text in the region.
12792 @section Misc Article
12796 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
12797 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
12798 @cindex article buffers, several
12799 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
12800 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
12803 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
12804 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
12805 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
12806 Hook used to decode @acronym{MIME} articles. The default value is
12807 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
12809 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
12810 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
12811 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
12812 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
12813 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
12814 the contents of the article buffer.
12816 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
12817 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
12818 Hook called in article mode buffers.
12820 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
12821 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
12822 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
12823 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
12825 @vindex gnus-article-over-scroll
12826 @item gnus-article-over-scroll
12827 If non-@code{nil}, allow scrolling the article buffer even when there
12828 no more new text to scroll in. The default is @code{nil}.
12830 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
12831 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
12832 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
12833 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Summary Buffer Mode
12834 Line}). It accepts the same format specifications as that variable,
12835 with two extensions:
12840 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
12841 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
12842 performed. The characters and their meaning:
12847 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
12850 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
12853 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
12854 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
12855 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
12858 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
12861 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
12864 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasized strings in the article buffer.
12869 The number of @acronym{MIME} parts in the article.
12873 @vindex gnus-break-pages
12875 @item gnus-break-pages
12876 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
12877 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
12878 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
12879 paging will not be done.
12881 @item gnus-page-delimiter
12882 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
12883 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
12887 @cindex internationalized domain names
12888 @vindex gnus-use-idna
12889 @item gnus-use-idna
12890 This variable controls whether Gnus performs IDNA decoding of
12891 internationalized domain names inside @samp{From}, @samp{To} and
12892 @samp{Cc} headers. @xref{IDNA, ,IDNA,message, The Message Manual},
12893 for how to compose such messages. This requires
12894 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU Libidn}, and this
12895 variable is only enabled if you have installed it.
12900 @node Composing Messages
12901 @chapter Composing Messages
12902 @cindex composing messages
12905 @cindex sending mail
12910 @cindex using s/mime
12911 @cindex using smime
12913 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
12914 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
12915 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
12916 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
12917 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
12918 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
12921 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
12922 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
12923 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
12924 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
12925 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
12926 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
12927 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
12928 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
12929 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
12932 Also @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
12933 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
12939 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
12942 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
12943 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
12944 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
12945 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
12946 @code{nil} include all headers.
12948 @item gnus-add-to-list
12949 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
12950 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
12951 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
12953 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
12954 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
12955 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you for a confirmation when you are
12956 about to reply to news articles by mail. If it is @code{nil}, nothing
12957 interferes in what you want to do. This can also be a function
12958 receiving the group name as the only parameter which should return
12959 non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is needed, or a regular expression
12960 matching group names, where confirmation should be asked for.
12962 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
12963 press @kbd{R} anyway, this variable might be for you.
12965 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
12966 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
12967 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
12968 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
12969 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
12974 @node Posting Server
12975 @section Posting Server
12977 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
12978 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
12980 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
12982 It can be quite complicated.
12984 @vindex gnus-post-method
12985 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
12986 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
12987 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
12988 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
12989 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
12990 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
12991 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
12992 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
12993 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
12996 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
12999 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
13000 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
13001 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
13002 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
13004 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
13005 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
13007 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
13008 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
13011 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
13012 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
13014 @vindex message-send-mail-function
13015 When sending mail, Message invokes the function specified by the
13016 variable @code{message-send-mail-function}. Gnus tries to set it to a
13017 value suitable for your system.
13018 @xref{Mail Variables, ,Mail Variables,message,Message manual}, for more
13021 @node POP before SMTP
13022 @section POP before SMTP
13023 @cindex pop before smtp
13024 @findex message-smtpmail-send-it
13025 @findex mail-source-touch-pop
13027 Does your @acronym{ISP} require the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP}
13028 authentication? It is whether you need to connect to the @acronym{POP}
13029 mail server within a certain time before sending mails. If so, there is
13030 a convenient way. To do that, put the following lines in your
13031 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
13034 (setq message-send-mail-function 'message-smtpmail-send-it)
13035 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook 'mail-source-touch-pop)
13039 It means to let Gnus connect to the @acronym{POP} mail server in advance
13040 whenever you send a mail. The @code{mail-source-touch-pop} function
13041 does only a @acronym{POP} authentication according to the value of
13042 @code{mail-sources} without fetching mails, just before sending a mail.
13043 Note that you have to use @code{message-smtpmail-send-it} which runs
13044 @code{message-send-mail-hook} rather than @code{smtpmail-send-it} and
13045 set the value of @code{mail-sources} for a @acronym{POP} connection
13046 correctly. @xref{Mail Sources}.
13048 If you have two or more @acronym{POP} mail servers set in
13049 @code{mail-sources}, you may want to specify one of them to
13050 @code{mail-source-primary-source} as the @acronym{POP} mail server to be
13051 used for the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication. If it
13052 is your primary @acronym{POP} mail server (i.e., you are fetching mails
13053 mainly from that server), you can set it permanently as follows:
13056 (setq mail-source-primary-source
13057 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13058 :password "secret"))
13062 Otherwise, bind it dynamically only when performing the
13063 @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication as follows:
13066 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook
13068 (let ((mail-source-primary-source
13069 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13070 :password "secret")))
13071 (mail-source-touch-pop))))
13074 @node Mail and Post
13075 @section Mail and Post
13077 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
13081 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
13082 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
13083 @cindex mailing lists
13085 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
13086 gatewayed to the @acronym{NNTP} server, you can read those groups without
13087 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
13088 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
13089 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
13090 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
13091 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
13092 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
13093 still a pain, though.
13095 @item gnus-user-agent
13096 @vindex gnus-user-agent
13099 This variable controls which information should be exposed in the
13100 User-Agent header. It can be a list of symbols or a string. Valid
13101 symbols are @code{gnus} (show Gnus version) and @code{emacs} (show Emacs
13102 version). In addition to the Emacs version, you can add @code{codename}
13103 (show (S)XEmacs codename) or either @code{config} (show system
13104 configuration) or @code{type} (show system type). If you set it to a
13105 string, be sure to use a valid format, see RFC 2616.
13109 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
13110 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
13111 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
13114 @findex ispell-message
13116 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
13119 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
13120 you're in, you could say something like the following:
13123 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
13127 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
13128 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
13130 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
13133 Modify to suit your needs.
13135 @vindex gnus-message-highlight-citation
13136 If @code{gnus-message-highlight-citation} is t, different levels of
13137 citations are highlighted like in Gnus article buffers also in message
13140 @node Archived Messages
13141 @section Archived Messages
13142 @cindex archived messages
13143 @cindex sent messages
13145 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
13146 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
13147 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
13148 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
13151 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
13152 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
13155 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
13156 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
13157 use to store sent messages. The default is @code{"archive"}, and when
13158 actually being used it is expanded into:
13161 (nnfolder "archive"
13162 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
13163 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
13164 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
13165 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
13169 @vindex gnus-update-message-archive-method
13170 Note: a server like this is saved in the @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file first
13171 so that it may be used as a real method of the server which is named
13172 @code{"archive"} (that is, for the case where
13173 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} is set to @code{"archive"}) ever
13174 since. If it once has been saved, it will never be updated by default
13175 even if you change the value of @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
13176 afterward. Therefore, the server @code{"archive"} doesn't necessarily
13177 mean the @code{nnfolder} server like this at all times. If you want the
13178 saved method to reflect always the value of
13179 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, set the
13180 @code{gnus-update-message-archive-method} variable to a non-@code{nil}
13181 value. The default value of this variable is @code{nil}.
13184 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
13185 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
13186 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
13187 directory chosen, you could say something like:
13190 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
13191 '(nnfolder "archive"
13192 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
13193 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
13194 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
13197 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
13199 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
13200 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
13201 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
13203 This variable can be used to do the following:
13207 Messages will be saved in that group.
13209 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
13210 message will not be stored in the select method given by
13211 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
13212 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
13213 has the default value shown above. Then setting
13214 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
13215 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
13216 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
13219 @item a list of strings
13220 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
13222 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
13223 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
13226 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
13231 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
13233 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
13236 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
13238 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
13241 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
13243 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
13244 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
13245 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
13246 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
13249 More complex stuff:
13251 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
13252 '((if (message-news-p)
13257 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
13258 messages in one file per month:
13261 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
13262 '((if (message-news-p)
13264 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
13267 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
13268 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
13270 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
13271 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
13272 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
13273 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
13274 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
13275 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
13276 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
13277 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
13278 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
13279 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
13281 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
13282 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
13283 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
13284 this will disable archiving.
13287 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
13288 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
13289 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
13290 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
13291 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
13294 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
13295 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
13296 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
13299 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
13300 but the latter is the preferred method.
13302 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
13303 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
13304 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
13306 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
13307 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
13308 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
13309 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
13310 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
13311 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
13312 changed in the future.
13317 @node Posting Styles
13318 @section Posting Styles
13319 @cindex posting styles
13322 All them variables, they make my head swim.
13324 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
13325 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
13326 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
13329 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
13330 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
13331 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
13332 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
13333 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
13338 (signature "Peace and happiness")
13339 (organization "What me?"))
13341 (signature "Death to everybody"))
13342 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
13343 (organization "Emacs is it")))
13346 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
13347 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
13348 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
13349 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
13350 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
13351 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
13352 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
13353 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
13355 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
13356 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
13357 If it is the form @code{(header @var{match} @var{regexp})}, then Gnus
13358 will look in the original article for a header whose name is
13359 @var{match} and compare that @var{regexp}. @var{match} and
13360 @var{regexp} are strings. (The original article is the one you are
13361 replying or following up to. If you are not composing a reply or a
13362 followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
13363 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with
13364 no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
13365 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
13366 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is
13367 said to @dfn{match}.
13369 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
13370 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. In
13371 addition, you can also use the @code{(@var{name} :file @var{value})}
13372 form or the @code{(@var{name} :value @var{value})} form. Where
13373 @code{:file} signifies @var{value} represents a file name and its
13374 contents should be used as the attribute value, @code{:value} signifies
13375 @var{value} does not represent a file name explicitly. The attribute
13376 name can be one of:
13379 @item @code{signature}
13380 @item @code{signature-file}
13381 @item @code{x-face-file}
13382 @item @code{address}, overriding @code{user-mail-address}
13383 @item @code{name}, overriding @code{(user-full-name)}
13387 Note that the @code{signature-file} attribute honors the variable
13388 @code{message-signature-directory}.
13390 The attribute name can also be a string or a symbol. In that case,
13391 this will be used as a header name, and the value will be inserted in
13392 the headers of the article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header
13393 name will be removed. If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form
13394 is evaluated, and the result is thrown away.
13396 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
13397 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
13398 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
13399 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
13400 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
13401 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
13402 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
13403 references chars lines xref extra.
13405 @vindex message-reply-headers
13407 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
13408 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
13409 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
13411 @findex message-mail-p
13412 @findex message-news-p
13414 So here's a new example:
13417 (setq gnus-posting-styles
13419 (signature-file "~/.signature")
13421 (x-face-file "~/.xface")
13422 (x-url (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
13423 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
13425 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
13426 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; @r{A form}
13427 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
13428 (message-news-p ;; @r{A function symbol}
13429 (signature my-news-signature))
13430 (window-system ;; @r{A value symbol}
13431 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
13432 ;; @r{If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.}
13433 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
13434 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
13435 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; @r{A user defined function}
13436 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
13437 (address "user@@bar.foo")
13438 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
13439 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
13441 (From (save-excursion
13442 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
13443 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
13445 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
13448 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
13449 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
13450 if you fill many roles.
13451 You may also use @code{message-alternative-emails} instead.
13452 @xref{Message Headers, ,Message Headers, message, Message Manual}.
13458 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
13459 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
13460 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
13461 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
13462 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
13464 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
13465 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
13466 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
13467 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
13468 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
13472 @vindex nndraft-directory
13473 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
13474 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
13475 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
13476 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
13477 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
13478 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
13480 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
13481 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
13482 unsubscribe it. The special properties of the draft group comes from
13483 a group property (@pxref{Group Parameters}), and if lost the group
13484 behaves like any other group. This means the commands below will not
13485 be available. To restore the special properties of the group, the
13486 simplest way is to kill the group, using @kbd{C-k}, and restart
13487 Gnus. The group is automatically created again with the
13488 correct parameters. The content of the group is not lost.
13490 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
13491 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
13492 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
13493 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
13494 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
13495 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
13496 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
13497 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
13498 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
13499 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
13500 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
13501 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
13502 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
13503 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
13505 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
13506 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
13507 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
13509 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
13510 @kindex D e (Draft)
13511 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
13512 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
13513 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
13515 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
13518 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
13519 @kindex D s (Draft)
13520 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
13521 @kindex D S (Draft)
13522 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
13523 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
13524 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
13525 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
13526 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
13529 @findex gnus-draft-toggle-sending
13530 @kindex D t (Draft)
13531 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
13532 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
13533 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
13536 @node Rejected Articles
13537 @section Rejected Articles
13538 @cindex rejected articles
13540 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
13541 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
13542 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
13543 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
13545 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
13546 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
13547 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
13548 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
13549 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
13551 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
13552 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
13553 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
13555 @node Signing and encrypting
13556 @section Signing and encrypting
13558 @cindex using s/mime
13559 @cindex using smime
13561 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla
13562 @acronym{PGP} format or @acronym{PGP/MIME} or @acronym{S/MIME}. For
13563 decoding such messages, see the @code{mm-verify-option} and
13564 @code{mm-decrypt-option} options (@pxref{Security}).
13566 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
13567 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
13568 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
13569 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
13570 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
13571 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
13572 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
13573 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
13574 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
13575 automatically encrypted messages.
13577 Instructing @acronym{MML} to perform security operations on a
13578 @acronym{MIME} part is done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for
13579 signing and the @kbd{C-c C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
13584 @kindex C-c C-m s s (Message)
13585 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
13587 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
13590 @kindex C-c C-m s o (Message)
13591 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
13593 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
13596 @kindex C-c C-m s p (Message)
13597 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
13599 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
13602 @kindex C-c C-m c s (Message)
13603 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
13605 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
13608 @kindex C-c C-m c o (Message)
13609 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
13611 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
13614 @kindex C-c C-m c p (Message)
13615 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
13617 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
13620 @kindex C-c C-m C-n (Message)
13621 @findex mml-unsecure-message
13622 Remove security related @acronym{MML} tags from message.
13626 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
13628 @node Select Methods
13629 @chapter Select Methods
13630 @cindex foreign groups
13631 @cindex select methods
13633 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
13634 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
13635 @acronym{NNTP} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
13636 personal mail group.
13638 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
13639 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
13640 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
13641 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
13642 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
13643 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
13645 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
13646 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
13648 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
13651 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @acronym{NNTP} server
13652 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
13653 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
13654 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
13655 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
13657 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
13660 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
13661 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
13662 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
13663 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
13664 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
13665 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
13666 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
13667 * Email Based Diary:: Using mails to manage diary events in Gnus.
13668 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
13672 @node Server Buffer
13673 @section Server Buffer
13675 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
13676 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
13677 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
13678 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
13679 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
13680 back end represents a virtual server.
13682 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
13683 different actual @acronym{NNTP} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
13684 on the same actual @acronym{NNTP} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
13685 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
13687 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
13688 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
13689 @acronym{NNTP} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
13690 hangs if queried for @acronym{NOV} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
13691 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
13692 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
13693 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
13695 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
13696 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
13699 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
13700 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
13701 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
13702 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
13703 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
13704 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
13705 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
13708 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
13709 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
13712 @node Server Buffer Format
13713 @subsection Server Buffer Format
13714 @cindex server buffer format
13716 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
13717 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
13718 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
13719 variable, with some simple extensions:
13724 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
13727 The name of this server.
13730 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
13733 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
13736 Whether this server is agentized.
13739 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
13740 The mode line can also be customized by using the
13741 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
13742 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
13752 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
13755 @node Server Commands
13756 @subsection Server Commands
13757 @cindex server commands
13763 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Server)
13764 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
13765 command or better use it as a prefix key.
13769 @findex gnus-server-add-server
13770 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
13774 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
13775 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
13778 @kindex SPACE (Server)
13779 @findex gnus-server-read-server
13780 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
13784 @findex gnus-server-exit
13785 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
13789 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
13790 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
13794 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
13795 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
13799 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
13800 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
13804 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
13805 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
13809 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
13810 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
13811 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
13816 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
13817 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
13818 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
13819 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
13823 @findex gnus-server-compact-server
13825 Compact all groups in the server under point
13826 (@code{gnus-server-compact-server}). Currently implemented only in
13827 nnml (@pxref{Mail Spool}). This removes gaps between article numbers,
13828 hence getting a correct total article count.
13833 @node Example Methods
13834 @subsection Example Methods
13836 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
13839 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
13842 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
13848 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
13849 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
13852 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
13853 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
13855 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
13856 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
13860 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
13863 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
13864 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
13866 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
13867 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
13868 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
13872 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
13875 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
13878 Here's the method for a public spool:
13882 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
13883 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
13889 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @acronym{NNTP}
13890 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
13891 on the firewall machine and connect with
13892 @uref{http://netcat.sourceforge.net/, netcat} from there to the
13893 @acronym{NNTP} server.
13894 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
13895 should probably look something like this:
13899 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat)
13900 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
13901 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host"))
13904 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
13905 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
13906 configuration to the example above:
13909 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
13912 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}. Here's an example for
13913 an indirect connection:
13916 (setq gnus-select-method
13918 (nntp-address "news.server.example")
13919 (nntp-via-user-name "intermediate_user_name")
13920 (nntp-via-address "intermediate.host.example")
13921 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
13922 (nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches ("-C"))
13923 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat)))
13926 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
13927 provide automatic authorization, of course.
13929 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
13930 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
13931 netcat connection to the news server as follows:
13935 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
13936 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-netcat-stream)
13937 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
13941 @node Creating a Virtual Server
13942 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
13944 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
13945 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
13947 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
13948 would probably be best to use @code{nnml} to read the cache. You
13949 could also use @code{nnspool} or @code{nnmh}, though.
13951 Type @kbd{a nnml RET cache RET}.
13953 You should now have a brand new @code{nnml} virtual server called
13954 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
13955 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
13956 will contain the following:
13966 (nnml-directory "~/News/cache/")
13967 (nnml-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
13970 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
13971 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
13972 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
13975 @node Server Variables
13976 @subsection Server Variables
13977 @cindex server variables
13978 @cindex server parameters
13980 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
13981 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
13982 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
13983 change the ``base'' variable after the variables have been loaded, you
13984 won't change the ``derived'' variables.
13986 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
13987 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
13988 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
13989 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
13990 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
13991 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
13992 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
13993 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
13994 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
13998 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
13999 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
14000 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
14003 Server variables are often called @dfn{server parameters}.
14005 @node Servers and Methods
14006 @subsection Servers and Methods
14008 Wherever you would normally use a select method
14009 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
14010 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
14011 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
14015 @node Unavailable Servers
14016 @subsection Unavailable Servers
14018 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
14019 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
14020 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
14021 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
14022 actually the case or not.
14024 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
14025 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
14026 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
14027 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
14028 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
14029 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
14030 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
14031 it will regard that server as ``down''.
14033 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
14034 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
14036 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
14037 with the following commands:
14043 @findex gnus-server-open-server
14044 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
14045 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
14049 @findex gnus-server-close-server
14050 Close the connection (if any) to the server
14051 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
14055 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
14056 Mark the current server as unreachable
14057 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
14060 @kindex M-o (Server)
14061 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
14062 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
14063 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
14066 @kindex M-c (Server)
14067 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
14068 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
14069 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
14073 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
14074 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
14075 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
14079 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
14080 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
14086 @section Getting News
14087 @cindex reading news
14088 @cindex news back ends
14090 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
14091 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @acronym{NNTP} server,
14092 or it can read from a local spool.
14095 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
14096 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
14104 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @acronym{NNTP} server is rather easy.
14105 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @acronym{NNTP}
14106 server as the, uhm, address.
14108 If the @acronym{NNTP} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
14109 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
14110 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
14111 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14113 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
14114 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
14115 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
14117 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
14122 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
14123 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
14124 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
14126 @cindex authentication
14127 @cindex nntp authentication
14128 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
14129 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
14130 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
14131 commands to the @acronym{NNTP} server after it has been contacted. By
14132 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
14133 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
14134 present in this hook.
14136 @item nntp-authinfo-function
14137 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
14138 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
14139 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
14140 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @acronym{NNTP}
14141 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
14142 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
14143 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
14144 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
14145 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
14146 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
14147 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
14151 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
14154 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
14156 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
14157 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
14158 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
14159 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
14160 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
14161 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
14162 @samp{force} is explained below.
14166 Here's an example file:
14169 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
14170 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
14173 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
14174 have to be first, for instance.
14176 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
14177 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
14178 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
14179 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
14180 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
14181 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
14182 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
14184 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
14185 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
14191 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
14192 previously mentioned.
14194 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
14196 @item nntp-server-action-alist
14197 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
14198 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
14199 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
14200 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
14203 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
14204 '(("innd" (ding))))
14207 You probably don't want to do that, though.
14209 The default value is
14212 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
14213 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
14214 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
14217 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
14218 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
14220 @item nntp-maximum-request
14221 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
14222 If the @acronym{NNTP} server doesn't support @acronym{NOV} headers, this back end
14223 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
14224 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
14225 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
14226 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
14227 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
14229 @item nntp-connection-timeout
14230 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
14231 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
14232 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @acronym{NNTP} servers not
14233 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
14234 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
14235 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
14236 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
14237 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
14238 no timeouts are done.
14240 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
14241 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
14242 If the @acronym{NNTP} server does not support @acronym{NOV}, you could set this
14243 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @acronym{NOV}
14246 @item nntp-xover-commands
14247 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
14248 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
14250 List of strings used as commands to fetch @acronym{NOV} lines from a
14251 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
14255 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
14256 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @acronym{NOV} lines to
14257 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
14258 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
14259 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @acronym{NOV}
14260 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
14261 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
14262 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
14263 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
14264 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
14265 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
14267 @item nntp-xref-number-is-evil
14268 @vindex nntp-xref-number-is-evil
14269 When Gnus refers to an article having the @code{Message-ID} that a user
14270 specifies or having the @code{Message-ID} of the parent article of the
14271 current one (@pxref{Finding the Parent}), Gnus sends a @code{HEAD}
14272 command to the @acronym{NNTP} server to know where it is, and the server
14273 returns the data containing the pairs of a group and an article number
14274 in the @code{Xref} header. Gnus normally uses the article number to
14275 refer to the article if the data shows that that article is in the
14276 current group, while it uses the @code{Message-ID} otherwise. However,
14277 some news servers, e.g., ones running Diablo, run multiple engines
14278 having the same articles but article numbers are not kept synchronized
14279 between them. In that case, the article number that appears in the
14280 @code{Xref} header varies by which engine is chosen, so you cannot refer
14281 to the parent article that is in the current group, for instance. If
14282 you connect to such a server, set this variable to a non-@code{nil}
14283 value, and Gnus never uses article numbers. For example:
14286 (setq gnus-select-method
14288 (nntp-address "newszilla.example.com")
14289 (nntp-xref-number-is-evil t)
14293 The default value of this server variable is @code{nil}.
14295 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
14296 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
14297 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @acronym{NNTP} server.
14299 @item nntp-record-commands
14300 @vindex nntp-record-commands
14301 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
14302 @acronym{NNTP} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
14303 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@acronym{NNTP} connection
14304 that doesn't seem to work.
14306 @item nntp-open-connection-function
14307 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
14308 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
14309 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
14310 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
14311 Seven pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped
14312 in two categories: direct connection functions (four pre-made), and
14313 indirect ones (three pre-made).
14315 @item nntp-never-echoes-commands
14316 @vindex nntp-never-echoes-commands
14317 Non-@code{nil} means the nntp server never echoes commands. It is
14318 reported that some nntps server doesn't echo commands. So, you may want
14319 to set this to non-@code{nil} in the method for such a server setting
14320 @code{nntp-open-connection-function} to @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream} for
14321 example. The default value is @code{nil}. Note that the
14322 @code{nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands} variable
14323 overrides the @code{nil} value of this variable.
14325 @item nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands
14326 @vindex nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands
14327 List of functions that never echo commands. Add or set a function which
14328 you set to @code{nntp-open-connection-function} to this list if it does
14329 not echo commands. Note that a non-@code{nil} value of the
14330 @code{nntp-never-echoes-commands} variable overrides this variable. The
14331 default value is @code{(nntp-open-network-stream)}.
14333 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
14334 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
14335 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
14336 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
14337 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
14338 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
14339 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
14342 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
14345 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
14346 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
14351 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
14352 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
14353 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
14354 * NNTP marks:: Storing marks for @acronym{NNTP} servers.
14358 @node Direct Functions
14359 @subsubsection Direct Functions
14360 @cindex direct connection functions
14362 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
14363 between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server. The behavior of these
14364 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
14365 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
14368 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
14369 @item nntp-open-network-stream
14370 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
14373 @findex nntp-open-tls-stream
14374 @item nntp-open-tls-stream
14375 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
14376 this you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/, GNUTLS}
14377 installed. You then define a server as follows:
14380 ;; @r{"nntps" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
14381 ;; @r{however, @samp{gnutls-cli -p} doesn't like named ports.}
14383 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
14384 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-tls-stream)
14385 (nntp-port-number )
14386 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
14389 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
14390 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
14391 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
14392 this you must have @uref{http://www.openssl.org, OpenSSL} or
14393 @uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL, SSLeay} installed. You
14394 then define a server as follows:
14397 ;; @r{"snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
14398 ;; @r{however, @samp{openssl s_client -port} doesn't like named ports.}
14400 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
14401 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
14402 (nntp-port-number 563)
14403 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
14406 @findex nntp-open-netcat-stream
14407 @item nntp-open-netcat-stream
14408 Opens a connection to an @acronym{NNTP} server using the @code{netcat}
14409 program. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have
14410 the default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
14411 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
14412 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
14413 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
14417 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
14418 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-netcat-stream)
14419 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
14422 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
14423 session, which is not a good idea.
14425 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
14426 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
14427 Like @code{nntp-open-netcat-stream}, but uses @code{telnet} rather than
14428 @code{netcat}. @code{telnet} is a bit less robust because of things
14429 like line-end-conversion, but sometimes netcat is simply
14430 not available. The previous example would turn into:
14434 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
14435 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
14436 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
14437 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
14442 @node Indirect Functions
14443 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
14444 @cindex indirect connection functions
14446 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
14447 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
14448 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
14449 the ``via'' family of connection: they're all prefixed with ``via'' to make
14450 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
14451 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
14454 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
14455 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
14456 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then uses @code{netcat} to connect
14457 to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from there. This is useful for instance if
14458 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
14460 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat}-specific variables:
14463 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
14464 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
14465 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
14466 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
14468 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
14469 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
14470 List of strings to be used as the switches to
14471 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
14472 @samp{ssh} for @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}, you may set this to
14473 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections.
14476 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
14477 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
14478 Does essentially the same, but uses @code{telnet} instead of @samp{netcat}
14479 to connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the intermediate host.
14480 @code{telnet} is a bit less robust because of things like
14481 line-end-conversion, but sometimes @code{netcat} is simply not available.
14483 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
14486 @item nntp-telnet-command
14487 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
14488 Command used to connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the
14489 intermediate host. The default is @samp{telnet}.
14491 @item nntp-telnet-switches
14492 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
14493 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
14494 @code{nntp-telnet-command} command. The default is @code{("-8")}.
14496 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
14497 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
14498 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
14499 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
14501 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
14502 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
14503 List of strings to be used as the switches to
14504 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. If you use @samp{ssh}, you may need to set
14505 this to @samp{("-t" "-e" "none")} or @samp{("-C" "-t" "-e" "none")} if
14506 the telnet command requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate
14507 host. The default is @code{nil}.
14510 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
14511 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
14513 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
14514 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
14515 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
14516 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
14518 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
14521 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
14522 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
14523 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
14526 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
14527 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
14528 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
14529 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
14531 @item nntp-via-user-password
14532 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
14533 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
14535 @item nntp-via-envuser
14536 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
14537 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
14538 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
14539 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
14541 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
14542 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
14543 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
14544 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
14548 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
14549 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
14553 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
14558 @item nntp-via-user-name
14559 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
14560 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
14562 @item nntp-via-address
14563 @vindex nntp-via-address
14564 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
14569 @node Common Variables
14570 @subsubsection Common Variables
14572 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
14573 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
14574 affected (the values of the following variables will be used as the
14575 default if each virtual @code{nntp} server doesn't specify those server
14576 variables individually).
14580 @item nntp-pre-command
14581 @vindex nntp-pre-command
14582 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native
14583 connection function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream},
14584 @code{nntp-open-tls-stream}, and @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}). This is
14585 where you would put a @samp{SOCKS} wrapper for instance.
14588 @vindex nntp-address
14589 The address of the @acronym{NNTP} server.
14591 @item nntp-port-number
14592 @vindex nntp-port-number
14593 Port number to connect to the @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
14594 @samp{nntp}. If you use @acronym{NNTP} over
14595 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you may want to use integer ports rather
14596 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews} or
14597 @samp{nntps}), because external @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} tools may
14598 not work with named ports.
14600 @item nntp-end-of-line
14601 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
14602 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @acronym{NNTP}
14603 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
14604 using a non native telnet connection function.
14606 @item nntp-netcat-command
14607 @vindex nntp-netcat-command
14608 Command to use when connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server through
14609 @samp{netcat}. This is @emph{not} for an intermediate host. This is
14610 just for the real @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
14613 @item nntp-netcat-switches
14614 @vindex nntp-netcat-switches
14615 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-netcat-command}. The default
14621 @subsubsection NNTP marks
14622 @cindex storing NNTP marks
14624 Gnus stores marks (@pxref{Marking Articles}) for @acronym{NNTP}
14625 servers in marks files. A marks file records what marks you have set
14626 in a group and each file is specific to the corresponding server.
14627 Marks files are stored in @file{~/News/marks}
14628 (@code{nntp-marks-directory}) under a classic hierarchy resembling
14629 that of a news server, for example marks for the group
14630 @samp{gmane.discuss} on the news.gmane.org server will be stored in
14631 the file @file{~/News/marks/news.gmane.org/gmane/discuss/.marks}.
14633 Marks files are useful because you can copy the @file{~/News/marks}
14634 directory (using rsync, scp or whatever) to another Gnus installation,
14635 and it will realize what articles you have read and marked. The data
14636 in @file{~/News/marks} has priority over the same data in
14637 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
14639 Note that marks files are very much server-specific: Gnus remembers
14640 the article numbers so if you don't use the same servers on both
14641 installations things are most likely to break (most @acronym{NNTP}
14642 servers do not use the same article numbers as any other server).
14643 However, if you use servers A, B, C on one installation and servers A,
14644 D, E on the other, you can sync the marks files for A and then you'll
14645 get synchronization for that server between the two installations.
14647 Using @acronym{NNTP} marks can possibly incur a performance penalty so
14648 if Gnus feels sluggish, try setting the @code{nntp-marks-is-evil}
14649 variable to @code{t}. Marks will then be stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
14655 @item nntp-marks-is-evil
14656 @vindex nntp-marks-is-evil
14657 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any marks files. The
14658 default is @code{nil}.
14660 @item nntp-marks-directory
14661 @vindex nntp-marks-directory
14662 The directory where marks for nntp groups will be stored.
14668 @subsection News Spool
14672 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
14673 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
14674 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
14677 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
14678 anything else) as the address.
14680 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
14681 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
14682 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
14683 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
14687 @item nnspool-inews-program
14688 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
14689 Program used to post an article.
14691 @item nnspool-inews-switches
14692 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
14693 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
14695 @item nnspool-spool-directory
14696 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
14697 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
14698 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
14700 @item nnspool-nov-directory
14701 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
14702 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @acronym{NOV} files. This is normally@*
14703 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
14705 @item nnspool-lib-dir
14706 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
14707 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
14709 @item nnspool-active-file
14710 @vindex nnspool-active-file
14711 The name of the active file.
14713 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
14714 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
14715 The name of the group descriptions file.
14717 @item nnspool-history-file
14718 @vindex nnspool-history-file
14719 The name of the news history file.
14721 @item nnspool-active-times-file
14722 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
14723 The name of the active date file.
14725 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
14726 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
14727 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @acronym{NOV} files
14730 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
14731 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
14733 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
14734 relevant portion from the overview file. If @code{nil},
14735 @code{nnspool} will load the entire file into a buffer and process it
14742 @section Getting Mail
14743 @cindex reading mail
14746 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
14750 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
14751 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
14752 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
14753 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
14754 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
14755 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
14756 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
14757 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
14758 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
14759 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
14760 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
14761 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
14762 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
14766 @node Mail in a Newsreader
14767 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
14769 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
14770 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
14771 of a culture shock.
14773 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
14774 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
14776 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
14777 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
14778 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
14779 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
14781 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
14783 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
14784 deleted? How awful!
14786 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
14787 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
14788 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
14789 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @ref{Expiring
14792 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
14793 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
14794 they want to treat a message.
14796 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
14797 via @acronym{SMTP}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
14798 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
14799 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
14800 archived somewhere else.
14802 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
14803 These are transported via @acronym{NNTP}, and are therefore news. But we may need
14804 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
14805 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
14806 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
14808 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
14809 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
14810 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
14812 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
14813 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
14816 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
14817 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
14818 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
14819 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
14820 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
14822 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
14823 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
14824 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
14825 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
14826 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
14827 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
14831 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
14832 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
14834 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
14835 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
14836 and things will happen automatically.
14838 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a ``one file per
14839 mail'' back end), you could put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
14842 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
14845 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
14846 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
14847 directory, which is @file{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
14848 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
14849 like any other group.
14851 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
14854 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14855 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
14856 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
14860 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
14861 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
14862 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
14865 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
14866 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
14867 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
14870 @node Splitting Mail
14871 @subsection Splitting Mail
14872 @cindex splitting mail
14873 @cindex mail splitting
14874 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
14876 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
14877 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
14878 to be split into groups.
14881 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14882 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
14883 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
14884 ("mail.other" "")))
14887 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
14888 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
14889 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
14890 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
14891 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
14892 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
14893 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
14896 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
14900 In that case, @code{nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded} controls whether
14901 the inserted text should be made lowercase. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
14903 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
14904 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
14905 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
14906 mail belongs in that group.
14908 @cindex @samp{bogus} group
14909 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
14910 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{""} so that it matches any mails
14911 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
14912 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first rule
14913 to make a match will ``win'', unless you have crossposting enabled. In
14914 that case, all matching rules will ``win''.) If no rule matched, the mail
14915 will end up in the @samp{bogus} group. When new groups are created by
14916 splitting mail, you may want to run @code{gnus-group-find-new-groups} to
14917 see the new groups. This also applies to the @samp{bogus} group.
14919 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
14920 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
14921 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
14922 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
14923 thinks should carry this mail message.
14925 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
14926 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
14927 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
14928 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
14930 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
14931 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
14932 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
14933 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
14934 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{""}) group.
14936 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
14939 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
14940 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
14941 links. If that's the case for you, set
14942 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
14943 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
14945 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
14946 @findex nnmail-split-history
14947 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
14948 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
14949 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
14950 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
14953 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
14954 Header lines longer than the value of
14955 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
14958 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
14959 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
14960 By default, splitting does not decode headers, so you can not match on
14961 non-@acronym{ASCII} strings. But it is useful if you want to match
14962 articles based on the raw header data. To enable it, set the
14963 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} variable to a non-@code{nil} value.
14964 In addition, the value of the @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset}
14965 variable is used for decoding non-@acronym{MIME} encoded string when
14966 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} is non-@code{nil}. The default
14967 value is @code{nil} which means not to decode non-@acronym{MIME} encoded
14968 string. A suitable value for you will be @code{undecided} or be the
14969 charset used normally in mails you are interested in.
14971 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
14972 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If you
14973 specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable @code{mail-sources}
14974 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}), however, then splitting does
14975 @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
14976 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-@code{nil} value to make
14977 splitting happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on
14978 other kinds of entries.)
14980 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
14981 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
14982 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
14983 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
14984 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
14985 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
14986 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
14987 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
14988 month's rent money.
14992 @subsection Mail Sources
14994 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from
14995 a @acronym{POP} mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a
14996 maildir, for instance.
14999 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
15000 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
15001 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
15005 @node Mail Source Specifiers
15006 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
15008 @cindex mail server
15011 @cindex mail source
15013 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
15014 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
15019 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
15022 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
15023 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
15024 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
15027 The @code{mail-sources} is global for all mail groups. You can specify
15028 an additional mail source for a particular group by including the
15029 @code{group} mail specifier in @code{mail-sources}, and setting a
15030 @code{mail-source} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) specifying
15031 a single mail source. When this is used, @code{mail-sources} is
15032 typically just @code{(group)}; the @code{mail-source} parameter for a
15033 group might look like this:
15036 (mail-source . (file :path "home/user/spools/foo.spool"))
15039 This means that the group's (and only this group's) messages will be
15040 fetched from the spool file @samp{/user/spools/foo.spool}.
15042 The following mail source types are available:
15046 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
15052 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @env{MAIL}
15053 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
15054 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
15058 Script run before/after fetching mail.
15061 An example file mail source:
15064 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
15067 Or using the default file name:
15073 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best
15074 to use @acronym{POP} or @acronym{IMAP} or the like to fetch the mail.
15075 You can not use ange-ftp file names here---it has no way to lock the
15076 mail spool while moving the mail.
15078 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
15082 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
15085 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
15089 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
15092 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
15094 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
15097 Alter this script to fit the @samp{movemail} and temporary
15098 file you want to use.
15102 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
15103 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used
15104 when you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
15105 That is, there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that
15106 directory and groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool}
15107 will be put in the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix
15108 to be used instead of @code{.spool}.) Setting
15109 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-@code{nil} forces
15110 Gnus to scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful
15111 if you want to scan mail groups at a specified level.
15113 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
15114 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
15115 that to a non-@code{nil} value, then the normal splitting process is
15116 applied to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
15122 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
15126 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
15130 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
15131 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
15132 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
15133 predicate are considered.
15137 Script run before/after fetching mail.
15141 An example directory mail source:
15144 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
15149 Get mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
15155 The name of the @acronym{POP} server. The default is taken from the
15156 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
15159 The port number of the @acronym{POP} server. This can be a number (eg,
15160 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
15161 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
15162 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
15163 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
15166 The user name to give to the @acronym{POP} server. The default is the login
15170 The password to give to the @acronym{POP} server. If not specified,
15171 the user is prompted.
15174 The program to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. This
15175 should be a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
15178 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
15181 The valid format specifier characters are:
15185 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
15186 included in this string.
15189 The name of the server.
15192 The port number of the server.
15195 The user name to use.
15198 The password to use.
15201 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
15202 corresponding keywords.
15205 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
15206 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
15209 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
15210 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
15213 The function to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. The
15214 function is called with one parameter---the name of the file where the
15215 mail should be moved to.
15217 @item :authentication
15218 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
15219 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
15224 @vindex pop3-movemail
15225 @vindex pop3-leave-mail-on-server
15226 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
15227 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used. If @code{pop3-leave-mail-on-server}
15228 is non-@code{nil} the mail is to be left on the @acronym{POP} server
15229 after fetching when using @code{pop3-movemail}. Note that POP servers
15230 maintain no state information between sessions, so what the client
15231 believes is there and what is actually there may not match up. If they
15232 do not, then you may get duplicate mails or the whole thing can fall
15233 apart and leave you with a corrupt mailbox.
15235 Here are some examples for getting mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
15236 Fetch from the default @acronym{POP} server, using the default user
15237 name, and default fetcher:
15243 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
15246 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
15247 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
15250 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
15253 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
15257 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
15258 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
15259 contains exactly one mail.
15265 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
15266 taken from the @env{MAILDIR} environment variable or
15269 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
15270 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
15272 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
15273 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
15274 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
15277 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
15278 from locking problems).
15282 Two example maildir mail sources:
15285 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
15286 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
15290 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
15295 Get mail from a @acronym{IMAP} server. If you don't want to use
15296 @acronym{IMAP} as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie
15297 with nnimap), for some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar
15298 to a @acronym{POP} server and fetches articles from a given
15299 @acronym{IMAP} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for more information.
15301 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} and STARTTLS support you
15302 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
15308 The name of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is taken from the
15309 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
15312 The port number of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
15313 @samp{993} for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} connections.
15316 The user name to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is the login
15320 The password to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. If not specified, the user is
15324 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
15325 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
15326 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{tls},
15327 @samp{ssl}, @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
15329 @item :authentication
15330 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
15331 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
15332 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
15333 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
15336 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
15337 mapped into the @code{imap-shell-program} variable. This should be a
15338 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
15344 Make sure nothing is interfering with the output of the program, e.g.,
15345 don't forget to redirect the error output to the void. The valid format
15346 specifier characters are:
15350 The name of the server.
15353 User name from @code{imap-default-user}.
15356 The port number of the server.
15359 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
15360 corresponding keywords.
15363 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
15364 which normally is the mailbox which receives incoming mail.
15367 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
15368 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
15369 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @acronym{IMAP} client and mark some
15370 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
15371 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
15372 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
15375 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
15376 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
15377 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
15378 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
15381 If non-@code{nil}, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the
15382 mailbox after finishing the fetch.
15386 An example @acronym{IMAP} mail source:
15389 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
15391 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
15395 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{http://www.hotmail.com/},
15396 @uref{http://webmail.netscape.com/}, @uref{http://www.netaddress.com/},
15397 @uref{http://mail.yahoo.com/}.
15399 NOTE: Webmail largely depends on cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
15400 required for url "4.0pre.46".
15402 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
15408 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
15409 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
15412 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
15416 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
15420 If non-@code{nil}, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to
15421 trash folder after finishing the fetch.
15425 An example webmail source:
15428 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
15430 :password "secret")
15434 Get the actual mail source from the @code{mail-source} group parameter,
15435 @xref{Group Parameters}.
15440 @item Common Keywords
15441 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
15447 If non-@code{nil}, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you
15448 use directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this
15453 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
15458 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
15459 useful when you use local mail and news.
15464 @subsubsection Function Interface
15466 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
15467 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
15468 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
15469 consider the following mail-source setting:
15472 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
15473 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
15476 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
15477 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
15478 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
15479 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
15480 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
15482 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
15485 @node Mail Source Customization
15486 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
15488 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
15489 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
15493 @item mail-source-crash-box
15494 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
15495 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is@*
15496 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
15499 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
15500 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
15501 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them. If
15502 @code{t}, delete the files immediately, if @code{nil}, never delete any
15503 files. If a positive number, delete files older than number of days
15504 (the deletion will only happen when receiving new mail). You may also
15505 set @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} to @code{nil} and call
15506 @code{mail-source-delete-old-incoming} from a hook or interactively.
15507 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{10} in alpha Gnusae
15508 and @code{2} in released Gnusae. @xref{Gnus Development}.
15510 @item mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
15511 @vindex mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
15512 If non-@code{nil}, ask for confirmation before deleting old incoming
15513 files. This variable only applies when
15514 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is a positive number.
15516 @item mail-source-ignore-errors
15517 @vindex mail-source-ignore-errors
15518 If non-@code{nil}, ignore errors when reading mail from a mail source.
15520 @item mail-source-directory
15521 @vindex mail-source-directory
15522 Directory where incoming mail source files (if any) will be stored. The
15523 default is @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for
15524 is to say where the incoming files will be stored if the variable
15525 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil} or a number.
15527 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
15528 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
15529 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
15530 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
15531 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
15532 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil} or a
15535 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
15536 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
15537 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
15539 @item mail-source-movemail-program
15540 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
15541 If non-@code{nil}, name of program for fetching new mail. If
15542 @code{nil}, @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
15547 @node Fetching Mail
15548 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
15550 @vindex mail-sources
15551 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
15552 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
15553 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
15555 If this variable is @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to
15556 fetch mail by themselves.
15558 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a
15559 @acronym{POP} mail server, you'd say something like:
15564 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
15565 :password "secret")))
15568 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
15572 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
15573 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
15576 :password "secret")))
15580 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
15581 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
15582 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
15583 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
15584 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
15585 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
15589 @node Mail Back End Variables
15590 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
15592 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
15596 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
15597 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
15598 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
15599 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
15601 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
15602 @item nnmail-split-hook
15603 @findex gnus-article-decode-encoded-words
15604 @cindex RFC 1522 decoding
15605 @cindex RFC 2047 decoding
15606 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
15607 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
15608 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
15609 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
15610 in the buffer will show up in any files.
15611 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
15614 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
15615 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
15616 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
15617 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
15618 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
15619 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
15620 starting to handle the new mail) and
15621 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
15622 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
15623 default file modes the new mail files get:
15626 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
15627 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
15629 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
15630 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
15633 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
15634 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
15635 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
15636 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
15637 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
15638 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
15639 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
15641 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
15642 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
15643 @findex delete-file
15644 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
15646 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
15647 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
15648 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
15649 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
15650 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
15652 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
15653 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
15654 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
15655 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
15656 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
15658 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
15659 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
15660 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
15665 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
15666 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
15667 @cindex mail splitting
15668 @cindex fancy mail splitting
15670 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
15671 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
15672 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
15673 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
15674 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
15675 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
15677 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
15680 ;; @r{Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of}
15681 ;; @r{the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group}
15682 ;; @r{from real errors.}
15683 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
15685 ;; @r{Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant}
15686 ;; @r{groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the}
15687 ;; @r{(ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.}
15688 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
15689 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
15690 ;; @r{Other mailing lists@dots{}}
15691 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
15692 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
15693 ;; @r{Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent}
15694 ;; @r{cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to}
15695 ;; @r{the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the}
15696 ;; @r{message was really cross-posted.}
15697 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
15698 (any "mypackage@@somewhere" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
15699 ;; @r{People@dots{}}
15700 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
15701 ;; @r{Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.}
15705 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a
15706 (possibly) recursive structure where each split may contain other
15707 splits. Here are the possible split syntaxes:
15712 If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name. Normal
15713 regexp match expansion will be done. See below for examples.
15715 @c Don't fold this line.
15716 @item (@var{field} @var{value} [- @var{restrict} [@dots{}] ] @var{split} [@var{invert-partial}])
15717 The split can be a list containing at least three elements. If the
15718 first element @var{field} (a regexp matching a header) contains
15719 @var{value} (also a regexp) then store the message as specified by
15722 If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp) matches some string after
15723 @var{field} and before the end of the matched @var{value}, the
15724 @var{split} is ignored. If none of the @var{restrict} clauses match,
15725 @var{split} is processed.
15727 The last element @var{invert-partial} is optional. If it is
15728 non-@code{nil}, the match-partial-words behavior controlled by the
15729 variable @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} (see below) is
15730 be inverted. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
15732 @item (| @var{split} @dots{})
15733 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{|} (vertical
15734 bar), then process each @var{split} until one of them matches. A
15735 @var{split} is said to match if it will cause the mail message to be
15736 stored in one or more groups.
15738 @item (& @var{split} @dots{})
15739 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{&}, then
15740 process all @var{split}s in the list.
15743 If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save (i.e., delete)
15744 this message. Use with extreme caution.
15746 @item (: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})
15747 If the split is a list, and the first element is @samp{:}, then the
15748 second element will be called as a function with @var{args} given as
15749 arguments. The function should return a @var{split}.
15752 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
15753 body of the messages:
15756 (defun split-on-body ()
15760 (goto-char (point-min))
15761 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
15765 The buffer is narrowed to the header of the message in question when
15766 @var{function} is run. That's why @code{(widen)} needs to be called
15767 after @code{save-excursion} and @code{save-restriction} in the example
15768 above. Also note that with the nnimap backend, message bodies will
15769 not be downloaded by default. You need to set
15770 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
15771 (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}).
15773 @item (! @var{func} @var{split})
15774 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{!}, then
15775 @var{split} will be processed, and @var{func} will be called as a
15776 function with the result of @var{split} as argument. @var{func}
15777 should return a split.
15780 If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
15784 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
15786 Normally, @var{value} in these splits must match a complete @emph{word}
15787 according to the fundamental mode syntax table. In other words, all
15788 @var{value}'s will be implicitly surrounded by @code{\<...\>} markers,
15789 which are word delimiters. Therefore, if you use the following split,
15793 (any "joe" "joemail")
15797 messages sent from @samp{joedavis@@foo.org} will normally not be filed
15798 in @samp{joemail}. If you want to alter this behavior, you can use any
15799 of the following three ways:
15803 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words
15804 You can set the @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} variable
15805 to non-@code{nil} in order to ignore word boundaries and instead the
15806 match becomes more like a grep. This variable controls whether partial
15807 words are matched during fancy splitting. The default value is
15810 Note that it influences all @var{value}'s in your split rules.
15813 @var{value} beginning with @code{.*} ignores word boundaries in front of
15814 a word. Similarly, if @var{value} ends with @code{.*}, word boundaries
15815 in the rear of a word will be ignored. For example, the @var{value}
15816 @code{"@@example\\.com"} does not match @samp{foo@@example.com} but
15817 @code{".*@@example\\.com"} does.
15820 You can set the @var{invert-partial} flag in your split rules of the
15821 @samp{(@var{field} @var{value} @dots{})} types, aforementioned in this
15822 section. If the flag is set, word boundaries on both sides of a word
15823 are ignored even if @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} is
15824 @code{nil}. Contrarily, if the flag is set, word boundaries are not
15825 ignored even if @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} is
15826 non-@code{nil}. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
15829 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
15830 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be Lisp symbols, in that case
15831 they are expanded as specified by the variable
15832 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells,
15833 where the @sc{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @sc{cdr}
15834 contains the associated value. Predefined entries in
15835 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist} include:
15839 Matches the @samp{From}, @samp{Sender} and @samp{Resent-From} fields.
15841 Matches the @samp{To}, @samp{Cc}, @samp{Apparently-To},
15842 @samp{Resent-To} and @samp{Resent-Cc} fields.
15844 Is the union of the @code{from} and @code{to} entries.
15847 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
15848 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
15849 when all this splitting is performed.
15851 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
15852 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
15853 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
15856 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
15859 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
15860 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
15862 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
15863 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
15864 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
15865 groupings 1 through 9.
15867 @vindex nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded
15868 Where @code{nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded} controls whether the
15869 lowercase of the matched string should be used for the substitution.
15870 Setting it as non-@code{nil} is useful to avoid the creation of multiple
15871 groups when users send to an address using different case
15872 (i.e. mailing-list@@domain vs Mailing-List@@Domain). The default value
15875 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
15876 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
15877 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
15878 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
15879 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
15880 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
15881 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
15882 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
15883 it once per thread.
15885 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates}
15886 and @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-@code{nil}
15887 value. And then you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}
15888 using the colon feature, like so:
15890 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; @r{or @code{delete}}
15891 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
15893 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
15894 ;; @r{other splits go here}
15898 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
15899 non-@code{nil}, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees
15900 in the file specified by the variable
15901 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, together with the group it is in
15902 (the group is omitted for non-mail messages). When mail splitting is
15903 invoked, the function @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks
15904 at the References (and In-Reply-To) header of each message to split
15905 and searches the file specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}
15906 for the message ids. When it has found a parent, it returns the
15907 corresponding group name unless the group name matches the regexp
15908 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is
15909 recommended that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a
15910 somewhat higher number than the default so that the message ids are
15911 still in the cache. (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some
15912 300 kBytes in size.)
15913 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
15914 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
15915 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
15916 messages goes into the new group.
15918 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
15919 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
15920 outgoing messages are written to an ``outgoing'' group, you could set
15921 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
15922 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
15923 ``outgoing'' group.
15926 @node Group Mail Splitting
15927 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
15928 @cindex mail splitting
15929 @cindex group mail splitting
15931 @findex gnus-group-split
15932 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
15933 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
15934 You just have to set @code{to-list} and/or @code{to-address} in group
15935 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
15936 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
15937 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
15938 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @code{to-list} or
15939 @code{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
15941 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
15942 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @code{extra-aliases} group
15943 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
15944 rather use a regular expression, set @code{split-regexp}.
15946 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
15947 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
15948 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
15949 @code{to-list}, @code{to-address}, all of @code{extra-aliases} and all
15950 matches of @code{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
15951 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
15952 @code{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
15954 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
15955 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
15956 parameter @code{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
15957 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
15958 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @code{split-spec} may be set to
15959 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
15960 @code{gnus-group-split}.
15962 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
15963 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
15964 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
15965 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
15966 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
15967 some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
15968 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
15969 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
15970 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
15971 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
15972 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
15973 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
15974 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
15976 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
15981 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
15982 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
15984 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
15985 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
15986 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
15987 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
15989 ((split-spec . catch-all))
15992 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
15993 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
15994 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
15997 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
15998 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
15999 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
16003 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
16004 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
16005 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
16009 (: gnus-group-split-fancy @var{groups} @var{no-crosspost} @var{catch-all})
16012 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
16013 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
16014 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
16015 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fall back
16016 fancy split, used like @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
16017 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @code{split-regexp} matches the
16018 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
16019 Otherwise, if some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
16020 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
16022 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
16023 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
16024 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
16025 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
16026 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
16027 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
16028 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
16029 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
16030 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
16032 @findex gnus-group-split-update
16033 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
16034 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
16035 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
16036 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
16037 you. For example, add to your @file{~/.gnus.el}:
16040 (gnus-group-split-setup @var{auto-update} @var{catch-all})
16043 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
16044 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
16045 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
16046 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
16047 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
16050 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
16051 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
16052 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
16053 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
16055 @node Incorporating Old Mail
16056 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
16057 @cindex incorporating old mail
16058 @cindex import old mail
16060 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
16061 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
16062 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
16065 Doing so can be quite easy.
16067 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
16068 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
16069 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
16070 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
16071 your @code{nnml} groups.
16077 Go to the group buffer.
16080 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
16081 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
16084 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
16087 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
16088 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
16091 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
16092 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
16095 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
16096 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
16097 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
16098 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
16099 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
16101 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
16102 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
16103 using the new mail back end.
16106 @node Expiring Mail
16107 @subsection Expiring Mail
16108 @cindex article expiry
16109 @cindex expiring mail
16111 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
16112 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
16113 different approach to mail reading.
16115 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
16116 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
16117 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
16118 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
16119 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
16120 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
16123 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
16124 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default key bindings, this means
16125 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
16126 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
16127 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
16128 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
16129 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
16130 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
16131 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
16133 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
16134 two features, called ``auto-expire'' and ``total-expire'', that can help you
16135 with this. In a nutshell, ``auto-expire'' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
16136 for you when you select an article. And ``total-expire'' means that Gnus
16137 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
16138 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
16139 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
16142 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
16143 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
16144 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
16145 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
16146 into its own group.)
16148 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
16149 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
16150 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
16151 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
16152 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
16153 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
16154 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive
16155 Scoring}). Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
16158 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
16159 Groups that match the regular expression
16160 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
16161 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
16162 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
16164 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
16165 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
16166 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
16167 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
16168 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
16170 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
16172 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
16173 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
16174 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
16177 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
16178 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
16179 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
16180 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
16181 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
16183 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
16184 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
16187 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
16188 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
16191 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
16192 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
16194 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
16195 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
16196 don't really mix very well.
16198 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
16199 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
16200 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
16201 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
16204 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
16205 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
16206 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
16207 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
16210 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
16212 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
16214 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
16216 ((string= group "mail.junk")
16218 ((string= group "important")
16224 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
16225 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
16227 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
16228 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
16229 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
16232 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
16233 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
16235 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
16236 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
16237 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
16238 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
16239 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
16240 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
16241 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
16242 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
16243 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
16244 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
16245 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
16246 from as its parameter) which should return a target---either a group
16247 name or @code{delete}.
16249 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
16251 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
16254 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
16255 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
16256 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
16257 expire mail to groups according to the variable
16258 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
16261 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
16262 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
16263 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
16264 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
16265 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
16268 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
16269 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
16270 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
16271 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
16272 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
16273 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
16275 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
16276 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
16277 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
16278 easier for procmail users.
16280 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
16281 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
16282 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
16283 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
16284 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
16285 caution. Even more dangerous is the
16286 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
16287 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
16288 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
16289 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
16290 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
16291 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
16292 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
16295 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
16297 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
16298 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
16299 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
16300 auto-expire turned on.
16304 @subsection Washing Mail
16305 @cindex mail washing
16306 @cindex list server brain damage
16307 @cindex incoming mail treatment
16309 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
16310 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
16311 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
16312 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
16313 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
16314 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
16316 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
16317 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
16318 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
16321 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
16322 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
16323 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
16324 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
16327 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
16328 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
16329 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
16330 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
16331 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
16334 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
16335 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
16336 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
16337 Emacs running on MS machines.
16341 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
16342 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
16343 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
16344 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
16347 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
16348 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
16349 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
16350 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
16352 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
16353 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
16354 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
16355 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
16356 into a feature by documenting it.)
16358 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
16359 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
16360 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
16361 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
16362 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
16363 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
16364 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
16367 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
16368 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
16371 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
16372 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
16375 This can also be done non-destructively with
16376 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
16378 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
16379 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
16380 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
16382 @item nnmail-ignore-broken-references
16383 @findex nnmail-ignore-broken-references
16384 @c @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
16387 Some mail user agents (e.g. Eudora and Pegasus) produce broken
16388 @code{References} headers, but correct @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This
16389 function will get rid of the @code{References} header if the headers
16390 contain a line matching the regular expression
16391 @code{nnmail-broken-references-mailers}.
16395 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
16396 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
16397 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
16401 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
16402 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
16403 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
16410 @subsection Duplicates
16412 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
16413 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
16414 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
16415 @cindex duplicate mails
16416 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
16417 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
16418 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
16419 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
16420 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
16421 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
16422 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
16423 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
16424 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
16425 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
16426 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
16427 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
16428 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
16430 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
16431 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
16432 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
16433 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
16435 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
16438 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
16439 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
16443 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
16444 '(| ;; @r{Messages duplicates go to a separate group.}
16445 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
16446 ;; @r{Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.}
16447 (any mail "mail.misc")
16448 ;; @r{Other rules.}
16454 (setq nnmail-split-methods
16455 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
16456 ;; @r{Other rules.}
16460 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
16461 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
16462 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
16463 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
16464 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
16467 @node Not Reading Mail
16468 @subsection Not Reading Mail
16470 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
16471 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
16472 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
16474 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
16475 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
16476 mail, which should help.
16478 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
16479 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
16480 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
16481 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
16482 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
16483 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
16484 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old (pre-Emacs
16485 23) Rmail file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
16486 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
16487 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
16488 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
16490 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
16491 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
16495 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
16496 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
16498 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
16499 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
16500 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
16502 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
16503 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
16504 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
16508 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
16509 * Babyl:: Babyl was used by older versions of Rmail.
16510 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
16511 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
16512 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
16513 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
16514 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
16518 @node Unix Mail Box
16519 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
16521 @cindex unix mail box
16523 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
16524 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
16525 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
16526 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
16527 which group it belongs in.
16529 Virtual server settings:
16532 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
16533 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
16534 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
16537 @item nnmbox-active-file
16538 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
16539 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
16540 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
16542 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
16543 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
16544 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
16545 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
16550 @subsubsection Babyl
16553 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
16554 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
16555 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a Babyl mail box to store mail.
16556 @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail article to say which
16557 group it belongs in.
16559 Virtual server settings:
16562 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
16563 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
16564 The name of the Babyl file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
16566 @item nnbabyl-active-file
16567 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
16568 The name of the active file for the Babyl file. The default is
16569 @file{~/.rmail-active}
16571 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
16572 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
16573 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
16579 @subsubsection Mail Spool
16581 @cindex mail @acronym{NOV} spool
16583 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
16584 format. It should be used with some caution.
16586 @vindex nnml-directory
16587 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
16588 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
16589 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
16590 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
16592 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
16595 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
16596 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
16597 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
16598 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
16599 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
16600 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
16601 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
16602 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
16604 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
16605 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
16606 @acronym{NOV} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
16607 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
16609 @cindex self contained nnml servers
16611 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
16612 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
16613 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
16614 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
16615 for a group are usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
16616 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
16617 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
16618 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
16621 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
16622 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
16623 them next time it starts.
16625 Virtual server settings:
16628 @item nnml-directory
16629 @vindex nnml-directory
16630 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory. The
16631 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default value
16634 @item nnml-active-file
16635 @vindex nnml-active-file
16636 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
16637 @file{~/Mail/active}.
16639 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
16640 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
16641 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
16642 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}.
16644 @item nnml-get-new-mail
16645 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
16646 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
16649 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
16650 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
16651 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
16652 default is @code{nil}.
16654 @item nnml-nov-file-name
16655 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
16656 The name of the @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
16658 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
16659 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
16660 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
16662 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
16663 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
16664 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
16665 default is @code{nil}.
16667 @item nnml-marks-file-name
16668 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
16669 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
16671 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
16672 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
16673 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
16674 files. This requires @code{auto-compression-mode} to be enabled
16675 (@pxref{Compressed Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
16676 If the value of @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is a string, it is used
16677 as the file extension specifying the compression program. You can set it
16678 to @samp{.bz2} if your Emacs supports it. A value of @code{t} is
16679 equivalent to @samp{.gz}.
16681 @item nnml-compressed-files-size-threshold
16682 @vindex nnml-compressed-files-size-threshold
16683 Default size threshold for compressed message files. Message files with
16684 bodies larger than that many characters will be automatically compressed
16685 if @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil}.
16689 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
16690 If your @code{nnml} groups and @acronym{NOV} files get totally out of
16691 whack, you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
16692 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
16693 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
16694 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
16695 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
16700 @subsubsection MH Spool
16702 @cindex mh-e mail spool
16704 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
16705 @acronym{NOV} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks
16706 file. This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than
16707 @code{nnml}, but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts
16710 Virtual server settings:
16713 @item nnmh-directory
16714 @vindex nnmh-directory
16715 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
16716 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
16719 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
16720 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
16721 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
16725 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
16726 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
16727 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks
16728 they are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
16729 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
16730 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not
16731 have to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
16736 @subsubsection Maildir
16740 @code{nnmaildir} stores mail in the maildir format, with each maildir
16741 corresponding to a group in Gnus. This format is documented here:
16742 @uref{http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html} and here:
16743 @uref{http://www.qmail.org/man/man5/maildir.html}. @code{nnmaildir}
16744 also stores extra information in the @file{.nnmaildir/} directory
16747 Maildir format was designed to allow concurrent deliveries and
16748 reading, without needing locks. With other back ends, you would have
16749 your mail delivered to a spool of some kind, and then you would
16750 configure Gnus to split mail from that spool into your groups. You
16751 can still do that with @code{nnmaildir}, but the more common
16752 configuration is to have your mail delivered directly to the maildirs
16753 that appear as group in Gnus.
16755 @code{nnmaildir} is designed to be perfectly reliable: @kbd{C-g} will
16756 never corrupt its data in memory, and @code{SIGKILL} will never
16757 corrupt its data in the filesystem.
16759 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks and @acronym{NOV} data in each
16760 maildir. So you can copy a whole maildir from one Gnus setup to
16761 another, and you will keep your marks.
16763 Virtual server settings:
16767 For each of your @code{nnmaildir} servers (it's very unlikely that
16768 you'd need more than one), you need to create a directory and populate
16769 it with maildirs or symlinks to maildirs (and nothing else; do not
16770 choose a directory already used for other purposes). Each maildir
16771 will be represented in Gnus as a newsgroup on that server; the
16772 filename of the symlink will be the name of the group. Any filenames
16773 in the directory starting with @samp{.} are ignored. The directory is
16774 scanned when you first start Gnus, and each time you type @kbd{g} in
16775 the group buffer; if any maildirs have been removed or added,
16776 @code{nnmaildir} notices at these times.
16778 The value of the @code{directory} parameter should be a Lisp form
16779 which is processed by @code{eval} and @code{expand-file-name} to get
16780 the path of the directory for this server. The form is @code{eval}ed
16781 only when the server is opened; the resulting string is used until the
16782 server is closed. (If you don't know about forms and @code{eval},
16783 don't worry---a simple string will work.) This parameter is not
16784 optional; you must specify it. I don't recommend using
16785 @code{"~/Mail"} or a subdirectory of it; several other parts of Gnus
16786 use that directory by default for various things, and may get confused
16787 if @code{nnmaildir} uses it too. @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} is a typical
16790 @item target-prefix
16791 This should be a Lisp form which is processed by @code{eval} and
16792 @code{expand-file-name}. The form is @code{eval}ed only when the
16793 server is opened; the resulting string is used until the server is
16796 When you create a group on an @code{nnmaildir} server, the maildir is
16797 created with @code{target-prefix} prepended to its name, and a symlink
16798 pointing to that maildir is created, named with the plain group name.
16799 So if @code{directory} is @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} and
16800 @code{target-prefix} is @code{"../maildirs/"}, then when you create
16801 the group @code{foo}, @code{nnmaildir} will create
16802 @file{~/.nnmaildir/../maildirs/foo} as a maildir, and will create
16803 @file{~/.nnmaildir/foo} as a symlink pointing to
16804 @file{../maildirs/foo}.
16806 You can set @code{target-prefix} to a string without any slashes to
16807 create both maildirs and symlinks in the same @code{directory}; in
16808 this case, any maildirs found in @code{directory} whose names start
16809 with @code{target-prefix} will not be listed as groups (but the
16810 symlinks pointing to them will be).
16812 As a special case, if @code{target-prefix} is @code{""} (the default),
16813 then when you create a group, the maildir will be created in
16814 @code{directory} without a corresponding symlink. Beware that you
16815 cannot use @code{gnus-group-delete-group} on such groups without the
16816 @code{force} argument.
16818 @item directory-files
16819 This should be a function with the same interface as
16820 @code{directory-files} (such as @code{directory-files} itself). It is
16821 used to scan the server's @code{directory} for maildirs. This
16822 parameter is optional; the default is
16823 @code{nnheader-directory-files-safe} if
16824 @code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is @code{nil}, and
16825 @code{directory-files} otherwise.
16826 (@code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is checked only once when the
16827 server is opened; if you want to check it each time the directory is
16828 scanned, you'll have to provide your own function that does that.)
16831 If non-@code{nil}, then after scanning for new mail in the group
16832 maildirs themselves as usual, this server will also incorporate mail
16833 the conventional Gnus way, from @code{mail-sources} according to
16834 @code{nnmail-split-methods} or @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. The default
16835 value is @code{nil}.
16837 Do @emph{not} use the same maildir both in @code{mail-sources} and as
16838 an @code{nnmaildir} group. The results might happen to be useful, but
16839 that would be by chance, not by design, and the results might be
16840 different in the future. If your split rules create new groups,
16841 remember to supply a @code{create-directory} server parameter.
16844 @subsubsection Group parameters
16846 @code{nnmaildir} uses several group parameters. It's safe to ignore
16847 all this; the default behavior for @code{nnmaildir} is the same as the
16848 default behavior for other mail back ends: articles are deleted after
16849 one week, etc. Except for the expiry parameters, all this
16850 functionality is unique to @code{nnmaildir}, so you can ignore it if
16851 you're just trying to duplicate the behavior you already have with
16854 If the value of any of these parameters is a vector, the first element
16855 is evaluated as a Lisp form and the result is used, rather than the
16856 original value. If the value is not a vector, the value itself is
16857 evaluated as a Lisp form. (This is why these parameters use names
16858 different from those of other, similar parameters supported by other
16859 back ends: they have different, though similar, meanings.) (For
16860 numbers, strings, @code{nil}, and @code{t}, you can ignore the
16861 @code{eval} business again; for other values, remember to use an extra
16862 quote and wrap the value in a vector when appropriate.)
16866 An integer specifying the minimum age, in seconds, of an article
16867 before it will be expired, or the symbol @code{never} to specify that
16868 articles should never be expired. If this parameter is not set,
16869 @code{nnmaildir} falls back to the usual
16870 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) variables (the
16871 @code{expiry-wait} group parameter overrides @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}
16872 and makes @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} ineffective). If you
16873 wanted a value of 3 days, you could use something like @code{[(* 3 24
16874 60 60)]}; @code{nnmaildir} will evaluate the form and use the result.
16875 An article's age is measured starting from the article file's
16876 modification time. Normally, this is the same as the article's
16877 delivery time, but editing an article makes it younger. Moving an
16878 article (other than via expiry) may also make an article younger.
16881 If this is set to a string such as a full Gnus group name, like
16883 "backend+server.address.string:group.name"
16885 and if it is not the name of the same group that the parameter belongs
16886 to, then articles will be moved to the specified group during expiry
16887 before being deleted. @emph{If this is set to an @code{nnmaildir}
16888 group, the article will be just as old in the destination group as it
16889 was in the source group.} So be careful with @code{expire-age} in the
16890 destination group. If this is set to the name of the same group that
16891 the parameter belongs to, then the article is not expired at all. If
16892 you use the vector form, the first element is evaluated once for each
16893 article. So that form can refer to
16894 @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name}, etc., to decide where to put the
16895 article. @emph{Even if this parameter is not set, @code{nnmaildir}
16896 does not fall back to the @code{expiry-target} group parameter or the
16897 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} variable.}
16900 If this is set to @code{t}, @code{nnmaildir} will treat the articles
16901 in this maildir as read-only. This means: articles are not renamed
16902 from @file{new/} into @file{cur/}; articles are only found in
16903 @file{new/}, not @file{cur/}; articles are never deleted; articles
16904 cannot be edited. @file{new/} is expected to be a symlink to the
16905 @file{new/} directory of another maildir---e.g., a system-wide mailbox
16906 containing a mailing list of common interest. Everything in the
16907 maildir outside @file{new/} is @emph{not} treated as read-only, so for
16908 a shared mailbox, you do still need to set up your own maildir (or
16909 have write permission to the shared mailbox); your maildir just won't
16910 contain extra copies of the articles.
16912 @item directory-files
16913 A function with the same interface as @code{directory-files}. It is
16914 used to scan the directories in the maildir corresponding to this
16915 group to find articles. The default is the function specified by the
16916 server's @code{directory-files} parameter.
16918 @item distrust-Lines:
16919 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmaildir} will always count the lines of an
16920 article, rather than use the @code{Lines:} header field. If
16921 @code{nil}, the header field will be used if present.
16924 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(read expire)]}. Whenever
16925 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
16926 say that all articles have these marks, regardless of whether the
16927 marks stored in the filesystem say so. This is a proof-of-concept
16928 feature that will probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done
16929 in Gnus proper, or abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
16932 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(tick expire)]}. Whenever
16933 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
16934 say that no articles have these marks, regardless of whether the marks
16935 stored in the filesystem say so. @code{never-marks} overrides
16936 @code{always-marks}. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will
16937 probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
16938 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
16940 @item nov-cache-size
16941 An integer specifying the size of the @acronym{NOV} memory cache. To
16942 speed things up, @code{nnmaildir} keeps @acronym{NOV} data in memory
16943 for a limited number of articles in each group. (This is probably not
16944 worthwhile, and will probably be removed in the future.) This
16945 parameter's value is noticed only the first time a group is seen after
16946 the server is opened---i.e., when you first start Gnus, typically.
16947 The @acronym{NOV} cache is never resized until the server is closed
16948 and reopened. The default is an estimate of the number of articles
16949 that would be displayed in the summary buffer: a count of articles
16950 that are either marked with @code{tick} or not marked with
16951 @code{read}, plus a little extra.
16954 @subsubsection Article identification
16955 Articles are stored in the @file{cur/} subdirectory of each maildir.
16956 Each article file is named like @code{uniq:info}, where @code{uniq}
16957 contains no colons. @code{nnmaildir} ignores, but preserves, the
16958 @code{:info} part. (Other maildir readers typically use this part of
16959 the filename to store marks.) The @code{uniq} part uniquely
16960 identifies the article, and is used in various places in the
16961 @file{.nnmaildir/} subdirectory of the maildir to store information
16962 about the corresponding article. The full pathname of an article is
16963 available in the variable @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name} after you
16964 request the article in the summary buffer.
16966 @subsubsection NOV data
16967 An article identified by @code{uniq} has its @acronym{NOV} data (used
16968 to generate lines in the summary buffer) stored in
16969 @code{.nnmaildir/nov/uniq}. There is no
16970 @code{nnmaildir-generate-nov-databases} function. (There isn't much
16971 need for it---an article's @acronym{NOV} data is updated automatically
16972 when the article or @code{nnmail-extra-headers} has changed.) You can
16973 force @code{nnmaildir} to regenerate the @acronym{NOV} data for a
16974 single article simply by deleting the corresponding @acronym{NOV}
16975 file, but @emph{beware}: this will also cause @code{nnmaildir} to
16976 assign a new article number for this article, which may cause trouble
16977 with @code{seen} marks, the Agent, and the cache.
16979 @subsubsection Article marks
16980 An article identified by @code{uniq} is considered to have the mark
16981 @code{flag} when the file @file{.nnmaildir/marks/flag/uniq} exists.
16982 When Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for a group's marks, @code{nnmaildir}
16983 looks for such files and reports the set of marks it finds. When Gnus
16984 asks @code{nnmaildir} to store a new set of marks, @code{nnmaildir}
16985 creates and deletes the corresponding files as needed. (Actually,
16986 rather than create a new file for each mark, it just creates hard
16987 links to @file{.nnmaildir/markfile}, to save inodes.)
16989 You can invent new marks by creating a new directory in
16990 @file{.nnmaildir/marks/}. You can tar up a maildir and remove it from
16991 your server, untar it later, and keep your marks. You can add and
16992 remove marks yourself by creating and deleting mark files. If you do
16993 this while Gnus is running and your @code{nnmaildir} server is open,
16994 it's best to exit all summary buffers for @code{nnmaildir} groups and
16995 type @kbd{s} in the group buffer first, and to type @kbd{g} or
16996 @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer afterwards. Otherwise, Gnus might not
16997 pick up the changes, and might undo them.
17001 @subsubsection Mail Folders
17003 @cindex mbox folders
17004 @cindex mail folders
17006 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a
17007 separate file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format.
17008 @code{nnfolder} will add extra headers to keep track of article
17009 numbers and arrival dates.
17011 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
17013 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
17014 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
17015 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
17016 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
17017 Marks for a group are usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
17018 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
17019 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder}
17020 directory. Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to
17021 backup, use @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup
17022 into the @code{nnfolder} directory).
17024 Virtual server settings:
17027 @item nnfolder-directory
17028 @vindex nnfolder-directory
17029 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this
17030 directory. The default is the value of @code{message-directory}
17031 (whose default is @file{~/Mail})
17033 @item nnfolder-active-file
17034 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
17035 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
17037 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
17038 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
17039 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
17040 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}
17042 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
17043 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
17044 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The
17045 default is @code{t}
17047 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
17048 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
17049 @cindex backup files
17050 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
17051 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If
17052 you wish to switch this off, you could say something like the
17053 following in your @file{.emacs} file:
17056 (defun turn-off-backup ()
17057 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
17059 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
17062 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
17063 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
17064 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
17065 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
17066 extract some information from it before removing it.
17068 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
17069 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
17070 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
17071 default is @code{nil}.
17073 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
17074 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
17075 The extension for @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
17077 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
17078 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
17079 The directory where the @acronym{NOV} files should be stored. If
17080 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
17082 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
17083 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
17084 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
17085 default is @code{nil}.
17087 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
17088 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
17089 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
17091 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
17092 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
17093 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If
17094 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
17099 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
17100 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
17101 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
17102 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
17103 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
17104 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
17107 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
17108 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
17110 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
17111 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
17112 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
17113 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
17114 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
17116 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
17117 typically done by @acronym{NNTP} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
17118 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
17119 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @acronym{NNTP} server), and
17120 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
17121 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
17122 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
17123 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
17126 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
17127 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
17128 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
17129 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
17134 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
17135 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
17136 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
17137 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
17138 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
17139 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
17140 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
17141 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
17142 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
17143 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
17144 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
17145 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
17146 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
17151 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
17152 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
17153 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
17154 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
17155 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
17156 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
17157 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
17158 Rmail was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
17159 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote Rmail
17160 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
17161 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
17162 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
17163 headers/status bits stuff. Rmail itself still exists as well, of
17164 course, and is still maintained within Emacs. Since Emacs 23, it
17165 uses standard mbox format rather than Babyl.
17167 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
17168 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
17173 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
17174 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
17175 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
17176 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
17177 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
17178 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
17179 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
17180 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
17181 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
17182 @acronym{NNTP} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
17183 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
17184 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
17185 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
17186 provided by the active file and overviews.
17188 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
17189 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
17190 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
17191 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
17192 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
17195 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
17196 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
17201 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
17202 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
17203 individual files, but with little or no indexing support---@code{nnmh}
17204 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
17205 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
17206 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
17207 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
17211 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
17212 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
17213 itself puts @emph{all} one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
17214 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
17215 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
17216 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
17217 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
17218 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
17219 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
17221 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
17222 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
17223 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
17224 friendly mail back end all over.
17228 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses
17229 incompatible group parameters, slightly different from those of other
17232 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
17233 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
17234 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
17235 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
17236 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
17237 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
17238 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to
17239 @uref{http://www.namesys.com/, ReiserFS} or another non-block-structured
17242 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
17243 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
17244 This means you can skip Gnus' mail splitting if your mail is already
17245 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
17246 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
17247 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
17248 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
17249 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
17250 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
17251 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will not
17252 undergo treatment such as duplicate checking.
17254 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
17255 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
17256 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
17257 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
17258 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
17261 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
17262 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
17263 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
17264 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
17265 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
17266 would) to make it use less memory. This caching will probably be
17267 removed in the future.
17269 Startup is likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than with other
17270 back ends. Everything else is likely to be faster, depending in part
17271 on your file system.
17273 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
17274 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
17279 @node Browsing the Web
17280 @section Browsing the Web
17282 @cindex browsing the web
17286 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
17287 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
17288 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
17289 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
17290 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
17291 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
17292 even know what a news group is.
17294 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
17295 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
17296 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
17297 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
17298 you mad in the end.
17300 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
17303 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
17304 interfaces to these sources.
17308 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
17309 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
17310 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
17311 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
17312 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
17313 * Customizing W3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/W3 from Gnus.
17316 All the web sources require Emacs/W3 and the url library or those
17317 alternatives to work.
17319 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
17320 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @acronym{HTML} data
17321 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
17322 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
17323 though, you should be ok.
17325 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
17326 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
17327 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
17328 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
17329 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
17331 @node Archiving Mail
17332 @subsection Archiving Mail
17333 @cindex archiving mail
17334 @cindex backup of mail
17336 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
17337 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
17338 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
17339 marks is fairly simple.
17341 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
17342 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
17345 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
17346 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
17347 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
17348 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
17349 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
17350 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
17351 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
17352 before you restore the data.
17354 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
17355 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
17356 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
17357 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
17358 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
17359 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
17360 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
17361 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
17362 is unnecessary in that case.
17365 @subsection Web Searches
17370 @cindex Usenet searches
17371 @cindex searching the Usenet
17373 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
17374 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
17375 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
17376 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
17377 searches without having to use a browser.
17379 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
17380 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
17381 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
17382 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
17383 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
17385 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
17386 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
17387 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
17388 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
17389 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
17390 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
17391 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
17392 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
17393 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
17394 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
17397 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
17398 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
17399 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'@^etre} is to
17400 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
17401 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
17402 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
17404 You must have the @code{url} and @code{W3} package or those alternatives
17405 (try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{mm-url} variable group)
17406 installed to be able to use @code{nnweb}.
17408 Virtual server variables:
17413 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
17414 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
17415 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
17418 @vindex nnweb-search
17419 The search string to feed to the search engine.
17421 @item nnweb-max-hits
17422 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
17423 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
17426 @item nnweb-type-definition
17427 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
17428 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
17429 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
17434 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
17438 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
17441 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
17444 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
17448 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
17455 @subsection Slashdot
17459 @uref{http://slashdot.org/, Slashdot} is a popular news site, with
17460 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
17461 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
17463 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
17464 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
17467 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
17468 '((nnslashdot "")))
17471 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
17472 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
17473 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
17474 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
17475 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
17478 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
17479 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
17481 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
17482 comments), some light @acronym{HTML}izations will be performed. In
17483 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
17484 @samp{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @samp{br} added to
17485 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @acronym{HTML}
17486 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
17487 @acronym{HTML} forms.
17489 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
17492 @item nnslashdot-threaded
17493 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
17494 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
17495 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
17496 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
17497 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
17498 but much, much slower than unthreaded.
17500 @item nnslashdot-login-name
17501 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
17502 The login name to use when posting.
17504 @item nnslashdot-password
17505 @vindex nnslashdot-password
17506 The password to use when posting.
17508 @item nnslashdot-directory
17509 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
17510 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
17511 @file{~/News/slashdot/}.
17513 @item nnslashdot-active-url
17514 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
17515 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch the
17516 information on news articles and comments. The default is@*
17517 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
17519 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
17520 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
17521 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch comments.
17523 @item nnslashdot-article-url
17524 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
17525 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch the news
17526 article. The default is
17527 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
17529 @item nnslashdot-threshold
17530 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
17531 The score threshold. The default is -1.
17533 @item nnslashdot-group-number
17534 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
17535 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
17536 updated. The default is 0.
17543 @subsection Ultimate
17545 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
17547 @uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/, The Ultimate Bulletin Board} is
17548 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
17549 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
17550 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
17552 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
17553 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
17554 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @acronym{URL}
17555 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
17556 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
17557 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
17558 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
17560 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
17563 @item nnultimate-directory
17564 @vindex nnultimate-directory
17565 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is@*
17566 @file{~/News/ultimate/}.
17571 @subsection Web Archive
17573 @cindex Web Archive
17575 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
17576 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
17577 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
17578 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
17581 @findex gnus-group-make-warchive-group
17582 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
17583 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
17584 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET @var{an_egroup} RET egroups RET
17585 www.egroups.com RET @var{your@@email.address} RET}. (Substitute the
17586 @var{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
17587 @var{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
17588 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
17590 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
17593 @item nnwarchive-directory
17594 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
17595 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is@*
17596 @file{~/News/warchive/}.
17598 @item nnwarchive-login
17599 @vindex nnwarchive-login
17600 The account name on the web server.
17602 @item nnwarchive-passwd
17603 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
17604 The password for your account on the web server.
17612 Some web sites have an RDF Site Summary (@acronym{RSS}).
17613 @acronym{RSS} is a format for summarizing headlines from news related
17614 sites (such as BBC or CNN). But basically anything list-like can be
17615 presented as an @acronym{RSS} feed: weblogs, changelogs or recent
17616 changes to a wiki (e.g. @url{http://cliki.net/recent-changes.rdf}).
17618 @acronym{RSS} has a quite regular and nice interface, and it's
17619 possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
17621 Note: you had better use Emacs which supports the @code{utf-8} coding
17622 system because @acronym{RSS} uses UTF-8 for encoding non-@acronym{ASCII}
17623 text by default. It is also used by default for non-@acronym{ASCII}
17626 @kindex G R (Group)
17627 Use @kbd{G R} from the group buffer to subscribe to a feed---you will be
17628 prompted for the location, the title and the description of the feed.
17629 The title, which allows any characters, will be used for the group name
17630 and the name of the group data file. The description can be omitted.
17632 An easy way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something like
17633 the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET y}, then
17634 subscribe to groups.
17636 The @code{nnrss} back end saves the group data file in
17637 @code{nnrss-directory} (see below) for each @code{nnrss} group. File
17638 names containing non-@acronym{ASCII} characters will be encoded by the
17639 coding system specified with the @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system}
17640 variable or other. Also @xref{Non-ASCII Group Names}, for more
17643 The @code{nnrss} back end generates @samp{multipart/alternative}
17644 @acronym{MIME} articles in which each contains a @samp{text/plain} part
17645 and a @samp{text/html} part.
17648 You can also use the following commands to import and export your
17649 subscriptions from a file in @acronym{OPML} format (Outline Processor
17652 @defun nnrss-opml-import file
17653 Prompt for an @acronym{OPML} file, and subscribe to each feed in the
17657 @defun nnrss-opml-export
17658 Write your current @acronym{RSS} subscriptions to a buffer in
17659 @acronym{OPML} format.
17662 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
17665 @item nnrss-directory
17666 @vindex nnrss-directory
17667 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
17668 @file{~/News/rss/}.
17670 @item nnrss-file-coding-system
17671 @vindex nnrss-file-coding-system
17672 The coding system used when reading and writing the @code{nnrss} groups
17673 data files. The default is the value of
17674 @code{mm-universal-coding-system} (which defaults to @code{emacs-mule}
17675 in Emacs or @code{escape-quoted} in XEmacs).
17677 @item nnrss-ignore-article-fields
17678 @vindex nnrss-ignore-article-fields
17679 Some feeds update constantly article fields during their publications,
17680 e.g. to indicate the number of comments. However, if there is
17681 a difference between the local article and the distant one, the latter
17682 is considered to be new. To avoid this and discard some fields, set this
17683 variable to the list of fields to be ignored. The default is
17684 @code{'(slash:comments)}.
17686 @item nnrss-use-local
17687 @vindex nnrss-use-local
17688 @findex nnrss-generate-download-script
17689 If you set @code{nnrss-use-local} to @code{t}, @code{nnrss} will read
17690 the feeds from local files in @code{nnrss-directory}. You can use
17691 the command @code{nnrss-generate-download-script} to generate a
17692 download script using @command{wget}.
17694 @item nnrss-wash-html-in-text-plain-parts
17695 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{nnrss} renders text in @samp{text/plain}
17696 parts as @acronym{HTML}. The function specified by the
17697 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} variable (@pxref{Display Customization,
17698 ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) will be used
17699 to render text. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default, text will
17700 simply be folded. Leave it @code{nil} if you prefer to see
17701 @samp{text/html} parts.
17704 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
17705 the summary buffer.
17708 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
17709 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
17711 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
17713 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
17714 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
17717 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
17721 (require 'browse-url)
17723 (defun browse-nnrss-url (arg)
17725 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
17728 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
17729 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
17732 (browse-url (cdr url))
17733 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
17734 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
17736 (eval-after-load "gnus"
17737 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
17738 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
17739 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
17742 Even if you have added @samp{text/html} to the
17743 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives} variable (@pxref{Display
17744 Customization, ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
17745 Manual}) since you don't want to see @acronym{HTML} parts, it might be
17746 more useful especially in @code{nnrss} groups to display
17747 @samp{text/html} parts. Here's an example of setting
17748 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives} as a group parameter (@pxref{Group
17749 Parameters}) in order to display @samp{text/html} parts only in
17750 @code{nnrss} groups:
17753 ;; @r{Set the default value of @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}.}
17754 (eval-after-load "gnus-sum"
17756 'gnus-newsgroup-variables
17757 '(mm-discouraged-alternatives
17758 . '("text/html" "image/.*"))))
17760 ;; @r{Display @samp{text/html} parts in @code{nnrss} groups.}
17763 '("\\`nnrss:" (mm-discouraged-alternatives nil)))
17767 @node Customizing W3
17768 @subsection Customizing W3
17774 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/W3 (or those
17775 alternatives) to display web pages. Emacs/W3 is documented in its own
17776 manual, but there are some things that may be more relevant for Gnus
17779 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/W3 follow links
17780 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
17781 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
17784 (eval-after-load "w3"
17786 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
17787 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
17788 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
17789 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
17791 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
17794 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in W3-rendered
17795 @acronym{HTML} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
17802 @cindex @acronym{IMAP}
17804 @acronym{IMAP} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or @dots{}),
17805 think of it as a modernized @acronym{NNTP}. Connecting to a @acronym{IMAP}
17806 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
17807 specify the network address of the server.
17809 @acronym{IMAP} has two properties. First, @acronym{IMAP} can do
17810 everything that @acronym{POP} can, it can hence be viewed as a
17811 @acronym{POP++}. Secondly, @acronym{IMAP} is a mail storage protocol,
17812 similar to @acronym{NNTP} being a news storage protocol---however,
17813 @acronym{IMAP} offers more features than @acronym{NNTP} because news
17814 is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
17816 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a @acronym{POP++}, use an imap
17817 entry in @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from
17818 the @acronym{IMAP} server and store them on the local disk. This is
17819 not the usage described in this section---@xref{Mail Sources}.
17821 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
17822 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
17823 manipulate mails stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server. This is the kind of
17824 usage explained in this section.
17826 A server configuration in @file{~/.gnus.el} with a few @acronym{IMAP}
17827 servers might look something like the following. (Note that for
17828 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you need external programs and libraries,
17832 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
17833 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; @r{no special configuration}
17834 ; @r{perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:}
17836 (nnimap-address "localhost")
17837 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
17838 ; @r{a UW server running on localhost}
17840 (nnimap-server-port 143)
17841 (nnimap-address "localhost")
17842 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
17843 ; @r{anonymous public cyrus server:}
17844 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
17845 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
17846 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
17847 (nnimap-stream network))
17848 ; @r{a ssl server on a non-standard port:}
17850 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
17851 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
17852 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
17855 After defining the new server, you can subscribe to groups on the
17856 server using normal Gnus commands such as @kbd{U} in the Group Buffer
17857 (@pxref{Subscription Commands}) or via the Server Buffer
17858 (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
17860 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
17865 @item nnimap-address
17866 @vindex nnimap-address
17868 The address of the remote @acronym{IMAP} server. Defaults to the virtual
17869 server name if not specified.
17871 @item nnimap-server-port
17872 @vindex nnimap-server-port
17873 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}.
17875 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
17878 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
17879 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
17882 @item nnimap-list-pattern
17883 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
17884 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
17885 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
17886 interested in a few---some servers export your home directory via
17887 @acronym{IMAP}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
17888 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
17890 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
17891 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
17892 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
17895 Example server specification:
17898 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
17899 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
17900 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
17903 @item nnimap-stream
17904 @vindex nnimap-stream
17905 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
17906 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
17907 of @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}. (@acronym{IMAP} over
17908 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can
17909 be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
17911 Example server specification:
17914 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
17915 (nnimap-stream ssl))
17918 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
17922 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
17923 @samp{gsasl} or @samp{imtest} program.
17925 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
17927 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
17928 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
17931 @dfn{tls:} Connect through @acronym{TLS}. Requires GNUTLS (the program
17932 @samp{gnutls-cli}).
17934 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through @acronym{SSL}. Requires OpenSSL (the program
17935 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
17937 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @acronym{IMAP} connection.
17939 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
17942 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
17943 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
17944 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
17945 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
17946 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
17947 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
17948 restrictions on @acronym{IMAP} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
17949 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
17950 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
17953 For @acronym{TLS} connection, the @code{gnutls-cli} program from GNUTLS is
17954 needed. It is available from
17955 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/}.
17957 @vindex imap-gssapi-program
17958 This parameter specifies a list of command lines that invoke a GSSAPI
17959 authenticated @acronym{IMAP} stream in a subshell. They are tried
17960 sequentially until a connection is made, or the list has been
17961 exhausted. By default, @samp{gsasl} from GNU SASL, available from
17962 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gsasl/}, and the @samp{imtest}
17963 program from Cyrus IMAPD (see @code{imap-kerberos4-program}), are
17966 @vindex imap-ssl-program
17967 For @acronym{SSL} connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
17968 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
17969 and nnimap support it too---although the most recent versions of
17970 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
17971 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
17972 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
17975 @vindex imap-shell-program
17976 @vindex imap-shell-host
17977 For @acronym{IMAP} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the
17978 variable @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call. Make
17979 sure nothing is interfering with the output of the program, e.g., don't
17980 forget to redirect the error output to the void.
17982 @item nnimap-authenticator
17983 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
17985 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
17986 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
17988 Example server specification:
17991 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
17992 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
17995 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
17999 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
18000 external program @code{gsasl} or @code{imtest}.
18002 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
18005 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
18006 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
18008 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
18010 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
18012 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as ``anonymous'', supplying your email address as password.
18015 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
18017 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
18018 Unlike Parmenides the @acronym{IMAP} designers have decided things that
18019 don't exist actually do exist. More specifically, @acronym{IMAP} has
18020 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
18021 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
18022 nnimap does when you delete an article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
18025 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
18026 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
18027 running in circles yet?
18029 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
18030 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
18033 The possible options are:
18038 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as ``Deleted'' when
18041 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
18042 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @acronym{IMAP} clients
18043 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
18044 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
18046 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
18051 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
18052 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
18054 If non-@code{nil} (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as
18055 well), for other @acronym{IMAP} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
18056 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
18057 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @acronym{IMAP}
18058 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @acronym{IMAP}
18061 Probably the only reason for frobbing this would be if you're trying
18062 enable per-user persistent dormant flags, using something like:
18065 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
18066 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
18067 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
18068 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
18071 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
18072 as ticked for other users.
18074 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
18076 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
18077 @cindex expiring @acronym{IMAP} mail
18079 This variable contain the @acronym{IMAP} search command sent to server when
18080 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
18081 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
18082 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
18084 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
18085 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
18086 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
18087 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
18089 However, if @code{nnimap-search-uids-not-since-is-evil}
18090 is true, this variable has no effect since the search logic
18091 is reversed, as described below.
18093 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
18094 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
18096 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
18097 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
18098 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
18099 @ref{NNTP}. An example of an .authinfo line for an IMAP server, is:
18102 machine students.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis port imap
18105 Note that it should be @code{port imap}, or @code{port 143}, if you
18106 use a @code{nnimap-stream} of @code{tls} or @code{ssl}, even if the
18107 actual port number used is port 993 for secured IMAP. For
18108 convenience, Gnus will accept @code{port imaps} as a synonym of
18111 @item nnimap-need-unselect-to-notice-new-mail
18112 @vindex nnimap-need-unselect-to-notice-new-mail
18114 Unselect mailboxes before looking for new mail in them. Some servers
18115 seem to need this under some circumstances; it was reported that
18118 @item nnimap-nov-is-evil
18119 @vindex nnimap-nov-is-evil
18120 @cindex Courier @acronym{IMAP} server
18121 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
18123 Never generate or use a local @acronym{NOV} database. Defaults to the
18124 value of @code{gnus-agent}.
18126 Using a @acronym{NOV} database usually makes header fetching much
18127 faster, but it uses the @code{UID SEARCH UID} command, which is very
18128 slow on some servers (notably some versions of Courier). Since the Gnus
18129 Agent caches the information in the @acronym{NOV} database without using
18130 the slow command, this variable defaults to true if the Agent is in use,
18131 and false otherwise.
18133 @item nnimap-search-uids-not-since-is-evil
18134 @vindex nnimap-search-uids-not-since-is-evil
18135 @cindex Courier @acronym{IMAP} server
18136 @cindex expiring @acronym{IMAP} mail
18138 Avoid the @code{UID SEARCH UID @var{message numbers} NOT SINCE
18139 @var{date}} command, which is slow on some @acronym{IMAP} servers
18140 (notably, some versions of Courier). Instead, use @code{UID SEARCH SINCE
18141 @var{date}} and prune the list of expirable articles within Gnus.
18143 When Gnus expires your mail (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), it starts with a
18144 list of expirable articles and asks the IMAP server questions like ``Of
18145 these articles, which ones are older than a week?'' While this seems
18146 like a perfectly reasonable question, some IMAP servers take a long time
18147 to answer it, since they seemingly go looking into every old article to
18148 see if it is one of the expirable ones. Curiously, the question ``Of
18149 @emph{all} articles, which ones are newer than a week?'' seems to be
18150 much faster to answer, so setting this variable causes Gnus to ask this
18151 question and figure out the answer to the real question itself.
18153 This problem can really sneak up on you: when you first configure Gnus,
18154 everything works fine, but once you accumulate a couple thousand
18155 messages, you start cursing Gnus for being so slow. On the other hand,
18156 if you get a lot of email within a week, setting this variable will
18157 cause a lot of network traffic between Gnus and the IMAP server.
18159 @item nnimap-logout-timeout
18160 @vindex nnimap-logout-timeout
18162 There is a case where a connection to a @acronym{IMAP} server is unable
18163 to close, when connecting to the server via a certain kind of network,
18164 e.g. @acronym{VPN}. In that case, it will be observed that a connection
18165 between Emacs and the local network looks alive even if the server has
18166 closed a connection for some reason (typically, a timeout).
18167 Consequently, Emacs continues waiting for a response from the server for
18168 the @code{LOGOUT} command that Emacs sent, or hangs in other words. If
18169 you are in such a network, setting this variable to a number of seconds
18170 will be helpful. If it is set, a hung connection will be closed
18171 forcibly, after this number of seconds from the time Emacs sends the
18172 @code{LOGOUT} command. It should not be too small value but too large
18173 value will be inconvenient too. Perhaps the value 1.0 will be a good
18174 candidate but it might be worth trying some other values.
18176 Example server specification:
18179 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
18180 (nnimap-logout-timeout 1.0))
18186 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
18187 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
18188 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
18189 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
18190 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
18191 * Debugging IMAP:: What to do when things don't work.
18196 @node Splitting in IMAP
18197 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
18198 @cindex splitting imap mail
18200 Splitting is something Gnus users have loved and used for years, and now
18201 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
18202 @acronym{IMAP} servers have server side splitting and those that have
18203 splitting seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that
18204 @acronym{IMAP} support for Gnus has to do its own splitting.
18208 (Incidentally, people seem to have been dreaming on, and Sieve has
18209 gaining a market share and is supported by several IMAP servers.
18210 Fortunately, Gnus support it too, @xref{Sieve Commands}.)
18212 Here are the variables of interest:
18216 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
18217 @cindex splitting, crosspost
18219 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
18221 If non-@code{nil}, do crossposting if several split methods match the
18222 mail. If @code{nil}, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule}
18223 found will be used.
18225 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
18227 @item nnimap-split-inbox
18228 @cindex splitting, inbox
18230 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
18232 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @acronym{IMAP}
18233 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to @code{nil}, which means that
18234 splitting is disabled!
18237 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
18238 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
18241 No nnmail equivalent.
18243 @item nnimap-split-rule
18244 @cindex splitting, rules
18245 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
18247 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
18250 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
18251 sublist gives the name of the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox to move articles
18252 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
18253 Neither did I, we need examples.
18256 (setq nnimap-split-rule
18258 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
18259 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
18260 ("INBOX.private" "")))
18263 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
18264 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
18265 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
18267 The first string may contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by
18268 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
18272 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
18275 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
18276 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
18278 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
18279 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
18280 containing the headers of the article. It should return a
18281 non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
18283 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
18284 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
18285 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
18286 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
18287 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
18288 them every time you fetch new mail.)
18290 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
18291 end. The first rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have
18292 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.
18294 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
18295 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
18296 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
18298 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
18300 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
18301 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
18302 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
18305 (setq nnimap-split-rule
18306 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
18307 ("junk" "From:.*Simon"))))
18308 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
18309 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
18310 ("junk" my-junk-func))))))
18313 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
18314 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
18315 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
18316 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
18317 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
18318 group/function elements.
18320 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
18322 @item nnimap-split-predicate
18324 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
18326 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
18327 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
18329 This might be useful if you use another @acronym{IMAP} client to read mail in
18330 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
18331 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
18334 @item nnimap-split-fancy
18335 @cindex splitting, fancy
18336 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
18337 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
18339 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
18340 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
18341 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
18343 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
18344 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
18345 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
18346 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
18351 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
18352 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
18355 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
18357 @item nnimap-split-download-body
18358 @findex nnimap-split-download-body
18359 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
18361 Set to non-@code{nil} to download entire articles during splitting.
18362 This is generally not required, and will slow things down
18363 considerably. You may need it if you want to use an advanced
18364 splitting function that analyzes the body to split the article.
18368 @node Expiring in IMAP
18369 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
18370 @cindex expiring @acronym{IMAP} mail
18372 Even though @code{nnimap} is not a proper @code{nnmail} derived back
18373 end, it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring
18374 Mail}). Unlike splitting in @acronym{IMAP} (@pxref{Splitting in
18375 IMAP}) it does not clone the @code{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating
18376 @var{nnimap-expiry-wait}) but reuse the @code{nnmail} variables. What
18377 follows below are the variables used by the @code{nnimap} expiry
18380 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server is
18381 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
18382 @code{imap} client specific mark, @code{gnus-expire}, and stored on the
18383 message. This means that likely only Gnus will understand and treat
18384 the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may allow
18385 you to view client specific flags on the message. It also means that
18386 your server must support permanent storage of client specific flags on
18387 messages. Most do, fortunately.
18389 If expiring @acronym{IMAP} mail seems very slow, try setting the server
18390 variable @code{nnimap-search-uids-not-since-is-evil}.
18394 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
18395 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
18397 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
18398 number, the symbol @code{immediate} or @code{never}.
18400 @item nnmail-expiry-target
18402 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
18403 @code{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
18404 that if the destination is a @acronym{IMAP} group on the same server, the
18405 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
18409 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
18410 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
18411 @cindex editing imap acls
18412 @cindex Access Control Lists
18413 @cindex Editing @acronym{IMAP} ACLs
18414 @kindex G l (Group)
18415 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
18417 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @acronym{IMAP} for
18418 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
18419 @acronym{IMAP} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
18422 To edit an ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
18423 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with an ACL
18424 editing window with detailed instructions.
18426 Some possible uses:
18430 Giving ``anyone'' the ``lrs'' rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
18431 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
18432 follow the list without subscribing to it.
18434 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
18435 ``anyone'' posting ("p") capabilities to have ``plussing'' work (that is,
18436 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox
18440 @node Expunging mailboxes
18441 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
18445 @cindex manual expunging
18446 @kindex G x (Group)
18447 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
18449 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
18450 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
18451 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
18453 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
18456 @node A note on namespaces
18457 @subsection A note on namespaces
18458 @cindex IMAP namespace
18461 The @acronym{IMAP} protocol has a concept called namespaces, described
18462 by the following text in the RFC2060:
18465 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
18467 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
18468 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
18469 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
18470 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
18472 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
18473 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
18474 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
18475 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
18476 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
18477 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
18480 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the
18481 @acronym{IMAP} implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace
18482 prefixes in a way that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
18484 Specifically, University of Washington's @acronym{IMAP} server uses
18485 mailbox names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only
18486 in the @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is
18487 created (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed
18488 without the namespace prefix, i.e. @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do
18489 not make it possible for the user to guarantee that user entered
18490 mailbox names will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands,
18491 you should simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in
18494 See the UoW IMAPD documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
18495 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
18496 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
18498 @node Debugging IMAP
18499 @subsection Debugging IMAP
18500 @cindex IMAP debugging
18501 @cindex protocol dump (IMAP)
18503 @acronym{IMAP} is a complex protocol, more so than @acronym{NNTP} or
18504 @acronym{POP3}. Implementation bugs are not unlikely, and we do our
18505 best to fix them right away. If you encounter odd behavior, chances
18506 are that either the server or Gnus is buggy.
18508 If you are familiar with network protocols in general, you will
18509 probably be able to extract some clues from the protocol dump of the
18510 exchanges between Gnus and the server. Even if you are not familiar
18511 with network protocols, when you include the protocol dump in
18512 @acronym{IMAP}-related bug reports you are helping us with data
18513 critical to solving the problem. Therefore, we strongly encourage you
18514 to include the protocol dump when reporting IMAP bugs in Gnus.
18518 Because the protocol dump, when enabled, generates lots of data, it is
18519 disabled by default. You can enable it by setting @code{imap-log} as
18526 This instructs the @code{imap.el} package to log any exchanges with
18527 the server. The log is stored in the buffer @samp{*imap-log*}. Look
18528 for error messages, which sometimes are tagged with the keyword
18529 @code{BAD}---but when submitting a bug, make sure to include all the
18532 @node Other Sources
18533 @section Other Sources
18535 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
18536 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
18540 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
18541 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
18542 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
18543 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
18544 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
18548 @node Directory Groups
18549 @subsection Directory Groups
18551 @cindex directory groups
18553 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
18554 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
18557 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
18558 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
18559 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
18560 back end to read directories. Big deal.
18562 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
18563 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
18564 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
18565 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
18566 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
18568 @code{nndir} will use @acronym{NOV} files if they are present.
18570 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
18571 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
18572 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
18573 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
18576 @node Anything Groups
18577 @subsection Anything Groups
18580 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
18581 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
18582 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
18585 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
18586 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
18587 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
18588 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
18589 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
18590 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
18591 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
18592 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
18593 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
18594 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
18597 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
18598 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
18599 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
18600 in the article buffer, just as usual.
18602 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
18603 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
18604 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
18605 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
18607 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
18608 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
18609 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
18610 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
18611 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
18612 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
18613 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
18614 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
18619 @item nneething-map-file-directory
18620 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
18621 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
18622 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
18624 @item nneething-exclude-files
18625 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
18626 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
18627 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
18629 @item nneething-include-files
18630 @vindex nneething-include-files
18631 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
18632 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
18634 @item nneething-map-file
18635 @vindex nneething-map-file
18636 Name of the map files.
18640 @node Document Groups
18641 @subsection Document Groups
18643 @cindex documentation group
18646 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
18647 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
18657 The standard Unix mbox file.
18659 @cindex MMDF mail box
18661 The MMDF mail box format.
18664 Several news articles appended into a file.
18666 @cindex rnews batch files
18668 The rnews batch transport format.
18671 Netscape mail boxes.
18674 @acronym{MIME} multipart messages.
18676 @item standard-digest
18677 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
18680 A @acronym{MIME} digest of messages.
18682 @item lanl-gov-announce
18683 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
18685 @cindex forwarded messages
18686 @item rfc822-forward
18687 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
18690 The Outlook mail box.
18693 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
18696 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
18699 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
18702 An RFC934-forwarded message.
18708 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
18711 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
18717 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
18718 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
18719 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
18722 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
18723 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
18724 group. And that's it.
18726 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
18727 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
18728 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
18729 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
18730 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
18731 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
18732 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
18733 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
18734 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
18735 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
18737 Virtual server variables:
18740 @item nndoc-article-type
18741 @vindex nndoc-article-type
18742 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
18743 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
18744 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
18745 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
18746 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
18748 @item nndoc-post-type
18749 @vindex nndoc-post-type
18750 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
18751 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
18756 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
18760 @node Document Server Internals
18761 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
18763 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
18764 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
18765 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
18766 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
18768 First, here's an example document type definition:
18772 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
18773 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
18776 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
18777 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
18778 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
18779 types can be defined with very few settings:
18782 @item first-article
18783 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
18784 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
18787 @item article-begin
18788 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
18789 says what the beginning of each article looks like. To do more
18790 complicated things that cannot be dealt with a simple regexp, you can
18791 use @code{article-begin-function} instead of this.
18793 @item article-begin-function
18794 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the beginning
18795 of each article. This setting overrides @code{article-begin}.
18798 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
18799 article. To do more complicated things that cannot be dealt with a
18800 simple regexp, you can use @code{head-begin-function} instead of this.
18802 @item head-begin-function
18803 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
18804 the article. This setting overrides @code{head-begin}.
18807 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
18808 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
18811 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
18812 to @samp{^\n}. To do more complicated things that cannot be dealt with
18813 a simple regexp, you can use @code{body-begin-function} instead of this.
18815 @item body-begin-function
18816 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
18817 of the article. This setting overrides @code{body-begin}.
18820 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article. To do
18821 more complicated things that cannot be dealt with a simple regexp, you
18822 can use @code{body-end-function} instead of this.
18824 @item body-end-function
18825 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
18826 the article. This setting overrides @code{body-end}.
18829 If present, this should match the beginning of the file. All text
18830 before this regexp will be totally ignored.
18833 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
18834 regexp will be totally ignored.
18838 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
18839 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
18840 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
18841 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
18842 something that's palatable for Gnus:
18845 @item prepare-body-function
18846 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
18847 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
18848 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
18850 @item article-transform-function
18851 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
18852 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
18853 body of the article.
18855 @item generate-head-function
18856 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
18857 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
18858 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
18859 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
18861 @item generate-article-function
18862 If present, this function is called to generate an entire article that
18863 Gnus can understand. It is called with the article number as a
18864 parameter when requesting all articles.
18866 @item dissection-function
18867 If present, this function is called to dissect a document by itself,
18868 overriding @code{first-article}, @code{article-begin},
18869 @code{article-begin-function}, @code{head-begin},
18870 @code{head-begin-function}, @code{head-end}, @code{body-begin},
18871 @code{body-begin-function}, @code{body-end}, @code{body-end-function},
18872 @code{file-begin}, and @code{file-end}.
18876 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
18881 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
18882 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
18883 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
18884 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
18885 (head-end . "^ ?$")
18886 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
18887 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
18888 (subtype digest guess))
18891 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
18892 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
18893 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
18894 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
18895 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
18897 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
18898 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first
18899 is the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says
18900 where in the document type definition alist to put this definition.
18901 The alist is traversed sequentially, and
18902 @code{nndoc-@var{type}-type-p} is called for a given type @var{type}.
18903 So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document is of
18904 @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
18905 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it
18906 is of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
18907 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number
18908 means low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
18916 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
18917 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
18918 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
18920 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
18921 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
18922 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
18925 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
18926 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
18927 that interested in doing things properly.
18929 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
18930 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
18933 First some terminology:
18938 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
18939 get news and/or mail from.
18942 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
18943 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
18946 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
18950 @item message packets
18951 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
18952 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
18953 default, where @var{x} is a number.
18955 @item response packets
18956 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
18957 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
18958 default, where @var{x} is a number.
18968 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
18969 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
18970 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
18971 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
18974 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
18977 You put the packet in your home directory.
18980 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
18981 the native or secondary server.
18984 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
18985 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
18988 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
18992 You transfer this packet to the server.
18995 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
18998 You then repeat until you die.
19002 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
19003 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
19006 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
19007 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
19008 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
19012 @node SOUP Commands
19013 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
19015 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
19019 @kindex G s b (Group)
19020 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
19021 Pack all unread articles in the current group
19022 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
19023 process/prefix convention.
19026 @kindex G s w (Group)
19027 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
19028 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
19031 @kindex G s s (Group)
19032 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
19033 Send all replies from the replies packet
19034 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
19037 @kindex G s p (Group)
19038 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
19039 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
19042 @kindex G s r (Group)
19043 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
19044 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
19047 @kindex O s (Summary)
19048 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
19049 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
19050 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
19051 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
19056 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
19061 @item gnus-soup-directory
19062 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
19063 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
19064 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
19066 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
19067 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
19068 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
19069 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
19071 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
19072 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
19073 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
19074 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
19076 @item gnus-soup-packer
19077 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
19078 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
19079 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
19081 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
19082 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
19083 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
19084 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
19086 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
19087 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
19088 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
19090 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
19091 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
19092 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
19093 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
19099 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
19102 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
19103 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
19104 you can read them at leisure.
19106 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
19110 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
19111 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
19112 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
19113 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
19115 @item nnsoup-directory
19116 @vindex nnsoup-directory
19117 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
19118 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
19120 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
19121 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
19122 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
19123 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/}.
19125 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
19126 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
19127 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
19128 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
19129 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
19131 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
19132 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
19133 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
19134 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
19136 @item nnsoup-active-file
19137 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
19138 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
19139 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
19140 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
19141 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
19143 @item nnsoup-packer
19144 @vindex nnsoup-packer
19145 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
19146 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
19148 @item nnsoup-unpacker
19149 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
19150 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
19151 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
19153 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
19154 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
19155 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
19158 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
19159 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
19160 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
19163 @item nnsoup-always-save
19164 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
19165 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
19171 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
19173 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
19174 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
19175 more for that to happen.
19177 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
19178 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
19179 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
19182 In specific, this is what it does:
19185 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
19186 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
19189 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
19190 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
19191 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
19194 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
19195 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
19196 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
19199 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
19200 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
19201 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
19203 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
19209 @item nngateway-address
19210 @vindex nngateway-address
19211 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
19213 @item nngateway-header-transformation
19214 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
19215 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
19216 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
19217 transformation should be called, and defaults to
19218 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
19219 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
19222 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
19223 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
19224 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
19227 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
19230 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
19233 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
19236 The following pre-defined functions exist:
19238 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
19241 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
19242 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
19243 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
19245 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
19247 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
19248 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
19249 @code{nngateway-address}.
19257 (setq gnus-post-method
19259 "mail2news@@replay.com"
19260 (nngateway-header-transformation
19261 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
19264 So, to use this, simply say something like:
19267 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
19272 @node Combined Groups
19273 @section Combined Groups
19275 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
19279 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
19280 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
19284 @node Virtual Groups
19285 @subsection Virtual Groups
19287 @cindex virtual groups
19288 @cindex merging groups
19290 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
19293 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
19294 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
19295 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
19297 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
19298 regexp to match component groups.
19300 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
19301 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
19302 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
19303 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
19304 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
19305 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
19306 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
19307 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
19309 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
19310 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
19313 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
19316 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
19317 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
19319 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
19320 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
19321 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
19322 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
19325 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
19328 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
19329 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
19330 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
19332 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
19333 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
19334 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
19335 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
19336 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
19338 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
19339 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
19340 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
19342 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
19343 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} variable is non-@code{nil} (which
19344 is the default), @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread
19345 articles when entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil}
19346 and you read articles in a component group after the virtual group has
19347 been activated, the read articles from the component group will show up
19348 when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this effect if you
19349 have two virtual groups that have a component group in common. If
19350 that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}. Or you can
19351 just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before you enter
19352 it---it'll have much the same effect.
19354 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
19355 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
19356 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
19357 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
19358 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
19359 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
19360 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
19362 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
19363 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
19365 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
19366 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
19370 @node Kibozed Groups
19371 @subsection Kibozed Groups
19375 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by the @acronym{OED} as ``grepping through
19376 (parts of) the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will
19377 do this for you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @acronym{NNTP} server
19378 down to a halt with useless requests! Oh happiness!
19380 @kindex G k (Group)
19381 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
19384 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
19385 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
19386 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between
19387 @code{nnkiboze} and @code{nnvirtual} end.
19389 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an
19390 @code{nnkiboze} group must have a score file to say what articles are
19391 to be included in the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
19393 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
19394 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
19395 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
19396 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time.
19397 Lots of time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the
19398 headers from all the articles in all the component groups and run them
19399 through the scoring process to determine if there are any articles in
19400 the groups that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
19402 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
19403 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
19404 @acronym{NNTP} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
19405 Stranger things have happened.
19407 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
19408 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
19410 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
19411 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
19412 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/kiboze/} by default.
19413 One contains the @acronym{NOV} header lines for all the articles in
19414 the group, and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store
19415 information on what groups have been searched through to find
19416 component articles.
19418 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
19419 their @acronym{NOV} lines removed from the @acronym{NOV} file.
19422 @node Email Based Diary
19423 @section Email Based Diary
19425 @cindex email based diary
19428 This section describes a special mail back end called @code{nndiary},
19429 and its companion library @code{gnus-diary}. It is ``special'' in the
19430 sense that it is not meant to be one of the standard alternatives for
19431 reading mail with Gnus. See @ref{Choosing a Mail Back End} for that.
19432 Instead, it is used to treat @emph{some} of your mails in a special way,
19433 namely, as event reminders.
19435 Here is a typical scenario:
19439 You've got a date with Andy Mc Dowell or Bruce Willis (select according
19440 to your sexual preference) in one month. You don't want to forget it.
19442 So you send a ``reminder'' message (actually, a diary one) to yourself.
19444 You forget all about it and keep on getting and reading new mail, as usual.
19446 From time to time, as you type `g' in the group buffer and as the date
19447 is getting closer, the message will pop up again to remind you of your
19448 appointment, just as if it were new and unread.
19450 Read your ``new'' messages, this one included, and start dreaming again
19451 of the night you're gonna have.
19453 Once the date is over (you actually fell asleep just after dinner), the
19454 message will be automatically deleted if it is marked as expirable.
19457 The Gnus Diary back end has the ability to handle regular appointments
19458 (that wouldn't ever be deleted) as well as punctual ones, operates as a
19459 real mail back end and is configurable in many ways. All of this is
19460 explained in the sections below.
19463 * The NNDiary Back End:: Basic setup and usage.
19464 * The Gnus Diary Library:: Utility toolkit on top of nndiary.
19465 * Sending or Not Sending:: A final note on sending diary messages.
19469 @node The NNDiary Back End
19470 @subsection The NNDiary Back End
19472 @cindex the nndiary back end
19474 @code{nndiary} is a back end very similar to @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
19475 Spool}). Actually, it could appear as a mix of @code{nnml} and
19476 @code{nndraft}. If you know @code{nnml}, you're already familiar with
19477 the message storing scheme of @code{nndiary}: one file per message, one
19478 directory per group.
19480 Before anything, there is one requirement to be able to run
19481 @code{nndiary} properly: you @emph{must} use the group timestamp feature
19482 of Gnus. This adds a timestamp to each group's parameters. @ref{Group
19483 Timestamp} to see how it's done.
19486 * Diary Messages:: What makes a message valid for nndiary.
19487 * Running NNDiary:: NNDiary has two modes of operation.
19488 * Customizing NNDiary:: Bells and whistles.
19491 @node Diary Messages
19492 @subsubsection Diary Messages
19493 @cindex nndiary messages
19494 @cindex nndiary mails
19496 @code{nndiary} messages are just normal ones, except for the mandatory
19497 presence of 7 special headers. These headers are of the form
19498 @code{X-Diary-<something>}, @code{<something>} being one of
19499 @code{Minute}, @code{Hour}, @code{Dom}, @code{Month}, @code{Year},
19500 @code{Time-Zone} and @code{Dow}. @code{Dom} means ``Day of Month'', and
19501 @code{dow} means ``Day of Week''. These headers actually behave like
19502 crontab specifications and define the event date(s):
19506 For all headers except the @code{Time-Zone} one, a header value is
19507 either a star (meaning all possible values), or a list of fields
19508 (separated by a comma).
19510 A field is either an integer, or a range.
19512 A range is two integers separated by a dash.
19514 Possible integer values are 0--59 for @code{Minute}, 0--23 for
19515 @code{Hour}, 1--31 for @code{Dom}, 1--12 for @code{Month}, above 1971
19516 for @code{Year} and 0--6 for @code{Dow} (0 meaning Sunday).
19518 As a special case, a star in either @code{Dom} or @code{Dow} doesn't
19519 mean ``all possible values'', but ``use only the other field''. Note
19520 that if both are star'ed, the use of either one gives the same result.
19522 The @code{Time-Zone} header is special in that it can only have one
19523 value (@code{GMT}, for instance). A star doesn't mean ``all possible
19524 values'' (because it makes no sense), but ``the current local time
19525 zone''. Most of the time, you'll be using a star here. However, for a
19526 list of available time zone values, see the variable
19527 @code{nndiary-headers}.
19530 As a concrete example, here are the diary headers to add to your message
19531 for specifying ``Each Monday and each 1st of month, at 12:00, 20:00,
19532 21:00, 22:00, 23:00 and 24:00, from 1999 to 2010'' (I'll let you find
19537 X-Diary-Hour: 12, 20-24
19540 X-Diary-Year: 1999-2010
19542 X-Diary-Time-Zone: *
19545 @node Running NNDiary
19546 @subsubsection Running NNDiary
19547 @cindex running nndiary
19548 @cindex nndiary operation modes
19550 @code{nndiary} has two modes of operation: ``traditional'' (the default)
19551 and ``autonomous''. In traditional mode, @code{nndiary} does not get new
19552 mail by itself. You have to move (@kbd{B m}) or copy (@kbd{B c}) mails
19553 from your primary mail back end to nndiary groups in order to handle them
19554 as diary messages. In autonomous mode, @code{nndiary} retrieves its own
19555 mail and handles it independently from your primary mail back end.
19557 One should note that Gnus is not inherently designed to allow several
19558 ``master'' mail back ends at the same time. However, this does make
19559 sense with @code{nndiary}: you really want to send and receive diary
19560 messages to your diary groups directly. So, @code{nndiary} supports
19561 being sort of a ``second primary mail back end'' (to my knowledge, it is
19562 the only back end offering this feature). However, there is a limitation
19563 (which I hope to fix some day): respooling doesn't work in autonomous
19566 In order to use @code{nndiary} in autonomous mode, you have several
19571 Allow @code{nndiary} to retrieve new mail by itself. Put the following
19572 line in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
19575 (setq nndiary-get-new-mail t)
19578 You must arrange for diary messages (those containing @code{X-Diary-*}
19579 headers) to be split in a private folder @emph{before} Gnus treat them.
19580 Again, this is needed because Gnus cannot (yet ?) properly handle
19581 multiple primary mail back ends. Getting those messages from a separate
19582 source will compensate this misfeature to some extent.
19584 As an example, here's my procmailrc entry to store diary files in
19585 @file{~/.nndiary} (the default @code{nndiary} mail source file):
19594 Once this is done, you might want to customize the following two options
19595 that affect the diary mail retrieval and splitting processes:
19597 @defvar nndiary-mail-sources
19598 This is the diary-specific replacement for the standard
19599 @code{mail-sources} variable. It obeys the same syntax, and defaults to
19600 @code{(file :path "~/.nndiary")}.
19603 @defvar nndiary-split-methods
19604 This is the diary-specific replacement for the standard
19605 @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable. It obeys the same syntax.
19608 Finally, you may add a permanent @code{nndiary} virtual server
19609 (something like @code{(nndiary "diary")} should do) to your
19610 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}.
19612 Hopefully, almost everything (see the TODO section in
19613 @file{nndiary.el}) will work as expected when you restart Gnus: in
19614 autonomous mode, typing @kbd{g} and @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer, will
19615 also get your new diary mails and split them according to your
19616 diary-specific rules, @kbd{F} will find your new diary groups etc.
19618 @node Customizing NNDiary
19619 @subsubsection Customizing NNDiary
19620 @cindex customizing nndiary
19621 @cindex nndiary customization
19623 Now that @code{nndiary} is up and running, it's time to customize it.
19624 The custom group is called @code{nndiary} (no, really ?!). You should
19625 browse it to figure out which options you'd like to tweak. The following
19626 two variables are probably the only ones you will want to change:
19628 @defvar nndiary-reminders
19629 This is the list of times when you want to be reminded of your
19630 appointments (e.g. 3 weeks before, then 2 days before, then 1 hour
19631 before and that's it). Remember that ``being reminded'' means that the
19632 diary message will pop up as brand new and unread again when you get new
19636 @defvar nndiary-week-starts-on-monday
19637 Rather self-explanatory. Otherwise, Sunday is assumed (this is the
19642 @node The Gnus Diary Library
19643 @subsection The Gnus Diary Library
19645 @cindex the gnus diary library
19647 Using @code{nndiary} manually (I mean, writing the headers by hand and
19648 so on) would be rather boring. Fortunately, there is a library called
19649 @code{gnus-diary} written on top of @code{nndiary}, that does many
19650 useful things for you.
19652 In order to use it, add the following line to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
19655 (require 'gnus-diary)
19658 Also, you shouldn't use any @code{gnus-user-format-function-[d|D]}
19659 (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}). @code{gnus-diary} provides both of these
19660 (sorry if you used them before).
19664 * Diary Summary Line Format:: A nicer summary buffer line format.
19665 * Diary Articles Sorting:: A nicer way to sort messages.
19666 * Diary Headers Generation:: Not doing it manually.
19667 * Diary Group Parameters:: Not handling them manually.
19670 @node Diary Summary Line Format
19671 @subsubsection Diary Summary Line Format
19672 @cindex diary summary buffer line
19673 @cindex diary summary line format
19675 Displaying diary messages in standard summary line format (usually
19676 something like @samp{From Joe: Subject}) is pretty useless. Most of
19677 the time, you're the one who wrote the message, and you mostly want to
19678 see the event's date.
19680 @code{gnus-diary} provides two supplemental user formats to be used in
19681 summary line formats. @code{D} corresponds to a formatted time string
19682 for the next occurrence of the event (e.g. ``Sat, Sep 22 01, 12:00''),
19683 while @code{d} corresponds to an approximative remaining time until the
19684 next occurrence of the event (e.g. ``in 6 months, 1 week'').
19686 For example, here's how Joe's birthday is displayed in my
19687 @code{nndiary+diary:birthdays} summary buffer (note that the message is
19688 expirable, but will never be deleted, as it specifies a periodic event):
19691 E Sat, Sep 22 01, 12:00: Joe's birthday (in 6 months, 1 week)
19694 In order to get something like the above, you would normally add the
19695 following line to your diary groups'parameters:
19698 (gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z %uD: %(%s%) (%ud)\n")
19701 However, @code{gnus-diary} does it automatically (@pxref{Diary Group
19702 Parameters}). You can however customize the provided summary line format
19703 with the following user options:
19705 @defvar gnus-diary-summary-line-format
19706 Defines the summary line format used for diary groups (@pxref{Summary
19707 Buffer Lines}). @code{gnus-diary} uses it to automatically update the
19708 diary groups'parameters.
19711 @defvar gnus-diary-time-format
19712 Defines the format to display dates in diary summary buffers. This is
19713 used by the @code{D} user format. See the docstring for details.
19716 @defvar gnus-diary-delay-format-function
19717 Defines the format function to use for displaying delays (remaining
19718 times) in diary summary buffers. This is used by the @code{d} user
19719 format. There are currently built-in functions for English and French;
19720 you can also define your own. See the docstring for details.
19723 @node Diary Articles Sorting
19724 @subsubsection Diary Articles Sorting
19725 @cindex diary articles sorting
19726 @cindex diary summary lines sorting
19727 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule
19728 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-schedule
19729 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-schedule
19731 @code{gnus-diary} provides new sorting functions (@pxref{Sorting the
19732 Summary Buffer} ) called @code{gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule},
19733 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-schedule} and
19734 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-schedule}. These functions let you organize
19735 your diary summary buffers from the closest event to the farthest one.
19737 @code{gnus-diary} automatically installs
19738 @code{gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule} as a menu item in the summary
19739 buffer's ``sort'' menu, and the two others as the primary (hence
19740 default) sorting functions in the group parameters (@pxref{Diary Group
19743 @node Diary Headers Generation
19744 @subsubsection Diary Headers Generation
19745 @cindex diary headers generation
19746 @findex gnus-diary-check-message
19748 @code{gnus-diary} provides a function called
19749 @code{gnus-diary-check-message} to help you handle the @code{X-Diary-*}
19750 headers. This function ensures that the current message contains all the
19751 required diary headers, and prompts you for values or corrections if
19754 This function is hooked into the @code{nndiary} back end, so that
19755 moving or copying an article to a diary group will trigger it
19756 automatically. It is also bound to @kbd{C-c C-f d} in
19757 @code{message-mode} and @code{article-edit-mode} in order to ease the
19758 process of converting a usual mail to a diary one.
19760 This function takes a prefix argument which will force prompting of
19761 all diary headers, regardless of their presence or validity. That way,
19762 you can very easily reschedule an already valid diary message, for
19765 @node Diary Group Parameters
19766 @subsubsection Diary Group Parameters
19767 @cindex diary group parameters
19769 When you create a new diary group, or visit one, @code{gnus-diary}
19770 automatically checks your group parameters and if needed, sets the
19771 summary line format to the diary-specific value, installs the
19772 diary-specific sorting functions, and also adds the different
19773 @code{X-Diary-*} headers to the group's posting-style. It is then easier
19774 to send a diary message, because if you use @kbd{C-u a} or @kbd{C-u m}
19775 on a diary group to prepare a message, these headers will be inserted
19776 automatically (although not filled with proper values yet).
19778 @node Sending or Not Sending
19779 @subsection Sending or Not Sending
19781 Well, assuming you've read all of the above, here are two final notes on
19782 mail sending with @code{nndiary}:
19786 @code{nndiary} is a @emph{real} mail back end. You really send real diary
19787 messsages for real. This means for instance that you can give
19788 appointments to anybody (provided they use Gnus and @code{nndiary}) by
19789 sending the diary message to them as well.
19791 However, since @code{nndiary} also has a @code{request-post} method, you
19792 can also use @kbd{C-u a} instead of @kbd{C-u m} on a diary group and the
19793 message won't actually be sent; just stored locally in the group. This
19794 comes in very handy for private appointments.
19797 @node Gnus Unplugged
19798 @section Gnus Unplugged
19803 @cindex Gnus unplugged
19805 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
19806 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
19807 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
19808 read news. Believe it or not.
19810 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
19811 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
19812 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
19813 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
19814 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
19816 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
19817 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
19818 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
19819 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
19820 reading news on a machine.
19822 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
19823 fact, you don't have to configure anything as the agent is now enabled
19824 by default (@pxref{Agent Variables, gnus-agent}).
19826 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
19829 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
19830 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
19831 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
19832 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
19833 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
19834 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
19835 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
19836 * Agent and flags:: How the Agent maintains flags.
19837 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
19838 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
19839 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
19840 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
19841 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
19842 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
19847 @subsection Agent Basics
19849 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
19851 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
19852 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
19853 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
19854 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
19856 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
19857 connected to the net continuously.
19859 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
19860 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
19862 You know that Gnus gives you all the opportunity you'd ever want for
19863 shooting yourself in the foot. Some people call it flexibility. Gnus
19864 is also customizable to a great extent, which means that the user has a
19865 say on how Gnus behaves. Other newsreaders might unconditionally shoot
19866 you in your foot, but with Gnus, you have a choice!
19868 Gnus is never really in plugged or unplugged state. Rather, it applies
19869 that state to each server individually. This means that some servers
19870 can be plugged while others can be unplugged. Additionally, some
19871 servers can be ignored by the Agent altogether (which means that
19872 they're kinda like plugged always).
19874 So when you unplug the Agent and then wonder why is Gnus opening a
19875 connection to the Net, the next step to do is to look whether all
19876 servers are agentized. If there is an unagentized server, you found
19879 Another thing is the @dfn{offline} state. Sometimes, servers aren't
19880 reachable. When Gnus notices this, it asks you whether you want the
19881 server to be switched to offline state. If you say yes, then the
19882 server will behave somewhat as if it was unplugged, except that Gnus
19883 will ask you whether you want to switch it back online again.
19885 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
19890 @findex gnus-unplugged
19891 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
19892 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
19893 already fetched while in this mode.
19896 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
19897 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
19898 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
19899 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode (@pxref{Mail
19900 Source Specifiers}).
19903 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the
19904 news onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press
19905 @kbd{g} to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J s} to fetch
19906 all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus know which
19907 articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}).
19910 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
19911 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
19912 then you read the news offline.
19915 And then you go to step 2.
19918 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
19924 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
19925 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
19926 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
19927 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
19928 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
19929 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
19930 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} servers in @code{gnus-select-method} and
19931 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
19934 Decide on download policy. It's fairly simple once you decide whether
19935 you are going to use agent categories, topic parameters, and/or group
19936 parameters to implement your policy. If you're new to gnus, it
19937 is probably best to start with a category, @xref{Agent Categories}.
19939 Both topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) and agent categories
19940 (@pxref{Agent Categories}) provide for setting a policy that applies
19941 to multiple groups. Which you use is entirely up to you. Topic
19942 parameters do override categories so, if you mix the two, you'll have
19943 to take that into account. If you have a few groups that deviate from
19944 your policy, you can use group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to
19948 Uhm@dots{} that's it.
19952 @node Agent Categories
19953 @subsection Agent Categories
19955 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
19956 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
19957 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
19958 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
19959 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
19960 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
19961 you're interested in the articles anyway.
19963 One of the more effective methods for controlling what is to be
19964 downloaded is to create a @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all)
19965 groups to this category. Groups that do not belong in any other
19966 category belong to the @code{default} category. Gnus has its own
19967 buffer for creating and managing categories.
19969 If you prefer, you can also use group parameters (@pxref{Group
19970 Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) for an
19971 alternative approach to controlling the agent. The only real
19972 difference is that categories are specific to the agent (so there is
19973 less to learn) while group and topic parameters include the kitchen
19976 Since you can set agent parameters in several different places we have
19977 a rule to decide which source to believe. This rule specifies that
19978 the parameter sources are checked in the following order: group
19979 parameters, topic parameters, agent category, and finally customizable
19980 variables. So you can mix all of these sources to produce a wide range
19981 of behavior, just don't blame me if you don't remember where you put
19985 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
19986 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
19987 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
19991 @node Category Syntax
19992 @subsubsection Category Syntax
19994 A category consists of a name, the list of groups belonging to the
19995 category, and a number of optional parameters that override the
19996 customizable variables. The complete list of agent parameters are
19999 @cindex Agent Parameters
20002 The list of groups that are in this category.
20004 @item agent-predicate
20005 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
20006 are eligible for downloading; and
20009 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
20010 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
20011 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
20013 @item agent-enable-expiration
20014 a boolean indicating whether the agent should expire old articles in
20015 this group. Most groups should be expired to conserve disk space. In
20016 fact, its probably safe to say that the gnus.* hierarchy contains the
20017 only groups that should not be expired.
20019 @item agent-days-until-old
20020 an integer indicating the number of days that the agent should wait
20021 before deciding that a read article is safe to expire.
20023 @item agent-low-score
20024 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-low-score}.
20026 @item agent-high-score
20027 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-high-score}.
20029 @item agent-short-article
20030 an integer that overrides the value of
20031 @code{gnus-agent-short-article}.
20033 @item agent-long-article
20034 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-long-article}.
20036 @item agent-enable-undownloaded-faces
20037 a symbol indicating whether the summary buffer should display
20038 undownloaded articles using the @code{gnus-summary-*-undownloaded-face}
20039 faces. Any symbol other than @code{nil} will enable the use of
20040 undownloaded faces.
20043 The name of a category can not be changed once the category has been
20046 Each category maintains a list of groups that are exclusive members of
20047 that category. The exclusivity rule is automatically enforced, add a
20048 group to a new category and it is automatically removed from its old
20051 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
20052 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
20053 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
20054 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
20056 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
20057 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
20058 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
20060 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
20061 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
20062 operators sprinkled in between.
20064 Perhaps some examples are in order.
20066 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
20067 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
20073 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
20074 short (for some value of ``short'').
20076 Here's a more complex predicate:
20085 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
20086 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
20089 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
20090 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
20091 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
20093 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
20094 you want to do, you can write your own.
20096 When evaluating each of these predicates, the named constant will be
20097 bound to the value determined by calling
20098 @code{gnus-agent-find-parameter} on the appropriate parameter. For
20099 example, gnus-agent-short-article will be bound to
20100 @code{(gnus-agent-find-parameter group 'agent-short-article)}. This
20101 means that you can specify a predicate in your category then tune that
20102 predicate to individual groups.
20106 True if the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
20107 lines; default 100.
20110 True if the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
20111 lines; default 200.
20114 True if the article has a download score less than
20115 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
20118 True if the article has a download score greater than
20119 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
20122 True if the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
20123 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
20124 checksum and sees whether articles match.
20133 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
20134 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
20135 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
20138 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
20139 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
20140 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
20141 something along the lines of the following:
20144 (defun my-article-old-p ()
20145 "Say whether an article is old."
20146 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
20147 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
20150 with the predicate then defined as:
20153 (not my-article-old-p)
20156 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
20157 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
20161 (require 'gnus-agent)
20162 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
20163 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
20164 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
20167 and simply specify your predicate as:
20173 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
20174 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
20175 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
20176 just don't give a damn.
20178 The above predicates apply to @emph{all} the groups which belong to the
20179 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
20180 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
20181 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in its group
20182 parameters like so:
20185 (agent-predicate . short)
20188 This is the group/topic parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
20189 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
20190 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
20192 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
20195 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
20198 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
20199 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
20200 predicate is assumed to be a list.
20203 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
20204 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
20205 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
20206 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
20207 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
20208 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
20210 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
20211 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
20212 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
20213 if it's to be specific to that group.
20215 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
20222 This has the same syntax as a normal Gnus score file except only a
20223 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
20229 Category specification
20233 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
20239 Group/Topic Parameter specification
20242 (agent-score ("from"
20243 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
20248 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
20254 These score files must @emph{only} contain the permitted scoring
20255 keywords stated above.
20261 Category specification
20264 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
20270 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
20274 Group Parameter specification
20277 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
20280 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
20285 Use @code{normal} score files
20287 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
20288 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
20289 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
20290 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
20292 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
20293 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
20294 files for a group, @emph{filtering out} those sections that do not
20295 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
20299 Category Specification
20306 Group Parameter specification
20309 (agent-score . file)
20314 @node Category Buffer
20315 @subsubsection Category Buffer
20317 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
20318 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
20319 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
20321 The following commands are available in this buffer:
20325 @kindex q (Category)
20326 @findex gnus-category-exit
20327 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
20330 @kindex e (Category)
20331 @findex gnus-category-customize-category
20332 Use a customization buffer to set all of the selected category's
20333 parameters at one time (@code{gnus-category-customize-category}).
20336 @kindex k (Category)
20337 @findex gnus-category-kill
20338 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
20341 @kindex c (Category)
20342 @findex gnus-category-copy
20343 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
20346 @kindex a (Category)
20347 @findex gnus-category-add
20348 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
20351 @kindex p (Category)
20352 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
20353 Edit the predicate of the current category
20354 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
20357 @kindex g (Category)
20358 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
20359 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
20360 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
20363 @kindex s (Category)
20364 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
20365 Edit the download score rule of the current category
20366 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
20369 @kindex l (Category)
20370 @findex gnus-category-list
20371 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
20375 @node Category Variables
20376 @subsubsection Category Variables
20379 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
20380 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
20381 Hook run in category buffers.
20383 @item gnus-category-line-format
20384 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
20385 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
20386 Variables}). Valid elements are:
20390 The name of the category.
20393 The number of groups in the category.
20396 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
20397 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
20398 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
20400 @item gnus-agent-short-article
20401 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
20402 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
20404 @item gnus-agent-long-article
20405 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
20406 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
20408 @item gnus-agent-low-score
20409 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
20410 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
20413 @item gnus-agent-high-score
20414 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
20415 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
20418 @item gnus-agent-expire-days
20419 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
20420 The number of days that a @samp{read} article must stay in the agent's
20421 local disk before becoming eligible for expiration (While the name is
20422 the same, this doesn't mean expiring the article on the server. It
20423 just means deleting the local copy of the article). What is also
20424 important to understand is that the counter starts with the time the
20425 article was written to the local disk and not the time the article was
20429 @item gnus-agent-enable-expiration
20430 @vindex gnus-agent-enable-expiration
20431 Determines whether articles in a group are, by default, expired or
20432 retained indefinitely. The default is @code{ENABLE} which means that
20433 you'll have to disable expiration when desired. On the other hand,
20434 you could set this to @code{DISABLE}. In that case, you would then
20435 have to enable expiration in selected groups.
20440 @node Agent Commands
20441 @subsection Agent Commands
20442 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-plugged
20443 @kindex J j (Agent)
20445 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
20446 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
20447 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
20451 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
20452 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
20453 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
20459 @node Group Agent Commands
20460 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
20464 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
20465 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
20466 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
20467 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
20470 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
20471 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
20472 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
20475 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
20476 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
20477 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
20478 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
20481 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
20482 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
20483 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
20484 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
20487 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
20488 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
20489 Add the current group to an Agent category
20490 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
20491 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
20494 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
20495 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
20496 Remove the current group from its category, if any
20497 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
20498 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
20501 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
20502 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
20503 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
20509 @node Summary Agent Commands
20510 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
20514 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
20515 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
20516 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
20519 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
20520 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
20521 Remove the downloading mark from the article
20522 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
20526 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
20527 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
20528 Toggle whether to download the article
20529 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The download mark is @samp{%} by
20533 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
20534 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
20535 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
20538 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
20539 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
20540 Download all eligible (@pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
20541 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
20544 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
20545 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-series
20546 Download all processable articles in this group.
20547 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-series}).
20550 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
20551 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
20552 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
20553 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
20558 @node Server Agent Commands
20559 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
20563 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
20564 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
20565 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
20566 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
20569 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
20570 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
20571 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
20572 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
20577 @node Agent Visuals
20578 @subsection Agent Visuals
20580 If you open a summary while unplugged and, Gnus knows from the group's
20581 active range that there are more articles than the headers currently
20582 stored in the Agent, you may see some articles whose subject looks
20583 something like @samp{[Undownloaded article #####]}. These are
20584 placeholders for the missing headers. Aside from setting a mark,
20585 there is not much that can be done with one of these placeholders.
20586 When Gnus finally gets a chance to fetch the group's headers, the
20587 placeholders will automatically be replaced by the actual headers.
20588 You can configure the summary buffer's maneuvering to skip over the
20589 placeholders if you care (See @code{gnus-auto-goto-ignores}).
20591 While it may be obvious to all, the only headers and articles
20592 available while unplugged are those headers and articles that were
20593 fetched into the Agent while previously plugged. To put it another
20594 way, ``If you forget to fetch something while plugged, you might have a
20595 less than satisfying unplugged session''. For this reason, the Agent
20596 adds two visual effects to your summary buffer. These effects display
20597 the download status of each article so that you always know which
20598 articles will be available when unplugged.
20600 The first visual effect is the @samp{%O} spec. If you customize
20601 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} to include this specifier, you will add
20602 a single character field that indicates an article's download status.
20603 Articles that have been fetched into either the Agent or the Cache,
20604 will display @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} (defaults to @samp{+}). All
20605 other articles will display @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} (defaults to
20606 @samp{-}). If you open a group that has not been agentized, a space
20607 (@samp{ }) will be displayed.
20609 The second visual effect are the undownloaded faces. The faces, there
20610 are three indicating the article's score (low, normal, high), seem to
20611 result in a love/hate response from many Gnus users. The problem is
20612 that the face selection is controlled by a list of condition tests and
20613 face names (See @code{gnus-summary-highlight}). Each condition is
20614 tested in the order in which it appears in the list so early
20615 conditions have precedence over later conditions. All of this means
20616 that, if you tick an undownloaded article, the article will continue
20617 to be displayed in the undownloaded face rather than the ticked face.
20619 If you use the Agent as a cache (to avoid downloading the same article
20620 each time you visit it or to minimize your connection time), the
20621 undownloaded face will probably seem like a good idea. The reason
20622 being that you do all of our work (marking, reading, deleting) with
20623 downloaded articles so the normal faces always appear. For those
20624 users using the agent to improve online performance by caching the NOV
20625 database (most users since 5.10.2), the undownloaded faces may appear
20626 to be an absolutely horrible idea. The issue being that, since none
20627 of their articles have been fetched into the Agent, all of the
20628 normal faces will be obscured by the undownloaded faces.
20630 If you would like to use the undownloaded faces, you must enable the
20631 undownloaded faces by setting the @code{agent-enable-undownloaded-faces}
20632 group parameter to @code{t}. This parameter, like all other agent
20633 parameters, may be set on an Agent Category (@pxref{Agent Categories}),
20634 a Group Topic (@pxref{Topic Parameters}), or an individual group
20635 (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
20637 The one problem common to all users using the agent is how quickly it
20638 can consume disk space. If you using the agent on many groups, it is
20639 even more difficult to effectively recover disk space. One solution
20640 is the @samp{%F} format available in @code{gnus-group-line-format}.
20641 This format will display the actual disk space used by articles
20642 fetched into both the agent and cache. By knowing which groups use
20643 the most space, users know where to focus their efforts when ``agent
20644 expiring'' articles.
20646 @node Agent as Cache
20647 @subsection Agent as Cache
20649 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
20650 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
20651 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
20652 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
20653 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
20654 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
20655 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
20656 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
20657 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
20659 If you so desire, you can configure the agent (see @code{gnus-agent-cache}
20660 @pxref{Agent Variables}) to always download headers and articles while
20661 plugged. Gnus will almost certainly be slower, but it will be kept
20662 synchronized with the server. That last point probably won't make any
20663 sense if you are using a nntp or nnimap back end.
20666 @subsection Agent Expiry
20668 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
20669 @findex gnus-agent-expire
20670 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
20671 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire-group
20672 @findex gnus-agent-expire-group
20673 @cindex agent expiry
20674 @cindex Gnus agent expiry
20675 @cindex expiry, in Gnus agent
20677 The Agent back end, @code{nnagent}, doesn't handle expiry. Well, at
20678 least it doesn't handle it like other back ends. Instead, there are
20679 special @code{gnus-agent-expire} and @code{gnus-agent-expire-group}
20680 commands that will expire all read articles that are older than
20681 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. They can be run whenever you feel
20682 that you're running out of space. Neither are particularly fast or
20683 efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to interrupt them (with
20684 @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started one of them.
20686 Note that other functions, e.g. @code{gnus-request-expire-articles},
20687 might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you to keep the agent
20688 synchronized with the group.
20690 The agent parameter @code{agent-enable-expiration} may be used to
20691 prevent expiration in selected groups.
20693 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
20694 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, the agent
20695 expiration commands will expire all articles---unread, read, ticked
20696 and dormant. If @code{nil} (which is the default), only read articles
20697 are eligible for expiry, and unread, ticked and dormant articles will
20698 be kept indefinitely.
20700 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
20701 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's are special
20702 commands, @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} and
20703 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group}, to fix possible problems.
20705 @node Agent Regeneration
20706 @subsection Agent Regeneration
20708 @cindex agent regeneration
20709 @cindex Gnus agent regeneration
20710 @cindex regeneration
20712 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
20713 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
20714 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
20715 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
20716 internal inconsistencies.
20718 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
20719 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
20720 know about articles successfully downloaded prior to the connection
20721 failure. Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
20722 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
20723 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
20725 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
20726 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
20727 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
20728 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
20729 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
20730 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
20732 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
20733 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
20734 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
20735 of individual articles to repair the local @acronym{NOV}(header) database. It
20736 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
20737 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
20740 @node Agent and flags
20741 @subsection Agent and flags
20743 The Agent works with any Gnus back end including those, such as
20744 nnimap, that store flags (read, ticked, etc) on the server. Sadly,
20745 the Agent does not actually know which backends keep their flags in
20746 the backend server rather than in @file{.newsrc}. This means that the
20747 Agent, while unplugged or disconnected, will always record all changes
20748 to the flags in its own files.
20750 When you plug back in, Gnus will then check to see if you have any
20751 changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the
20752 server. This behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
20754 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
20755 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
20756 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
20757 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
20758 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
20759 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
20761 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
20762 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
20763 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
20764 in the group buffer.
20766 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by ``pushing''
20767 all local flags to the server, but rather by incrementally updated the
20768 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
20769 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on an article, quit the group then
20770 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
20771 removed from the server when you ``synchronize''. The queued flag
20772 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
20773 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
20775 @node Agent and IMAP
20776 @subsection Agent and IMAP
20778 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
20779 since there are some conceptual differences between @acronym{NNTP} and
20780 @acronym{IMAP}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
20781 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @acronym{IMAP} Disconnected Mode client.
20783 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
20784 expect from a disconnected @acronym{IMAP} client, including:
20789 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
20792 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
20796 @node Outgoing Messages
20797 @subsection Outgoing Messages
20799 By default, when Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail
20800 and news) are stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}).
20801 You can view them there after posting, and edit them at will.
20803 You can control the circumstances under which outgoing mail is queued
20804 (see @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail}, @pxref{Agent Variables}). Outgoing
20805 news is always queued when Gnus is unplugged, and never otherwise.
20807 You can send the messages either from the draft group with the special
20808 commands available there, or you can use the @kbd{J S} command in the
20809 group buffer to send all the sendable messages in the draft group.
20810 Posting news will only work when Gnus is plugged, but you can send
20813 If sending mail while unplugged does not work for you and you worry
20814 about hitting @kbd{J S} by accident when unplugged, you can have Gnus
20815 ask you to confirm your action (see
20816 @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue}, @pxref{Agent Variables}).
20818 @node Agent Variables
20819 @subsection Agent Variables
20824 Is the agent enabled? The default is @code{t}. When first enabled,
20825 the agent will use @code{gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods} to
20826 automatically mark some back ends as agentized. You may change which
20827 back ends are agentized using the agent commands in the server buffer.
20829 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
20830 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
20833 @item gnus-agent-directory
20834 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
20835 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
20836 @file{~/News/agent/}.
20838 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
20839 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
20840 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
20841 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
20842 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
20845 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
20846 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
20847 Hook run when connecting to the network.
20849 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
20850 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
20851 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
20853 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
20854 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
20855 Hook run when finished fetching articles.
20857 @item gnus-agent-cache
20858 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
20859 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @acronym{NOV} and
20860 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
20861 The default is non-@code{nil}, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
20863 @item gnus-agent-go-online
20864 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
20865 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
20866 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
20867 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
20868 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
20869 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
20872 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
20873 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
20874 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
20875 mark articles as unread after downloading. This is usually a safe
20876 thing to do as the newly downloaded article has obviously not been
20877 read. The default is @code{t}.
20879 @item gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
20880 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
20881 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
20882 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
20883 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
20884 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
20885 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
20887 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
20888 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
20889 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
20890 agent will let the agent predicate decide whether articles need to be
20891 downloaded or not, for all articles. When @code{nil}, the default,
20892 the agent will only let the predicate decide whether unread articles
20893 are downloaded or not. If you enable this, you may also want to look
20894 into the agent expiry settings (@pxref{Category Variables}), so that
20895 the agent doesn't download articles which the agent will later expire,
20896 over and over again.
20898 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
20899 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
20900 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
20901 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
20902 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
20903 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
20904 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
20905 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
20906 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
20907 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
20908 However, all articles parsed prior to loosing the connection will be
20909 available while unplugged). The default is 10M so it is unusual to
20912 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
20913 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
20914 Perhaps not an Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
20915 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
20916 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
20917 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
20918 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
20919 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
20920 is only valid if the Agent is used.
20922 @item gnus-auto-goto-ignores
20923 @vindex gnus-auto-goto-ignores
20924 Another variable that isn't an Agent variable, yet so closely related
20925 that most will look for it here, this variable tells the summary
20926 buffer how to maneuver around undownloaded (only headers stored in the
20927 agent) and unfetched (neither article nor headers stored) articles.
20929 The valid values are @code{nil} (maneuver to any article),
20930 @code{undownloaded} (maneuvering while unplugged ignores articles that
20931 have not been fetched), @code{always-undownloaded} (maneuvering always
20932 ignores articles that have not been fetched), @code{unfetched}
20933 (maneuvering ignores articles whose headers have not been fetched).
20935 @item gnus-agent-queue-mail
20936 @vindex gnus-agent-queue-mail
20937 When @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail} is @code{always}, Gnus will always
20938 queue mail rather than sending it straight away. When @code{t}, Gnus
20939 will queue mail when unplugged only. When @code{nil}, never queue
20940 mail. The default is @code{t}.
20942 @item gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
20943 @vindex gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
20944 When @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue} is non-@code{nil} Gnus will
20945 prompt you to confirm that you really wish to proceed if you hit
20946 @kbd{J S} while unplugged. The default is @code{nil}.
20948 @item gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
20949 @vindex gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
20950 If you have never used the Agent before (or more technically, if
20951 @file{~/News/agent/lib/servers} does not exist), Gnus will
20952 automatically agentize a few servers for you. This variable control
20953 which back ends should be auto-agentized. It is typically only useful
20954 to agentize remote back ends. The auto-agentizing has the same effect
20955 as running @kbd{J a} on the servers (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}).
20956 If the file exist, you must manage the servers manually by adding or
20957 removing them, this variable is only applicable the first time you
20958 start Gnus. The default is @samp{(nntp nnimap)}.
20963 @node Example Setup
20964 @subsection Example Setup
20966 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
20967 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
20968 @file{~/.gnus.el} file to get started.
20971 ;; @r{Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @acronym{NNTP}}
20972 ;; @r{from your ISP's server.}
20973 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
20975 ;; @r{Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from}
20976 ;; @r{your ISP's @acronym{POP} server.}
20977 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
20979 ;; @r{Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.}
20980 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
20982 ;; @r{Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.}
20983 ;; (gnus-agentize) ; @r{The obsolete setting.}
20984 ;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; @r{Now the default.}
20987 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
20988 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
20991 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
20992 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
20993 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
20994 @acronym{NNTP} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
20995 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
20998 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
20999 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
21000 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
21001 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
21002 back all the killed groups.)
21004 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
21005 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
21006 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
21009 @node Batching Agents
21010 @subsection Batching Agents
21011 @findex gnus-agent-batch
21013 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
21014 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
21015 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
21017 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
21018 following incantation:
21022 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
21026 @node Agent Caveats
21027 @subsection Agent Caveats
21029 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
21030 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
21034 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
21036 @strong{No}. If you want this behavior, add
21037 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
21038 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
21040 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in
21041 the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
21043 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is @code{nil}.
21047 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
21048 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
21049 locally stored articles.
21056 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
21057 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
21058 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
21061 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
21062 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
21063 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
21064 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
21065 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
21067 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
21068 before generating the summary buffer.
21070 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
21071 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
21072 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
21074 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
21075 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
21076 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
21077 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
21080 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
21081 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
21082 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
21083 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
21084 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
21085 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
21086 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
21087 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
21088 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
21089 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
21090 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
21091 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
21092 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
21093 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
21094 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
21095 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
21099 @node Summary Score Commands
21100 @section Summary Score Commands
21101 @cindex score commands
21103 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
21104 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
21105 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
21106 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
21107 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
21109 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
21110 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
21111 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
21112 score file the current one.
21114 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
21119 @kindex V s (Summary)
21120 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
21121 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
21124 @kindex V S (Summary)
21125 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
21126 Display the score of the current article
21127 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
21130 @kindex V t (Summary)
21131 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
21132 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
21133 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}). In the @code{*Score Trace*} buffer, you
21134 may type @kbd{e} to edit score file corresponding to the score rule on
21135 current line and @kbd{f} to format (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) the
21136 score file and edit it.
21139 @kindex V w (Summary)
21140 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
21141 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
21144 @kindex V R (Summary)
21145 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
21146 Run the current summary through the scoring process
21147 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
21148 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
21149 effect you're having.
21152 @kindex V c (Summary)
21153 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
21154 Make a different score file the current
21155 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
21158 @kindex V e (Summary)
21159 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
21160 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
21161 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
21165 @kindex V f (Summary)
21166 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
21167 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
21168 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
21171 @kindex V F (Summary)
21172 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
21173 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
21174 after editing score files.
21177 @kindex V C (Summary)
21178 @findex gnus-score-customize
21179 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
21180 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
21184 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
21189 @kindex V m (Summary)
21190 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
21191 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
21192 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
21195 @kindex V x (Summary)
21196 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
21197 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
21198 expunge all articles below this score
21199 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
21202 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
21203 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
21206 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
21207 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
21211 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
21212 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
21214 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
21215 keys are available:
21219 Score on the author name.
21222 Score on the subject line.
21225 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
21228 Score on the @code{References} line.
21234 Score on the number of lines.
21237 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
21240 Score on an ``extra'' header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
21241 if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
21244 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
21245 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
21246 @file{ADAPT} files.)
21255 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
21261 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
21262 what headers you are scoring on.
21274 Substring matching.
21277 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
21306 Greater than number.
21311 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
21312 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
21313 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
21318 Temporary score entry.
21321 Permanent score entry.
21324 Immediately scoring.
21328 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
21329 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
21330 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
21334 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
21335 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
21336 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
21337 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
21339 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
21340 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
21341 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
21342 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
21343 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
21345 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
21346 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
21347 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
21348 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
21349 current score file.
21351 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
21352 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
21353 pretend they are keymaps or not.
21356 @node Group Score Commands
21357 @section Group Score Commands
21358 @cindex group score commands
21360 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
21365 @kindex W e (Group)
21366 @findex gnus-score-edit-all-score
21367 Edit the apply-to-all-groups all.SCORE file. You will be popped into
21368 a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score File Editing}).
21371 @kindex W f (Group)
21372 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
21373 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
21374 all the time. This command will flush the cache
21375 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
21379 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
21381 @findex gnus-batch-score
21382 @cindex batch scoring
21384 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
21388 @node Score Variables
21389 @section Score Variables
21390 @cindex score variables
21394 @item gnus-use-scoring
21395 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
21396 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
21397 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
21399 @item gnus-kill-killed
21400 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
21401 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
21402 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
21403 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
21404 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
21405 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
21406 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
21408 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
21409 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
21410 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
21411 initialized from the @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
21412 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
21414 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
21415 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
21416 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
21417 (@file{SCORE} by default.)
21419 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
21420 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
21421 @cindex score cache
21422 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
21423 score files. However, this might make your Emacs grow big and
21424 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely
21425 to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
21426 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
21427 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
21428 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
21431 @item gnus-save-score
21432 @vindex gnus-save-score
21433 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
21434 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
21435 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
21437 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
21438 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
21439 across group visits.
21441 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
21442 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
21443 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
21444 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
21445 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
21446 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
21447 manually entered data.
21449 @item gnus-summary-default-score
21450 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
21451 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
21453 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
21454 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
21455 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
21456 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
21457 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
21458 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
21460 @item gnus-score-over-mark
21461 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
21462 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
21463 default. Default is @samp{+}.
21465 @item gnus-score-below-mark
21466 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
21467 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
21468 default. Default is @samp{-}.
21470 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
21471 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
21472 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
21473 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
21475 Predefined functions available are:
21478 @item gnus-score-find-single
21479 @findex gnus-score-find-single
21480 Only apply the group's own score file.
21482 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
21483 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
21484 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
21485 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
21486 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
21487 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
21488 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
21489 then a regexp match is done.
21491 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
21492 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
21494 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
21495 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
21496 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
21497 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
21499 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
21500 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
21501 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
21502 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
21503 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
21507 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
21508 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
21509 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
21510 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
21511 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
21512 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
21513 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
21516 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
21517 overall score file, you could use the value
21519 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
21520 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
21523 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
21524 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
21525 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
21526 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
21527 are expired. It's 7 by default.
21529 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
21530 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
21531 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
21532 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
21533 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
21534 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
21535 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
21536 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
21538 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
21539 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
21540 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
21542 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
21543 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
21544 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be
21545 simplified for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
21546 threading---according to the current value of
21547 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions}. If the scoring entry uses
21548 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
21549 simplified in this manner.
21554 @node Score File Format
21555 @section Score File Format
21556 @cindex score file format
21558 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
21559 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
21560 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
21562 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
21566 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
21568 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
21570 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
21572 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
21577 (mark-and-expunge -10)
21581 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
21582 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
21583 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
21584 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
21588 This example demonstrates most score file elements. @xref{Advanced
21589 Scoring}, for a different approach.
21591 Even though this looks much like Lisp code, nothing here is actually
21592 @code{eval}ed. The Lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
21593 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
21595 Six keys are supported by this alist:
21600 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
21601 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
21602 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
21603 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
21604 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
21605 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
21606 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
21607 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
21608 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
21609 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
21610 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
21611 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
21612 to articles that matches these score entries.
21614 Following this key is an arbitrary number of score entries, where each
21615 score entry has one to four elements.
21619 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
21620 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
21624 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
21625 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
21626 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
21627 is successful. If this element is not present, the
21628 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
21629 instead. This is 1000 by default.
21632 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
21633 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
21634 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
21635 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
21636 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
21639 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
21640 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
21641 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
21642 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
21645 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
21646 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
21647 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
21648 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
21649 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
21650 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
21651 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
21652 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
21653 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
21654 instead, if you feel like.
21657 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
21658 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
21659 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
21660 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
21661 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin
21662 host, if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks @samp{NNTP-Posting-Host} in
21666 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s
21667 "NNTP-Posting-Host")
21671 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
21672 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
21674 These predicates are true if
21677 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
21680 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
21681 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
21688 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
21689 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
21690 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
21691 it's not. I think.)
21693 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
21694 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
21695 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
21696 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
21699 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
21700 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
21701 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
21702 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
21703 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
21704 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
21705 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
21709 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
21710 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
21711 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
21712 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
21713 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
21714 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
21715 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
21716 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
21719 @item Head, Body, All
21720 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
21724 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
21725 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
21726 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
21727 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
21728 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
21729 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
21730 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
21734 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
21735 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
21736 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
21737 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
21738 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
21739 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
21740 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
21741 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
21742 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
21743 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
21744 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
21748 @cindex score file atoms
21750 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
21751 lower than this number will be marked as read.
21754 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
21755 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
21757 @item mark-and-expunge
21758 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
21759 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
21762 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
21763 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
21764 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
21765 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
21766 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
21769 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
21770 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
21773 @item exclude-files
21774 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
21775 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
21779 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
21780 ignored when handling global score files.
21783 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
21784 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
21785 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
21786 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
21789 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
21790 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
21791 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
21792 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
21794 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
21798 (mark-and-expunge -100)
21801 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
21802 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
21803 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
21804 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
21805 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
21807 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
21808 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
21809 scoring rules exist.
21812 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
21813 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
21814 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
21815 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
21816 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
21817 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
21818 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
21819 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
21820 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
21821 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
21822 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
21826 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
21827 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
21828 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
21829 file for a number of groups.
21832 @cindex local variables
21833 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(@var{var}
21834 @var{value})} pairs. Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the
21835 current summary buffer, and set to the value specified. This is a
21836 convenient, if somewhat strange, way of setting variables in some
21837 groups if you don't like hooks much. Note that the @var{value} won't
21842 @node Score File Editing
21843 @section Score File Editing
21845 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
21846 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
21847 with a mode for that.
21849 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
21850 additional commands:
21855 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
21856 @findex gnus-score-edit-exit
21857 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
21858 (@code{gnus-score-edit-exit}).
21861 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
21862 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
21863 Insert the current date in numerical format
21864 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
21865 you were wondering.
21868 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
21869 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
21870 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
21871 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
21872 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
21877 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
21879 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
21880 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
21882 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f}, @kbd{V e} and
21883 @kbd{V t} to begin editing score files.
21886 @node Adaptive Scoring
21887 @section Adaptive Scoring
21888 @cindex adaptive scoring
21890 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
21891 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
21892 stupidity, to be precise.
21894 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
21895 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
21896 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
21897 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
21898 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
21899 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
21900 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
21901 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
21902 variable to @code{(word line)}.
21904 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
21905 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
21906 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
21907 might look something like this:
21910 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
21911 '((gnus-unread-mark)
21912 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
21913 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
21914 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
21915 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
21916 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
21917 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
21918 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
21919 (gnus-ancient-mark)
21920 (gnus-low-score-mark)
21921 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
21924 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
21925 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
21926 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
21927 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
21928 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
21929 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
21932 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
21933 will be applied to each article.
21935 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
21936 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{e}) will have a
21937 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
21938 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
21940 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
21941 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
21942 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
21943 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
21945 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
21946 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
21947 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
21948 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
21950 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
21951 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
21952 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
21953 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
21954 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
21955 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
21957 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
21958 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
21959 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
21961 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
21962 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
21963 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
21965 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
21966 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
21967 let you use different rules in different groups.
21969 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
21970 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
21971 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
21974 @vindex gnus-adaptive-pretty-print
21975 Adaptive score files can get huge and are not meant to be edited by
21976 human hands. If @code{gnus-adaptive-pretty-print} is @code{nil} (the
21977 deafult) those files will not be written in a human readable way.
21979 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
21980 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
21981 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
21982 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
21983 the length of the match is less than
21984 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
21985 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
21988 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
21989 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
21990 headers. If you adapt on words, the
21991 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
21992 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
21995 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
21996 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
21997 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
21998 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
21999 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
22002 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
22003 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
22004 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
22005 score with 30 points.
22007 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
22008 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
22009 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
22010 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
22011 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
22013 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
22014 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
22015 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
22016 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
22017 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
22019 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
22020 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
22021 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
22022 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
22024 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
22025 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
22026 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
22027 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
22029 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
22030 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
22031 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
22032 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
22033 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
22035 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
22036 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
22037 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
22039 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
22040 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
22041 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
22042 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
22045 @node Home Score File
22046 @section Home Score File
22048 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
22049 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
22050 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
22051 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
22053 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
22054 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
22055 could perhaps use the same home score file.
22057 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
22058 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
22063 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
22067 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
22068 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
22072 A list. The elements in this list can be:
22076 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
22077 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
22080 A function. If the function returns non-@code{nil}, the result will
22081 be used as the home score file. The function will be called with the
22082 name of the group as the parameter.
22085 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
22088 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
22093 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
22096 (setq gnus-home-score-file
22097 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
22100 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
22101 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
22103 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
22105 (setq gnus-home-score-file
22106 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
22109 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
22110 Other functions include
22113 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
22114 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
22115 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
22116 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
22120 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
22121 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
22122 their own home score files:
22125 (setq gnus-home-score-file
22126 ;; @r{All groups that match the regexp @code{"\\.emacs"}}
22127 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
22128 ;; @r{All the comp groups in one score file}
22129 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
22132 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
22133 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
22134 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
22135 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
22136 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
22138 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
22139 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
22140 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
22141 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
22142 precedence over this variable.
22145 @node Followups To Yourself
22146 @section Followups To Yourself
22148 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
22149 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
22150 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
22151 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
22152 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
22153 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
22157 @item gnus-score-followup-article
22158 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
22159 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
22162 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
22163 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
22164 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
22168 @vindex message-sent-hook
22169 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
22170 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
22172 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
22176 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
22177 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
22181 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
22182 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
22185 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
22186 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
22191 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
22195 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
22196 is system-dependent.
22199 @node Scoring On Other Headers
22200 @section Scoring On Other Headers
22201 @cindex scoring on other headers
22203 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
22204 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
22205 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
22206 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
22207 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
22209 @vindex gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring
22210 You can inhibit this slow scoring on headers or body by setting the
22211 variable @code{gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring}. If
22212 @code{gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring} is regexp, slow scoring is inhibited if
22213 the group matches the regexp. If it is t, slow scoring on it is
22214 inhibited for all groups.
22216 Now, there's not much you can do about the slowness for news groups, but for
22217 mail groups, you have greater control. In @ref{To From Newsgroups},
22218 it's explained in greater detail what this mechanism does, but here's
22219 a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on how to allow scoring on the
22220 @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
22222 Put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
22225 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
22226 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
22229 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
22230 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
22231 time if you have much mail.
22233 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
22234 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
22240 @section Scoring Tips
22241 @cindex scoring tips
22247 @cindex scoring crossposts
22248 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
22249 the @code{Xref} header.
22251 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
22254 @item Multiple crossposts
22255 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
22256 more than, say, 3 groups:
22259 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
22263 @item Matching on the body
22264 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
22265 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
22266 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
22267 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
22268 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
22269 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
22270 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
22273 @item Marking as read
22274 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
22275 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
22276 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
22280 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
22282 @item Negated character classes
22283 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
22284 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
22285 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
22289 @node Reverse Scoring
22290 @section Reverse Scoring
22291 @cindex reverse scoring
22293 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
22294 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
22295 like this in your score file:
22299 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
22304 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
22305 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
22308 @node Global Score Files
22309 @section Global Score Files
22310 @cindex global score files
22312 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
22313 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
22314 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
22316 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
22317 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
22318 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
22320 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
22321 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
22322 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
22323 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
22324 files are applicable to which group.
22326 To use the score file
22327 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
22328 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
22332 (setq gnus-global-score-files
22333 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
22334 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
22337 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
22339 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
22340 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
22341 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
22342 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
22344 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
22345 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
22347 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
22348 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
22349 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
22350 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
22351 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
22352 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
22354 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
22360 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
22362 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
22364 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
22366 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
22367 lowered out of existence.
22369 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
22370 articles completely.
22373 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
22374 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
22375 old articles for a long time.
22378 @dots{} I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
22379 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
22380 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
22381 holding our breath yet?
22385 @section Kill Files
22388 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
22389 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
22390 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
22392 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
22393 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
22394 files into score files.
22396 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
22397 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
22398 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
22399 that isn't a very good idea.
22401 Normal kill files look like this:
22404 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
22405 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
22409 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
22410 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
22412 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
22413 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
22416 Two summary functions for editing a @sc{gnus} kill file:
22421 @kindex M-k (Summary)
22422 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
22423 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
22426 @kindex M-K (Summary)
22427 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
22428 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
22431 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
22436 @kindex M-k (Group)
22437 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
22438 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
22441 @kindex M-K (Group)
22442 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
22443 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
22446 Kill file variables:
22449 @item gnus-kill-file-name
22450 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
22451 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
22452 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
22453 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
22454 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
22455 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
22457 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
22458 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
22459 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
22460 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
22463 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
22464 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
22465 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
22466 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
22467 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
22468 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
22469 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
22470 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
22471 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
22473 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
22474 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
22475 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
22480 @node Converting Kill Files
22481 @section Converting Kill Files
22483 @cindex converting kill files
22485 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
22486 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
22487 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
22490 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Emacs by default.
22491 You can fetch it from the contrib directory of the Gnus distribution or
22493 @uref{http://heim.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
22495 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
22496 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
22497 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
22501 @node Advanced Scoring
22502 @section Advanced Scoring
22504 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
22505 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
22506 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
22507 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
22508 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
22510 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
22514 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
22515 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
22516 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
22520 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
22521 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
22523 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
22524 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
22525 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
22526 non-@code{nil} value.
22528 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
22529 operator, and various match operators.
22536 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
22537 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
22538 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
22543 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
22544 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
22545 then this operator will return @code{false}.
22550 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
22551 logical negation of the value of its argument.
22555 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
22556 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
22557 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
22558 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
22559 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
22560 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
22561 the ancestry you want to go.
22563 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
22564 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
22565 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
22566 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
22567 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
22570 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
22571 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
22573 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
22574 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
22577 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
22578 when he's talking about Gnus:
22583 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
22584 ("subject" "Gnus"))
22591 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
22595 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
22602 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
22603 really don't want to read what he's written:
22607 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
22608 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigil Logge")))
22612 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
22613 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
22614 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
22621 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
22622 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
22623 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
22624 ("body" "white.*socks"))
22628 Suppose you're reading a high volume group and you're only interested
22629 in replies. The plan is to score down all articles that don't have
22630 subject that begin with "Re:", "Fw:" or "Fwd:" and then score up all
22631 parents of articles that have subjects that begin with reply marks.
22634 ((! ("subject" "re:\\|fwd?:" r))
22636 ((1- ("subject" "re:\\|fwd?:" r))
22640 The possibilities are endless.
22642 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
22643 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
22645 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
22646 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
22647 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
22648 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
22649 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
22650 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
22651 @samp{subject}) first.
22653 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
22654 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
22665 Then that means ``score on the from header of the grandparent of the
22666 current article''. An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
22672 ("subject" "Gnus")))
22679 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
22680 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
22685 @section Score Decays
22686 @cindex score decays
22689 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
22690 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
22691 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
22692 use them in any sensible way.
22694 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
22695 @findex gnus-decay-score
22696 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
22697 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
22698 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
22699 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
22700 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
22701 If @code{gnus-decay-scores} is a regexp, only score files matching this
22702 regexp are treated. E.g. you may set it to @samp{\\.ADAPT\\'} if only
22703 @emph{adaptive} score files should be decayed. The decay itself if
22704 performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function} function, which is
22705 @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the definition of that
22709 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
22710 "Decay SCORE according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
22711 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
22713 (* (if (< score 0) -1 1)
22715 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
22717 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
22718 (if (and (featurep 'xemacs)
22719 ;; XEmacs' floor can handle only the floating point
22720 ;; number below the half of the maximum integer.
22721 (> (abs n) (lsh -1 -2)))
22723 (car (split-string (number-to-string n) "\\.")))
22727 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
22728 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
22729 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
22730 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
22734 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
22737 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
22740 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
22744 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
22745 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
22746 the new score, which should be an integer.
22748 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
22749 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
22754 @include message.texi
22755 @chapter Emacs MIME
22756 @include emacs-mime.texi
22758 @include sieve.texi
22770 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
22771 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
22772 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
22773 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
22774 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
22775 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
22776 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
22777 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
22778 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
22779 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
22780 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
22781 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
22782 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
22783 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
22784 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
22785 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
22786 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
22787 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
22788 * Thwarting Email Spam:: Simple ways to avoid unsolicited commercial email.
22789 * Spam Package:: A package for filtering and processing spam.
22790 * The Gnus Registry:: A package for tracking messages by Message-ID.
22791 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
22792 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
22796 @node Process/Prefix
22797 @section Process/Prefix
22798 @cindex process/prefix convention
22800 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
22801 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
22803 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
22804 command to be performed on.
22808 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
22809 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
22810 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
22811 with the current one.
22813 @vindex transient-mark-mode
22814 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
22815 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
22817 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
22818 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
22821 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
22822 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
22824 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
22827 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
22828 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
22829 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
22830 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
22832 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
22833 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
22834 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
22835 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
22836 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
22837 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
22838 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
22839 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
22841 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
22842 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
22843 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
22844 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
22845 expirable, you could say @kbd{M P b M-& E}.
22849 @section Interactive
22850 @cindex interaction
22854 @item gnus-novice-user
22855 @vindex gnus-novice-user
22856 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
22857 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
22858 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
22859 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
22862 @item gnus-expert-user
22863 @vindex gnus-expert-user
22864 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
22865 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
22866 matter how strange.
22868 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
22869 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
22870 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
22871 is @code{t} by default.
22873 @item gnus-interactive-exit
22874 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
22875 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
22880 @node Symbolic Prefixes
22881 @section Symbolic Prefixes
22882 @cindex symbolic prefixes
22884 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
22885 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
22886 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
22887 rule of 900 to the current article.
22889 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
22890 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
22891 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
22892 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
22893 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
22894 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
22895 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
22897 @kindex M-i (Summary)
22898 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
22899 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
22900 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
22901 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
22902 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
22903 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
22904 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
22905 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
22907 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
22908 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
22909 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
22911 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
22915 @node Formatting Variables
22916 @section Formatting Variables
22917 @cindex formatting variables
22919 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
22920 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
22921 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
22922 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
22923 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
22926 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
22927 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
22928 lots of percentages everywhere.
22931 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
22932 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
22933 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
22934 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
22935 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
22936 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
22937 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
22938 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
22941 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
22942 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
22943 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
22944 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
22945 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
22946 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
22947 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
22948 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
22950 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
22951 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
22953 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
22954 @findex gnus-update-format
22955 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
22956 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
22957 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
22958 examine the resulting Lisp code to be run to generate the line.
22962 @node Formatting Basics
22963 @subsection Formatting Basics
22965 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
22966 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
22967 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
22969 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
22970 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
22971 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
22972 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
22973 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
22976 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
22977 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
22978 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
22979 less than 4 characters wide.
22981 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
22982 @samp{%&user-date;}.
22985 @node Mode Line Formatting
22986 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
22988 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
22989 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
22990 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
22991 with the following two differences:
22996 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
22999 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
23000 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
23001 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
23002 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
23003 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
23004 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
23005 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
23010 @node Advanced Formatting
23011 @subsection Advanced Formatting
23013 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
23014 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
23015 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
23016 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
23018 These are the valid modifiers:
23023 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
23027 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
23032 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
23035 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
23040 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
23043 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
23046 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
23049 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
23055 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
23060 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
23061 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
23062 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
23063 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
23064 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
23065 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
23066 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
23068 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
23069 last operation, padding.
23071 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
23072 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
23073 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
23074 @xref{Compilation}.
23077 @node User-Defined Specs
23078 @subsection User-Defined Specs
23080 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
23081 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
23082 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
23083 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
23084 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
23085 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
23086 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
23087 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
23088 should protect against that.
23090 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
23091 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
23093 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
23094 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
23095 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
23096 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
23100 @node Formatting Fonts
23101 @subsection Formatting Fonts
23104 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
23105 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
23106 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
23107 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
23108 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
23112 @vindex gnus-face-0
23113 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
23114 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
23115 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
23116 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
23117 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
23118 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
23120 @cindex %<<, %>>, guillemets
23121 @c @cindex %<<, %>>, %«, %», guillemets
23122 @vindex gnus-balloon-face-0
23123 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
23124 special @code{balloon-help} property set to
23125 @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get
23126 @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*}
23127 variables should be either strings or symbols naming functions that
23128 return a string. When the mouse passes over text with this property
23129 set, a balloon window will appear and display the string. Please
23130 refer to @ref{Tooltips, ,Tooltips, emacs, The Emacs Manual},
23131 (in GNU Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in
23132 XEmacs) for more information on this. (For technical reasons, the
23133 guillemets have been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this
23136 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
23139 ;; @r{Create three face types.}
23140 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
23141 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
23143 ;; @r{We want the article count to be in}
23144 ;; @r{a bold and green face. So we create}
23145 ;; @r{a new face called @code{my-green-bold}.}
23146 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
23147 ;; @r{Set the color.}
23148 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
23149 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
23151 ;; @r{Set the new & fancy format.}
23152 (setq gnus-group-line-format
23153 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
23156 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
23157 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
23159 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
23160 mode-line variables.
23162 @node Positioning Point
23163 @subsection Positioning Point
23165 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
23166 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
23167 line. You can customize this behavior in three different ways.
23169 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
23171 @findex gnus-goto-colon
23172 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
23173 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
23175 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
23176 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
23177 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
23182 @subsection Tabulation
23184 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
23185 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
23186 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
23187 about lining up the following text afterwards.
23189 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs---@samp{%=}. There are two
23190 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
23192 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
23193 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
23194 This is the soft tabulator.
23196 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
23197 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
23198 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
23201 @node Wide Characters
23202 @subsection Wide Characters
23204 Fixed width fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
23205 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
23206 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
23208 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
23209 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
23210 these countries, that's not true.
23212 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
23213 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
23214 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
23215 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
23219 @node Window Layout
23220 @section Window Layout
23221 @cindex window layout
23223 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
23225 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
23226 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
23227 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
23228 @code{t} by default.
23230 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
23231 glitches. Use at your own peril.
23233 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
23234 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
23235 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
23238 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
23239 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
23240 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
23244 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
23245 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
23246 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
23247 possible names is listed below.
23249 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
23250 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
23253 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
23257 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
23258 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
23259 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
23260 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
23261 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
23262 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
23263 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
23264 size spec per split.
23266 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
23267 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
23268 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
23269 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
23270 present) gets focus.
23272 Here's a more complicated example:
23275 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
23276 (summary 0.25 point)
23277 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
23281 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
23282 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
23283 occupy, not a percentage.
23285 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
23286 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
23287 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
23288 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
23289 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
23292 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
23295 (article (horizontal 1.0
23300 (summary 0.25 point)
23305 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
23306 @code{horizontal} thingie?
23308 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
23309 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
23310 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
23311 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
23312 the screen is to be given to this strip.
23314 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
23315 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
23316 lines from the splits.
23318 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
23323 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
23324 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
23325 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
23326 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
23327 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
23328 size = number | frame-params
23329 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
23333 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
23334 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
23335 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
23336 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
23338 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
23339 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
23340 @cindex window height
23341 @cindex window width
23342 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
23343 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
23344 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
23345 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
23346 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
23347 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
23349 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
23350 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
23351 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
23352 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
23354 @findex gnus-configure-frame
23355 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
23356 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
23357 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
23358 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
23359 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
23360 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
23361 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
23362 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
23363 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
23364 configuration list.
23367 (gnus-configure-frame
23371 (article 0.3 point))
23379 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
23380 @code{frame} split:
23383 (gnus-configure-frame
23386 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
23388 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
23389 (user-position . t)
23390 (left . -1) (top . 1))
23395 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
23396 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
23397 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
23398 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
23399 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
23400 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
23401 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
23402 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
23404 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
23405 be found in its default value.
23407 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
23408 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
23409 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
23413 (message (horizontal 1.0
23414 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
23416 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
23421 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
23422 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
23423 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
23428 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
23429 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
23430 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
23431 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
23432 (name . "Message"))
23433 (message 1.0 point))))
23436 @findex gnus-add-configuration
23437 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
23438 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
23439 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
23440 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
23443 (gnus-add-configuration
23444 '(article (vertical 1.0
23446 (summary .25 point)
23450 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
23451 @file{~/.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
23452 Gnus has been loaded.
23454 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
23455 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
23456 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
23457 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
23458 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
23460 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
23461 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
23462 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
23465 @subsection Example Window Configurations
23469 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
23470 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
23485 (gnus-add-configuration
23488 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
23490 (summary 0.16 point)
23493 (gnus-add-configuration
23496 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
23497 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
23503 @node Faces and Fonts
23504 @section Faces and Fonts
23509 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
23510 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
23511 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
23516 @section Compilation
23517 @cindex compilation
23518 @cindex byte-compilation
23520 @findex gnus-compile
23522 Remember all those line format specification variables?
23523 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
23524 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
23525 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
23526 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
23527 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
23530 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
23531 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
23532 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
23533 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
23534 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
23535 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
23536 them into the @file{~/.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
23540 @section Mode Lines
23543 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
23544 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
23545 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
23546 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
23547 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
23548 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
23549 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
23552 @cindex display-time
23554 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
23555 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
23556 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
23557 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
23558 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
23559 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
23560 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
23561 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
23564 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
23566 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
23567 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
23569 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
23570 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
23571 (length display-time-string)))))
23574 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
23575 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
23576 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
23577 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
23578 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
23581 @node Highlighting and Menus
23582 @section Highlighting and Menus
23584 @cindex highlighting
23587 @vindex gnus-visual
23588 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
23589 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
23590 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
23593 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
23594 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
23597 @item group-highlight
23598 Do highlights in the group buffer.
23599 @item summary-highlight
23600 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
23601 @item article-highlight
23602 Do highlights in the article buffer.
23604 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
23606 Create menus in the group buffer.
23608 Create menus in the summary buffers.
23610 Create menus in the article buffer.
23612 Create menus in the browse buffer.
23614 Create menus in the server buffer.
23616 Create menus in the score buffers.
23618 Create menus in all buffers.
23621 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
23622 buffers, you could say something like:
23625 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
23628 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
23631 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
23634 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
23635 in all Gnus buffers.
23637 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
23640 @item gnus-mouse-face
23641 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
23642 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
23643 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
23647 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
23651 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
23652 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
23653 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
23655 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
23656 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
23657 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
23659 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
23660 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
23661 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
23663 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
23664 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
23665 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
23667 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
23668 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
23669 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
23671 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
23672 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
23673 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
23684 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
23685 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
23686 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
23687 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
23688 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
23692 @vindex gnus-carpal
23693 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
23694 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
23695 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
23700 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
23701 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
23702 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
23704 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
23705 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
23706 Face used on buttons.
23708 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
23709 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
23710 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
23712 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
23713 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
23714 Buttons in the group buffer.
23716 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
23717 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
23718 Buttons in the summary buffer.
23720 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
23721 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
23722 Buttons in the server buffer.
23724 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
23725 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
23726 Buttons in the browse buffer.
23729 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
23730 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
23731 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
23739 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
23740 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
23741 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
23742 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
23743 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
23745 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
23746 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
23747 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
23749 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
23750 been idle for thirty minutes:
23753 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
23756 Here's a handler that scans for @acronym{PGP} headers every hour when
23760 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
23763 This @var{time} parameter and that @var{idle} parameter work together
23764 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
23765 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
23767 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
23768 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
23769 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
23770 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
23772 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
23773 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
23774 @var{idle} minutes.
23776 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
23777 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
23780 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
23781 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
23782 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
23784 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
23785 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
23786 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
23787 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
23789 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
23790 your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23792 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
23794 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
23797 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
23798 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
23799 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
23800 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
23801 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
23802 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
23803 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
23804 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
23805 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
23806 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
23807 @file{~/.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
23809 @findex gnus-demon-init
23810 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
23811 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
23812 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
23813 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
23814 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
23816 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
23817 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
23818 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
23827 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
23828 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
23830 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
23831 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
23832 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
23833 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
23836 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
23837 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
23838 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
23839 messages, which are distributed in the newsgroups
23840 @samp{news.lists.filters}, @samp{alt.nocem.misc}, etc.
23842 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
23843 this will make spam disappear.
23845 There are some variables to customize, of course:
23848 @item gnus-use-nocem
23849 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
23850 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
23853 You can also set this variable to a positive number as a group level.
23854 In that case, Gnus scans NoCeM messages when checking new news if this
23855 value is not exceeding a group level that you specify as the prefix
23856 argument to some commands, e.g. @code{gnus},
23857 @code{gnus-group-get-new-news}, etc. Otherwise, Gnus does not scan
23858 NoCeM messages if you specify a group level that is smaller than this
23859 value to those commands. For example, if you use 1 or 2 on the mail
23860 groups and the levels on the news groups remain the default, 3 is the
23863 @item gnus-nocem-groups
23864 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
23865 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
23868 ("news.lists.filters" "alt.nocem.misc")
23871 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
23872 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
23873 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
23874 people you want to listen to. The default is:
23878 "alba-nocem@@albasani.net"
23879 "bleachbot@@httrack.com"
23880 "news@@arcor-online.net"
23881 "news@@uni-berlin.de"
23883 "pgpmoose@@killfile.org"
23887 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at@*
23888 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
23890 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
23891 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
23892 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
23893 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
23894 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
23895 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
23896 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
23897 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
23898 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
23899 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
23901 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
23902 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
23905 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
23908 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
23909 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
23912 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
23915 The specs are applied left-to-right.
23918 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
23919 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
23920 @findex gnus-nocem-epg-verify
23922 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
23923 says she is. This variable defaults to @code{gnus-nocem-epg-verify} if
23924 EasyPG is available, otherwise defaults to @code{pgg-verify}. The
23925 function should return non-@code{nil} if the verification is successful,
23926 otherwise (including the case the NoCeM message was not signed) should
23927 return @code{nil}. If this is too slow and you don't care for
23928 verification (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to
23931 Formerly the default was @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
23932 function. While you can still use it, you can change it into
23933 @code{gnus-nocem-epg-verify} or @code{pgg-verify} running with GnuPG if
23934 you are willing to add the @acronym{PGP} public keys to GnuPG's keyring.
23936 @item gnus-nocem-directory
23937 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
23938 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is@*
23939 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
23941 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
23942 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
23943 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
23944 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
23945 might then see old spam.
23947 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
23948 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
23949 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
23950 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
23951 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
23954 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
23955 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
23956 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
23957 group. @code{nil} means no restriction. NoCeM groups can be huge and
23958 very slow to process.
23962 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
23963 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
23964 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
23965 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
23972 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
23973 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
23974 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
23976 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
23977 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
23978 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
23979 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
23980 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
23981 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
23982 @code{undo} function.
23984 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
23985 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
23986 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
23987 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
23988 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
23989 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
23990 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
23991 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
23992 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
23993 never be totally undoable.
23995 @findex gnus-undo-mode
23996 @vindex gnus-use-undo
23998 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
23999 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
24000 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
24001 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
24005 @node Predicate Specifiers
24006 @section Predicate Specifiers
24007 @cindex predicate specifiers
24009 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
24010 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
24011 to type all that much.
24013 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
24018 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
24019 gnus-article-unread-p)
24022 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
24023 functions all take one parameter.
24025 @findex gnus-make-predicate
24026 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
24027 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
24028 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
24033 @section Moderation
24036 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
24037 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
24038 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
24041 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
24045 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
24048 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
24050 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
24055 You split your incoming mail by matching on
24056 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
24057 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
24060 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
24061 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
24064 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
24065 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
24069 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
24072 (setq gnus-moderated-list
24073 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
24077 @node Fetching a Group
24078 @section Fetching a Group
24079 @cindex fetching a group
24081 @findex gnus-fetch-group
24082 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
24083 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
24084 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
24085 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
24086 It takes the group name as a parameter.
24089 @node Image Enhancements
24090 @section Image Enhancements
24092 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21@footnote{Emacs 21 on MS Windows doesn't
24093 support images, Emacs 22 does.} and up, are able to display pictures and
24094 stuff, so Gnus has taken advantage of that.
24097 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
24098 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
24099 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
24100 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
24101 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
24109 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
24110 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
24111 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
24115 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
24116 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
24117 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
24125 Viewing an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
24126 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions have), or that you
24127 have suitable conversion or display programs installed. If your Emacs
24128 has image support the default action is to display the face before the
24129 @code{From} header. If there's no native @code{X-Face} support, Gnus
24130 will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using external programs
24131 from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends, see below. For XEmacs it's
24132 faster if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support. The
24133 default action under Emacs without image support is to fork off the
24134 @code{display} program.
24136 On a GNU/Linux system, the @code{display} program is included in the
24137 ImageMagick package. For external conversion programs look for packages
24138 with names like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.
24139 On Windows, you may use the packages @code{netpbm} and @code{compface}
24140 from @url{http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net}. You need to add the
24141 @code{bin} directory to your @code{PATH} environment variable.
24142 @c In fact only the following DLLs and binaries seem to be required:
24143 @c compface1.dll uncompface.exe libnetpbm10.dll icontopbm.exe
24145 The variable @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} controls which programs
24146 are used to display the @code{X-Face} header. If this variable is a
24147 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
24148 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
24149 If @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches the
24150 @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
24152 (Note: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
24160 @vindex gnus-x-face
24161 Face to show X-Face. The colors from this face are used as the
24162 foreground and background colors of the displayed X-Faces. The
24163 default colors are black and white.
24165 @item gnus-face-properties-alist
24166 @vindex gnus-face-properties-alist
24167 Alist of image types and properties applied to Face (@pxref{Face}) and
24168 X-Face images. The default value is @code{((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face))
24169 (png . nil))} for Emacs or @code{((xface . (:face gnus-x-face)))} for
24170 XEmacs. Here are examples:
24173 ;; Specify the altitude of Face and X-Face images in the From header.
24174 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
24175 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :ascent 80))
24176 (png . (:ascent 80))))
24178 ;; Show Face and X-Face images as pressed buttons.
24179 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
24180 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :relief -2))
24181 (png . (:relief -2))))
24184 @pxref{Image Descriptors, ,Image Descriptors, elisp, The Emacs Lisp
24185 Reference Manual} for the valid properties for various image types.
24186 Currently, @code{pbm} is used for X-Face images and @code{png} is used
24187 for Face images in Emacs. Only the @code{:face} property is effective
24188 on the @code{xface} image type in XEmacs if it is built with the
24189 @samp{libcompface} library.
24192 If you use posting styles, you can use an @code{x-face-file} entry in
24193 @code{gnus-posting-styles}, @xref{Posting Styles}. If you don't, Gnus
24194 provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow easier
24195 insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages. You also need the
24196 above mentioned ImageMagick, netpbm or other image conversion packages
24197 (depending the values of the variables below) for these functions.
24199 @findex gnus-random-x-face
24200 @vindex gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command
24201 @vindex gnus-x-face-directory
24202 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
24203 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
24204 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
24205 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
24206 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
24207 header data as a string.
24209 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
24210 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
24211 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
24212 randomly generated data.
24214 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
24215 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command
24216 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
24217 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
24218 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
24220 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
24221 like the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
24224 (setq message-required-news-headers
24225 (nconc message-required-news-headers
24226 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
24229 Using the last function would be something like this:
24232 (setq message-required-news-headers
24233 (nconc message-required-news-headers
24234 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
24235 (gnus-x-face-from-file
24236 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
24244 @c #### FIXME: faces and x-faces' implementations should really be harmonized.
24246 @code{Face} headers are essentially a funkier version of @code{X-Face}
24247 ones. They describe a 48x48 pixel colored image that's supposed to
24248 represent the author of the message.
24251 @findex gnus-article-display-face
24252 The contents of a @code{Face} header must be a base64 encoded PNG image.
24253 See @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/circus/face/} for the precise
24256 The @code{gnus-face-properties-alist} variable affects the appearance of
24257 displayed Face images. @xref{X-Face}.
24259 Viewing an @code{Face} header requires an Emacs that is able to display
24262 @c (if (featurep 'xemacs)
24264 @c (image-type-available-p 'png))
24266 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
24267 easier insertion of Face headers in outgoing messages.
24269 @findex gnus-convert-png-to-face
24270 @code{gnus-convert-png-to-face} takes a 48x48 PNG image, no longer than
24271 726 bytes long, and converts it to a face.
24273 @findex gnus-face-from-file
24274 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-face-command
24275 @code{gnus-face-from-file} takes a JPEG file as the parameter, and then
24276 converts the file to Face format by using the
24277 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-face-command} shell command.
24279 Here's how you would typically use this function. Put something like the
24280 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
24283 (setq message-required-news-headers
24284 (nconc message-required-news-headers
24285 (list '(Face . (lambda ()
24286 (gnus-face-from-file "~/face.jpg"))))))
24291 @subsection Smileys
24296 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
24301 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
24302 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
24304 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
24305 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
24308 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
24311 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
24312 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
24313 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
24314 text and maps that to file names.
24316 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
24317 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
24318 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
24319 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
24320 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
24323 The following variables customize the appearance of the smileys:
24328 @vindex smiley-style
24329 Specifies the smiley style. Predefined smiley styles include
24330 @code{low-color} (small 13x14 pixel, three-color images), @code{medium}
24331 (more colorful images, 16x16 pixel), and @code{grayscale} (grayscale
24332 images, 14x14 pixel). The default depends on the height of the default
24335 @item smiley-data-directory
24336 @vindex smiley-data-directory
24337 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files. You shouldn't set this
24338 variable anymore. Customize @code{smiley-style} instead.
24340 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
24341 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
24342 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
24356 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
24357 good way to do so. It's also a great way to impress people staring
24358 over your shoulder as you read news.
24360 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
24369 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
24370 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
24371 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
24372 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
24373 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
24374 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
24375 @code{GIF} formats.
24378 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
24379 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
24380 point your Web browser at
24381 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
24383 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
24384 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
24386 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
24387 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
24390 @vindex gnus-picon-style
24391 The variable @code{gnus-picon-style} controls how picons are displayed.
24392 If @code{inline}, the textual representation is replaced. If
24393 @code{right}, picons are added right to the textual representation.
24395 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
24399 @item gnus-picon-databases
24400 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
24401 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
24402 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
24403 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
24404 "/usr/local/faces")}.
24406 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
24407 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
24408 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
24409 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
24411 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
24412 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
24413 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
24414 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
24416 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
24417 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
24418 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
24419 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
24420 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
24422 @item gnus-picon-file-types
24423 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
24424 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
24425 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not built-in your Emacs.
24431 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
24434 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
24435 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
24436 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
24437 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
24438 unusual directory structure.
24440 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
24441 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
24442 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
24447 @subsubsection Toolbar
24451 @item gnus-use-toolbar
24452 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
24453 This variable specifies the position to display the toolbar. If
24454 @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If it is non-@code{nil}, it should
24455 be one of the symbols @code{default}, @code{top}, @code{bottom},
24456 @code{right}, and @code{left}. @code{default} means to use the default
24457 toolbar, the rest mean to display the toolbar on the place which those
24458 names show. The default is @code{default}.
24460 @item gnus-toolbar-thickness
24461 @vindex gnus-toolbar-thickness
24462 Cons of the height and the width specifying the thickness of a toolbar.
24463 The height is used for the toolbar displayed on the top or the bottom,
24464 the width is used for the toolbar displayed on the right or the left.
24465 The default is that of the default toolbar.
24467 @item gnus-group-toolbar
24468 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
24469 The toolbar in the group buffer.
24471 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
24472 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
24473 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
24475 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
24476 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
24477 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
24488 @node Fuzzy Matching
24489 @section Fuzzy Matching
24490 @cindex fuzzy matching
24492 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
24493 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
24495 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
24496 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
24497 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
24499 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
24500 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
24501 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
24502 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
24503 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
24506 @node Thwarting Email Spam
24507 @section Thwarting Email Spam
24511 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
24513 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
24514 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
24515 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
24516 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
24517 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
24518 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
24519 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
24520 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
24523 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
24524 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
24525 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
24526 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
24527 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
24528 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
24530 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
24533 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
24534 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
24535 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
24536 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
24539 @node The problem of spam
24540 @subsection The problem of spam
24542 @cindex spam filtering approaches
24543 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
24545 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
24547 First, some background on spam.
24549 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
24550 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it
24551 exists because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail,
24552 so only a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to
24553 make it worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most
24554 common spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for
24555 further spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers},
24556 but terms like @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, @emph{sociopaths}, and
24557 @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
24559 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
24560 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
24561 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
24562 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
24563 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
24564 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
24565 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
24566 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
24567 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
24570 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering, at the mail
24571 server or when you sort through incoming mail. If you get 200 spam
24572 messages per day from @samp{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you block
24573 @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about @samp{VIAGRA}, you
24574 discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the message. If you get
24575 lots of spam from Bulgaria, for example, you try to filter all mail
24576 from Bulgarian IPs.
24578 This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate e-mail. The
24579 risks of blocking a whole country (Bulgaria, Norway, Nigeria, China,
24580 etc.) or even a continent (Asia, Africa, Europe, etc.) from contacting
24581 you should be obvious, so don't do it if you have the choice.
24583 In another instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest has
24584 been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it @strong{contained}
24585 words that were common in spam messages. Nevertheless, in isolated
24586 cases, with great care, direct filtering of mail can be useful.
24588 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
24589 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
24590 @var{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @var{X} in
24591 Ghana, Estonia, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
24592 @var{N} systems enter @var{X} or the spam e-mail from @var{X} into a
24593 database. The criteria for spam detection vary---it may be the number
24594 of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When a user
24595 of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a message is
24596 spam, he consults one of those @var{N} systems.
24598 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
24599 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
24600 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
24601 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
24602 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
24603 sending spam, and their web sites and mailing lists have been shut
24604 down for some time because of the incident.
24606 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
24607 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
24608 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
24609 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
24610 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
24611 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
24612 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
24613 to store the database of spam analysis. Statistical analysis on the
24614 server is gaining popularity. This has the advantage of letting the
24615 user Just Read Mail, but has the disadvantage that it's harder to tell
24616 the server that it has misclassified mail.
24618 Fighting spam is not easy, no matter what anyone says. There is no
24619 magic switch that will distinguish Viagra ads from Mom's e-mails.
24620 Even people are having a hard time telling spam apart from non-spam,
24621 because spammers are actively looking to fool us into thinking they
24622 are Mom, essentially. Spamming is irritating, irresponsible, and
24623 idiotic behavior from a bunch of people who think the world owes them
24624 a favor. We hope the following sections will help you in fighting the
24627 @node Anti-Spam Basics
24628 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
24632 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
24634 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
24635 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
24637 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
24638 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
24639 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
24640 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
24641 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
24642 part of the mail address.)
24645 (setq message-default-news-headers
24646 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
24649 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
24650 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
24654 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
24655 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
24656 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
24661 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
24662 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
24663 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
24664 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
24666 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @acronym{SMTP} server
24667 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
24668 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
24669 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
24670 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
24671 your fancy split rule in this way:
24676 (to "larsi" "misc")
24680 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
24681 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
24682 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
24683 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
24684 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
24686 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
24687 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
24688 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
24689 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
24691 Be careful with this approach. Spammers are wise to it.
24695 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
24696 @cindex SpamAssassin
24697 @cindex Vipul's Razor
24700 The days where the hints in the previous section were sufficient in
24701 avoiding spam are coming to an end. There are many tools out there
24702 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
24703 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
24704 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
24705 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
24706 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
24708 Note that this section does not involve the @code{spam.el} package,
24709 which is discussed in the next section. If you don't care for all
24710 the features of @code{spam.el}, you can make do with these simple
24713 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
24714 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
24715 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
24716 Specifiers}) follow.
24720 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
24724 "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
24727 Once you manage to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
24728 the mail contain e.g.@: a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
24729 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
24732 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
24736 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
24739 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
24740 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
24744 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
24745 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
24746 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
24747 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
24750 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
24752 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
24756 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
24757 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
24761 Note that with the nnimap back end, message bodies will not be
24762 downloaded by default. You need to set
24763 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
24764 (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}).
24766 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
24767 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
24768 spam. And here is the nifty function:
24771 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
24772 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
24774 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d" t)
24775 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
24779 @subsection Hashcash
24782 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
24783 costly and demonstrably unique for each message they send. This has
24784 the obvious drawback that you cannot rely on everyone in the world
24785 using this technique, since it is not part of the Internet standards,
24786 but it may be useful in smaller communities.
24788 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
24789 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
24790 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
24791 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
24792 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
24793 instead prefers that everyone you contact through e-mail supports the
24794 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
24795 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
24796 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
24797 one of them separately.
24800 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
24801 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
24802 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:} header.
24803 For more details, and for the external application @code{hashcash} you
24804 need to install to use this feature, see
24805 @uref{http://www.hashcash.org/}. Even more information can be found
24806 at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
24808 If you wish to generate hashcash for each message you send, you can
24809 customize @code{message-generate-hashcash} (@pxref{Mail Headers, ,Mail
24810 Headers,message, The Message Manual}), as in:
24813 (setq message-generate-hashcash t)
24816 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
24820 @item hashcash-default-payment
24821 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
24822 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
24823 should consist of. By default this is 20. Suggested useful values
24826 @item hashcash-payment-alist
24827 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
24828 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
24829 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(@var{addr}
24830 @var{amount})} cells, where @var{addr} is the receiver (email address
24831 or newsgroup) and @var{amount} is the number of bits in the collision
24832 that is needed. It can also contain @samp{(@var{addr} @var{string}
24833 @var{amount})} cells, where the @var{string} is the string to use
24834 (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
24836 @item hashcash-path
24837 @vindex hashcash-path
24838 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed. This variable should
24839 be automatically set by @code{executable-find}, but if it's @code{nil}
24840 (usually because the @code{hashcash} binary is not in your path)
24841 you'll get a warning when you check hashcash payments and an error
24842 when you generate hashcash payments.
24846 Gnus can verify hashcash cookies, although this can also be done by
24847 hand customized mail filtering scripts. To verify a hashcash cookie
24848 in a message, use the @code{mail-check-payment} function in the
24849 @code{hashcash.el} library. You can also use the @code{spam.el}
24850 package with the @code{spam-use-hashcash} back end to validate hashcash
24851 cookies in incoming mail and filter mail accordingly (@pxref{Anti-spam
24852 Hashcash Payments}).
24855 @section Spam Package
24856 @cindex spam filtering
24859 The Spam package provides Gnus with a centralized mechanism for
24860 detecting and filtering spam. It filters new mail, and processes
24861 messages according to whether they are spam or ham. (@dfn{Ham} is the
24862 name used throughout this manual to indicate non-spam messages.)
24865 * Spam Package Introduction::
24866 * Filtering Incoming Mail::
24867 * Detecting Spam in Groups::
24868 * Spam and Ham Processors::
24869 * Spam Package Configuration Examples::
24871 * Extending the Spam package::
24872 * Spam Statistics Package::
24875 @node Spam Package Introduction
24876 @subsection Spam Package Introduction
24877 @cindex spam filtering
24878 @cindex spam filtering sequence of events
24881 You must read this section to understand how the Spam package works.
24882 Do not skip, speed-read, or glance through this section.
24884 Make sure you read the section on the @code{spam.el} sequence of
24885 events. See @xref{Extending the Spam package}.
24887 @cindex spam-initialize
24888 @vindex spam-use-stat
24889 To use the Spam package, you @strong{must} first run the function
24890 @code{spam-initialize}:
24896 This autoloads @code{spam.el} and installs the various hooks necessary
24897 to let the Spam package do its job. In order to make use of the Spam
24898 package, you have to set up certain group parameters and variables,
24899 which we will describe below. All of the variables controlling the
24900 Spam package can be found in the @samp{spam} customization group.
24902 There are two ``contact points'' between the Spam package and the rest
24903 of Gnus: checking new mail for spam, and leaving a group.
24905 Checking new mail for spam is done in one of two ways: while splitting
24906 incoming mail, or when you enter a group.
24908 The first way, checking for spam while splitting incoming mail, is
24909 suited to mail back ends such as @code{nnml} or @code{nnimap}, where
24910 new mail appears in a single spool file. The Spam package processes
24911 incoming mail, and sends mail considered to be spam to a designated
24912 ``spam'' group. @xref{Filtering Incoming Mail}.
24914 The second way is suited to back ends such as @code{nntp}, which have
24915 no incoming mail spool, or back ends where the server is in charge of
24916 splitting incoming mail. In this case, when you enter a Gnus group,
24917 the unseen or unread messages in that group are checked for spam.
24918 Detected spam messages are marked as spam. @xref{Detecting Spam in
24921 @cindex spam back ends
24922 In either case, you have to tell the Spam package what method to use
24923 to detect spam messages. There are several methods, or @dfn{spam back
24924 ends} (not to be confused with Gnus back ends!) to choose from: spam
24925 ``blacklists'' and ``whitelists'', dictionary-based filters, and so
24926 forth. @xref{Spam Back Ends}.
24928 In the Gnus summary buffer, messages that have been identified as spam
24929 always appear with a @samp{$} symbol.
24931 The Spam package divides Gnus groups into three categories: ham
24932 groups, spam groups, and unclassified groups. You should mark each of
24933 the groups you subscribe to as either a ham group or a spam group,
24934 using the @code{spam-contents} group parameter (@pxref{Group
24935 Parameters}). Spam groups have a special property: when you enter a
24936 spam group, all unseen articles are marked as spam. Thus, mail split
24937 into a spam group is automatically marked as spam.
24939 Identifying spam messages is only half of the Spam package's job. The
24940 second half comes into play whenever you exit a group buffer. At this
24941 point, the Spam package does several things:
24943 First, it calls @dfn{spam and ham processors} to process the articles
24944 according to whether they are spam or ham. There is a pair of spam
24945 and ham processors associated with each spam back end, and what the
24946 processors do depends on the back end. At present, the main role of
24947 spam and ham processors is for dictionary-based spam filters: they add
24948 the contents of the messages in the group to the filter's dictionary,
24949 to improve its ability to detect future spam. The @code{spam-process}
24950 group parameter specifies what spam processors to use. @xref{Spam and
24953 If the spam filter failed to mark a spam message, you can mark it
24954 yourself, so that the message is processed as spam when you exit the
24964 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
24965 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
24966 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{$} mark
24967 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}).
24971 Similarly, you can unmark an article if it has been erroneously marked
24972 as spam. @xref{Setting Marks}.
24974 Normally, a ham message found in a non-ham group is not processed as
24975 ham---the rationale is that it should be moved into a ham group for
24976 further processing (see below). However, you can force these articles
24977 to be processed as ham by setting
24978 @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} and
24979 @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups}.
24981 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
24982 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
24983 The second thing that the Spam package does when you exit a group is
24984 to move ham articles out of spam groups, and spam articles out of ham
24985 groups. Ham in a spam group is moved to the group specified by the
24986 variable @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}, or the group parameter
24987 @code{ham-process-destination}. Spam in a ham group is moved to the
24988 group specified by the variable @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations},
24989 or the group parameter @code{spam-process-destination}. If these
24990 variables are not set, the articles are left in their current group.
24991 If an article cannot be moved (e.g., with a read-only backend such
24992 as @acronym{NNTP}), it is copied.
24994 If an article is moved to another group, it is processed again when
24995 you visit the new group. Normally, this is not a problem, but if you
24996 want each article to be processed only once, load the
24997 @code{gnus-registry.el} package and set the variable
24998 @code{spam-log-to-registry} to @code{t}. @xref{Spam Package
24999 Configuration Examples}.
25001 Normally, spam groups ignore @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations}.
25002 However, if you set @code{spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only} to
25003 @code{nil}, spam will also be moved out of spam groups, depending on
25004 the @code{spam-process-destination} parameter.
25006 The final thing the Spam package does is to mark spam articles as
25007 expired, which is usually the right thing to do.
25009 If all this seems confusing, don't worry. Soon it will be as natural
25010 as typing Lisp one-liners on a neural interface@dots{} err, sorry, that's
25011 50 years in the future yet. Just trust us, it's not so bad.
25013 @node Filtering Incoming Mail
25014 @subsection Filtering Incoming Mail
25015 @cindex spam filtering
25016 @cindex spam filtering incoming mail
25019 To use the Spam package to filter incoming mail, you must first set up
25020 fancy mail splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}. The Spam package
25021 defines a special splitting function that you can add to your fancy
25022 split variable (either @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
25023 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on your mail back end):
25029 @vindex spam-split-group
25031 The @code{spam-split} function scans incoming mail according to your
25032 chosen spam back end(s), and sends messages identified as spam to a
25033 spam group. By default, the spam group is a group named @samp{spam},
25034 but you can change this by customizing @code{spam-split-group}. Make
25035 sure the contents of @code{spam-split-group} are an unqualified group
25036 name. For instance, in an @code{nnimap} server @samp{your-server},
25037 the value @samp{spam} means @samp{nnimap+your-server:spam}. The value
25038 @samp{nnimap+server:spam} is therefore wrong---it gives the group
25039 @samp{nnimap+your-server:nnimap+server:spam}.
25041 @code{spam-split} does not modify the contents of messages in any way.
25043 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
25044 Note for IMAP users: if you use the @code{spam-check-bogofilter},
25045 @code{spam-check-ifile}, and @code{spam-check-stat} spam back ends,
25046 you should also set the variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body}
25047 to @code{t}. These spam back ends are most useful when they can
25048 ``scan'' the full message body. By default, the nnimap back end only
25049 retrieves the message headers; @code{nnimap-split-download-body} tells
25050 it to retrieve the message bodies as well. We don't set this by
25051 default because it will slow @acronym{IMAP} down, and that is not an
25052 appropriate decision to make on behalf of the user. @xref{Splitting
25055 You have to specify one or more spam back ends for @code{spam-split}
25056 to use, by setting the @code{spam-use-*} variables. @xref{Spam Back
25057 Ends}. Normally, @code{spam-split} simply uses all the spam back ends
25058 you enabled in this way. However, you can tell @code{spam-split} to
25059 use only some of them. Why this is useful? Suppose you are using the
25060 @code{spam-use-regex-headers} and @code{spam-use-blackholes} spam back
25061 ends, and the following split rule:
25064 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
25065 (any "ding" "ding")
25067 ;; @r{default mailbox}
25072 The problem is that you want all ding messages to make it to the ding
25073 folder. But that will let obvious spam (for example, spam detected by
25074 SpamAssassin, and @code{spam-use-regex-headers}) through, when it's
25075 sent to the ding list. On the other hand, some messages to the ding
25076 list are from a mail server in the blackhole list, so the invocation
25077 of @code{spam-split} can't be before the ding rule.
25079 The solution is to let SpamAssassin headers supersede ding rules, and
25080 perform the other @code{spam-split} rules (including a second
25081 invocation of the regex-headers check) after the ding rule. This is
25082 done by passing a parameter to @code{spam-split}:
25087 ;; @r{spam detected by @code{spam-use-regex-headers} goes to @samp{regex-spam}}
25088 (: spam-split "regex-spam" 'spam-use-regex-headers)
25089 (any "ding" "ding")
25090 ;; @r{all other spam detected by spam-split goes to @code{spam-split-group}}
25092 ;; @r{default mailbox}
25097 This lets you invoke specific @code{spam-split} checks depending on
25098 your particular needs, and target the results of those checks to a
25099 particular spam group. You don't have to throw all mail into all the
25100 spam tests. Another reason why this is nice is that messages to
25101 mailing lists you have rules for don't have to have resource-intensive
25102 blackhole checks performed on them. You could also specify different
25103 spam checks for your nnmail split vs. your nnimap split. Go crazy.
25105 You should set the @code{spam-use-*} variables for whatever spam back
25106 ends you intend to use. The reason is that when loading
25107 @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done depending on what
25108 @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set. @xref{Spam Back Ends}.
25110 @c @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
25111 @c statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
25114 @node Detecting Spam in Groups
25115 @subsection Detecting Spam in Groups
25117 To detect spam when visiting a group, set the group's
25118 @code{spam-autodetect} and @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group
25119 parameters. These are accessible with @kbd{G c} or @kbd{G p}, as
25120 usual (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
25122 You should set the @code{spam-use-*} variables for whatever spam back
25123 ends you intend to use. The reason is that when loading
25124 @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done depending on what
25125 @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set.
25127 By default, only unseen articles are processed for spam. You can
25128 force Gnus to recheck all messages in the group by setting the
25129 variable @code{spam-autodetect-recheck-messages} to @code{t}.
25131 If you use the @code{spam-autodetect} method of checking for spam, you
25132 can specify different spam detection methods for different groups.
25133 For instance, the @samp{ding} group may have @code{spam-use-BBDB} as
25134 the autodetection method, while the @samp{suspect} group may have the
25135 @code{spam-use-blacklist} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter} methods
25136 enabled. Unlike with @code{spam-split}, you don't have any control
25137 over the @emph{sequence} of checks, but this is probably unimportant.
25139 @node Spam and Ham Processors
25140 @subsection Spam and Ham Processors
25141 @cindex spam filtering
25142 @cindex spam filtering variables
25143 @cindex spam variables
25146 @vindex gnus-spam-process-newsgroups
25147 Spam and ham processors specify special actions to take when you exit
25148 a group buffer. Spam processors act on spam messages, and ham
25149 processors on ham messages. At present, the main role of these
25150 processors is to update the dictionaries of dictionary-based spam back
25151 ends such as Bogofilter (@pxref{Bogofilter}) and the Spam Statistics
25152 package (@pxref{Spam Statistics Filtering}).
25154 The spam and ham processors that apply to each group are determined by
25155 the group's@code{spam-process} group parameter. If this group
25156 parameter is not defined, they are determined by the variable
25157 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups}.
25159 @vindex gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
25160 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
25161 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
25162 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
25163 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
25164 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
25165 by customizing the corresponding variable
25166 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
25167 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
25168 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
25169 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
25170 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
25171 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
25172 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
25175 @vindex gnus-spam-mark
25177 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
25178 they get the @samp{$} mark (@code{gnus-spam-mark}) when you enter the
25179 group. If you have seen a message, had it marked as spam, then
25180 unmarked it, it won't be marked as spam when you enter the group
25181 thereafter. You can disable that behavior, so all unread messages
25182 will get the @samp{$} mark, if you set the
25183 @code{spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam} parameter to @code{nil}. You
25184 should remove the @samp{$} mark when you are in the group summary
25185 buffer for every message that is not spam after all. To remove the
25186 @samp{$} mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to ``unread'' the article, or
25187 @kbd{d} for declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a
25188 group, all spam-marked (@samp{$}) articles are sent to a spam
25189 processor which will study them as spam samples.
25191 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
25192 @code{ham-marks} group parameter gets overridden below, marks @samp{R}
25193 and @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
25194 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
25195 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
25196 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
25197 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
25198 should then adjust the @code{ham-marks} group parameter.
25201 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
25202 marks you want to consider ham. By default, the list contains the
25203 deleted, read, killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks (the idea is
25204 that these articles have been read, but are not spam). It can be
25205 useful to also include the tick mark in the ham marks. It is not
25206 recommended to make the unread mark a ham mark, because it normally
25207 indicates a lack of classification. But you can do it, and we'll be
25212 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
25213 marks you want to consider spam. By default, the list contains only
25214 the spam mark. It is not recommended to change that, but you can if
25215 you really want to.
25218 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
25219 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
25220 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
25221 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
25222 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
25223 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{$},
25226 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
25227 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
25228 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
25229 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
25230 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
25231 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
25232 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
25233 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
25234 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with @kbd{M-x
25235 customize-variable @key{RET} gnus-ham-process-destinations}). Each
25236 group name list is a standard Lisp list, if you prefer to customize
25237 the variable manually. If the @code{ham-process-destination}
25238 parameter is not set, ham articles are left in place. If the
25239 @code{spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group} parameter is
25240 set, the ham articles are marked as unread before being moved.
25242 If ham can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
25243 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
25245 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
25246 expression! This enables you to send your ham to a regular mail
25247 group and to a @emph{ham training} group.
25249 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
25250 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
25252 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups
25253 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} is
25254 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in spam groups
25255 to be processed. Normally this is not done, you are expected instead
25256 to send your ham to a ham group and process it there.
25258 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups
25259 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups} is
25260 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in non-ham (spam
25261 or unclassified) groups to be processed. Normally this is not done,
25262 you are expected instead to send your ham to a ham group and process
25265 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
25266 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
25267 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
25268 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
25269 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
25270 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
25271 customize this variable with @kbd{M-x customize-variable @key{RET}
25272 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). Each group name list is a standard
25273 Lisp list, if you prefer to customize the variable manually. If the
25274 @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set, the spam
25275 articles are only expired. The group name is fully qualified, meaning
25276 that if you see @samp{nntp:servername} before the group name in the
25277 group buffer then you need it here as well.
25279 If spam can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
25280 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
25282 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
25283 expression! This enables you to send your spam to multiple @emph{spam
25286 @vindex spam-log-to-registry
25287 The problem with processing ham and spam is that Gnus doesn't track
25288 this processing by default. Enable the @code{spam-log-to-registry}
25289 variable so @code{spam.el} will use @code{gnus-registry.el} to track
25290 what articles have been processed, and avoid processing articles
25291 multiple times. Keep in mind that if you limit the number of registry
25292 entries, this won't work as well as it does without a limit.
25294 @vindex spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam
25295 Set this variable if you want only unseen articles in spam groups to
25296 be marked as spam. By default, it is set. If you set it to
25297 @code{nil}, unread articles will also be marked as spam.
25299 @vindex spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group
25300 Set this variable if you want ham to be unmarked before it is moved
25301 out of the spam group. This is very useful when you use something
25302 like the tick mark @samp{!} to mark ham---the article will be placed
25303 in your @code{ham-process-destination}, unmarked as if it came fresh
25304 from the mail server.
25306 @vindex spam-autodetect-recheck-messages
25307 When autodetecting spam, this variable tells @code{spam.el} whether
25308 only unseen articles or all unread articles should be checked for
25309 spam. It is recommended that you leave it off.
25311 @node Spam Package Configuration Examples
25312 @subsection Spam Package Configuration Examples
25313 @cindex spam filtering
25314 @cindex spam filtering configuration examples
25315 @cindex spam configuration examples
25318 @subsubheading Ted's setup
25320 From Ted Zlatanov <tzz@@lifelogs.com>.
25322 ;; @r{for @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent} and spam autodetection}
25323 ;; @r{see @file{gnus-registry.el} for more information}
25324 (gnus-registry-initialize)
25328 spam-log-to-registry t ; @r{for spam autodetection}
25330 spam-use-regex-headers t ; @r{catch X-Spam-Flag (SpamAssassin)}
25331 ;; @r{all groups with @samp{spam} in the name contain spam}
25332 gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
25333 '(("spam" gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
25334 ;; @r{see documentation for these}
25335 spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only nil
25336 spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam t
25337 spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group t
25338 nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
25339 ;; @r{understand what this does before you copy it to your own setup!}
25340 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
25341 ;; @r{trace references to parents and put in their group}
25342 (: gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent)
25343 ;; @r{this will catch server-side SpamAssassin tags}
25344 (: spam-split 'spam-use-regex-headers)
25345 (any "ding" "ding")
25346 ;; @r{note that spam by default will go to @samp{spam}}
25348 ;; @r{default mailbox}
25351 ;; @r{my parameters, set with @kbd{G p}}
25353 ;; @r{all nnml groups, and all nnimap groups except}
25354 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} and}
25355 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam}: any spam goes to nnimap training,}
25356 ;; @r{because it must have been detected manually}
25358 ((spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
25360 ;; @r{all @acronym{NNTP} groups}
25361 ;; @r{autodetect spam with the blacklist and ham with the BBDB}
25362 ((spam-autodetect-methods spam-use-blacklist spam-use-BBDB)
25363 ;; @r{send all spam to the training group}
25364 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
25366 ;; @r{only some @acronym{NNTP} groups, where I want to autodetect spam}
25367 ((spam-autodetect . t))
25369 ;; @r{my nnimap @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam} group}
25371 ;; @r{this is a spam group}
25372 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam)
25374 ;; @r{any spam (which happens when I enter for all unseen messages,}
25375 ;; @r{because of the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} setting above), goes to}
25376 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} unless I mark it as ham}
25378 (spam-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train")
25380 ;; @r{any ham goes to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail} folder, but}
25381 ;; @r{also to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham} folder for training}
25383 (ham-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail"
25384 "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham")
25385 ;; @r{in this group, only @samp{!} marks are ham}
25387 (gnus-ticked-mark))
25388 ;; @r{remembers senders in the blacklist on the way out---this is}
25389 ;; @r{definitely not needed, it just makes me feel better}
25390 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist)))
25392 ;; @r{Later, on the @acronym{IMAP} server I use the @samp{train} group for training}
25393 ;; @r{SpamAssassin to recognize spam, and the @samp{trainham} group fora}
25394 ;; @r{recognizing ham---but Gnus has nothing to do with it.}
25398 @subsubheading Using @code{spam.el} on an IMAP server with a statistical filter on the server
25399 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
25401 My provider has set up bogofilter (in combination with @acronym{DCC}) on
25402 the mail server (@acronym{IMAP}). Recognized spam goes to
25403 @samp{spam.detected}, the rest goes through the normal filter rules,
25404 i.e. to @samp{some.folder} or to @samp{INBOX}. Training on false
25405 positives or negatives is done by copying or moving the article to
25406 @samp{training.ham} or @samp{training.spam} respectively. A cron job on
25407 the server feeds those to bogofilter with the suitable ham or spam
25408 options and deletes them from the @samp{training.ham} and
25409 @samp{training.spam} folders.
25411 With the following entries in @code{gnus-parameters}, @code{spam.el}
25412 does most of the job for me:
25415 ("nnimap:spam\\.detected"
25416 (gnus-article-sort-functions '(gnus-article-sort-by-chars))
25417 (ham-process-destination "nnimap:INBOX" "nnimap:training.ham")
25418 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
25419 ("nnimap:\\(INBOX\\|other-folders\\)"
25420 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap:training.spam")
25421 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham))
25426 @item @b{The Spam folder:}
25428 In the folder @samp{spam.detected}, I have to check for false positives
25429 (i.e. legitimate mails, that were wrongly judged as spam by
25430 bogofilter or DCC).
25432 Because of the @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam} entry, all
25433 messages are marked as spam (with @code{$}). When I find a false
25434 positive, I mark the message with some other ham mark
25435 (@code{ham-marks}, @ref{Spam and Ham Processors}). On group exit,
25436 those messages are copied to both groups, @samp{INBOX} (where I want
25437 to have the article) and @samp{training.ham} (for training bogofilter)
25438 and deleted from the @samp{spam.detected} folder.
25440 The @code{gnus-article-sort-by-chars} entry simplifies detection of
25441 false positives for me. I receive lots of worms (sweN, @dots{}), that all
25442 have a similar size. Grouping them by size (i.e. chars) makes finding
25443 other false positives easier. (Of course worms aren't @i{spam}
25444 (@acronym{UCE}, @acronym{UBE}) strictly speaking. Anyhow, bogofilter is
25445 an excellent tool for filtering those unwanted mails for me.)
25447 @item @b{Ham folders:}
25449 In my ham folders, I just hit @kbd{S x}
25450 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) whenever I see an unrecognized spam
25451 mail (false negative). On group exit, those messages are moved to
25452 @samp{training.spam}.
25455 @subsubheading Reporting spam articles in Gmane groups with @code{spam-report.el}
25457 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
25459 With following entry in @code{gnus-parameters}, @kbd{S x}
25460 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) marks articles in @code{gmane.*}
25461 groups as spam and reports the to Gmane at group exit:
25465 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane)))
25468 Additionally, I use @code{(setq spam-report-gmane-use-article-number nil)}
25469 because I don't read the groups directly from news.gmane.org, but
25470 through my local news server (leafnode). I.e. the article numbers are
25471 not the same as on news.gmane.org, thus @code{spam-report.el} has to check
25472 the @code{X-Report-Spam} header to find the correct number.
25474 @node Spam Back Ends
25475 @subsection Spam Back Ends
25476 @cindex spam back ends
25478 The spam package offers a variety of back ends for detecting spam.
25479 Each back end defines a set of methods for detecting spam
25480 (@pxref{Filtering Incoming Mail}, @pxref{Detecting Spam in Groups}),
25481 and a pair of spam and ham processors (@pxref{Spam and Ham
25485 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
25486 * BBDB Whitelists::
25487 * Gmane Spam Reporting::
25488 * Anti-spam Hashcash Payments::
25490 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
25492 * SpamAssassin back end::
25493 * ifile spam filtering::
25494 * Spam Statistics Filtering::
25498 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
25499 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
25500 @cindex spam filtering
25501 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
25502 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
25505 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
25507 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
25508 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
25509 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
25510 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
25515 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
25517 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
25518 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
25519 whitelist will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
25520 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the whitelist, their
25521 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
25525 @defvar spam-use-whitelist-exclusive
25527 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists as an
25528 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
25529 unless the sender is in the whitelist. Use with care.
25533 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
25535 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25536 customizing the group parameters or the
25537 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
25538 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
25539 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
25543 Instead of the obsolete
25544 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist}, it is recommended
25545 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-blacklist)}. Everything will work
25546 the same way, we promise.
25550 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
25552 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25553 customizing the group parameters or the
25554 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
25555 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
25556 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
25561 Instead of the obsolete
25562 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist}, it is recommended
25563 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-whitelist)}. Everything will work
25564 the same way, we promise.
25568 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
25569 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
25570 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
25571 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
25572 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
25574 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
25575 legitimate. All messages from whitelisted addresses are considered
25576 non-spam. Also see @ref{BBDB Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the
25577 Emacs regular expression syntax.
25579 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
25580 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
25581 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
25582 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
25583 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
25584 @file{blacklist} respectively.
25586 @node BBDB Whitelists
25587 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
25588 @cindex spam filtering
25589 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
25590 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
25593 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
25595 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
25596 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted
25597 addresses, without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded
25598 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Messages whose senders are
25599 not in the BBDB will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
25600 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the BBDB, their
25601 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
25605 @defvar spam-use-BBDB-exclusive
25607 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use the BBDB as an
25608 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
25609 unless the sender is in the BBDB. Use with care. Only sender
25610 addresses in the BBDB will be allowed through; all others will be
25611 classified as spammers.
25613 While @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} @emph{can} be used as an alias
25614 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} as far as @code{spam.el} is concerned, it is
25615 @emph{not} a separate back end. If you set
25616 @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} to t, @emph{all} your BBDB splitting
25621 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
25623 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25624 customizing the group parameters or the
25625 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
25626 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
25627 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
25632 Instead of the obsolete
25633 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB}, it is recommended
25634 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-BBDB)}. Everything will work
25635 the same way, we promise.
25639 @node Gmane Spam Reporting
25640 @subsubsection Gmane Spam Reporting
25641 @cindex spam reporting
25642 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
25643 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
25646 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane
25648 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25649 customizing the group parameters or the
25650 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
25651 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
25652 articles groups will be reported to the Gmane administrators via a
25655 Gmane can be found at @uref{http://gmane.org}.
25659 Instead of the obsolete
25660 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane}, it is recommended
25661 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-gmane)}. Everything will work the
25662 same way, we promise.
25666 @defvar spam-report-gmane-use-article-number
25668 This variable is @code{t} by default. Set it to @code{nil} if you are
25669 running your own news server, for instance, and the local article
25670 numbers don't correspond to the Gmane article numbers. When
25671 @code{spam-report-gmane-use-article-number} is @code{nil},
25672 @code{spam-report.el} will fetch the number from the article headers.
25676 @defvar spam-report-user-mail-address
25678 Mail address exposed in the User-Agent spam reports to Gmane. It allows
25679 the Gmane administrators to contact you in case of misreports. The
25680 default is @code{user-mail-address}.
25684 @node Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
25685 @subsubsection Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
25686 @cindex spam filtering
25687 @cindex hashcash, spam filtering
25690 @defvar spam-use-hashcash
25692 Similar to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
25693 Whitelists}), but uses hashcash tokens for whitelisting messages
25694 instead of the sender address. Messages without a hashcash payment
25695 token will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an explicit
25696 filter, meaning that unless a hashcash token is found, the messages
25697 are not assumed to be spam or ham.
25702 @subsubsection Blackholes
25703 @cindex spam filtering
25704 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
25707 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
25709 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
25710 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
25711 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
25712 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
25713 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
25714 contains outdated servers.
25716 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
25717 @code{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
25718 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil}. It is not recommended at
25719 this time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil} despite the
25720 possible performance improvements, because some users may be unable to
25721 use it, but you can try it and see if it works for you.
25725 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
25727 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
25731 @defvar spam-blackhole-good-server-regex
25733 A regular expression for IPs that should not be checked against the
25734 blackhole server list. When set to @code{nil}, it has no effect.
25738 @defvar spam-use-dig
25740 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
25741 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
25745 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
25746 ham processor for blackholes.
25748 @node Regular Expressions Header Matching
25749 @subsubsection Regular Expressions Header Matching
25750 @cindex spam filtering
25751 @cindex regular expressions header matching, spam filtering
25754 @defvar spam-use-regex-headers
25756 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus check the
25757 message headers against lists of regular expressions when you set this
25758 option. The variables @code{spam-regex-headers-spam} and
25759 @code{spam-regex-headers-ham} hold the list of regular expressions.
25760 Gnus will check against the message headers to determine if the
25761 message is spam or ham, respectively.
25765 @defvar spam-regex-headers-spam
25767 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
25768 the message, positively identify it as spam.
25772 @defvar spam-regex-headers-ham
25774 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
25775 the message, positively identify it as ham.
25779 Regular expression header checks are done only on incoming mail.
25780 There is no specific spam or ham processor for regular expressions.
25783 @subsubsection Bogofilter
25784 @cindex spam filtering
25785 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
25788 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
25790 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
25793 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{$} mark for spam
25794 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
25795 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
25796 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
25797 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
25798 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
25800 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on a specific
25801 threshold. That threshold can be customized, consult the Bogofilter
25804 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
25805 processing will be turned off.
25807 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
25816 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
25817 Get the Bogofilter spamicity score (@code{spam-bogofilter-score}).
25820 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
25822 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
25823 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
25824 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
25825 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
25826 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
25827 installation documents for details.
25829 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
25833 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
25834 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25835 customizing the group parameters or the
25836 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
25837 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
25838 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
25842 Instead of the obsolete
25843 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
25844 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
25845 the same way, we promise.
25848 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
25849 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25850 customizing the group parameters or the
25851 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
25852 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
25853 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
25854 of non-spam messages.
25858 Instead of the obsolete
25859 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
25860 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
25861 the same way, we promise.
25864 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
25866 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
25867 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
25868 database directory.
25872 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to @command{ifile} in intent and
25873 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
25874 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
25875 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
25876 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
25877 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
25879 @node SpamAssassin back end
25880 @subsubsection SpamAssassin back end
25881 @cindex spam filtering
25882 @cindex spamassassin, spam filtering
25885 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin
25887 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use SpamAssassin.
25889 SpamAssassin assigns a score to each article based on a set of rules
25890 and tests, including a Bayesian filter. The Bayesian filter can be
25891 trained by associating the @samp{$} mark for spam articles. The
25892 spam score can be viewed by using the command @kbd{S t} in summary
25895 If you set this variable, each article will be processed by
25896 SpamAssassin when @code{spam-split} is called. If your mail is
25897 preprocessed by SpamAssassin, and you want to just use the
25898 SpamAssassin headers, set @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}
25901 You should not enable this if you use
25902 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}.
25906 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin-headers
25908 Set this variable if your mail is preprocessed by SpamAssassin and
25909 want @code{spam-split} to split based on the SpamAssassin headers.
25911 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-spamassassin}.
25915 @defvar spam-spamassassin-program
25917 This variable points to the SpamAssassin executable. If you have
25918 @code{spamd} running, you can set this variable to the @code{spamc}
25919 executable for faster processing. See the SpamAssassin documentation
25920 for more information on @code{spamd}/@code{spamc}.
25924 SpamAssassin is a powerful and flexible spam filter that uses a wide
25925 variety of tests to identify spam. A ham and a spam processors are
25926 provided, plus the @code{spam-use-spamassassin} and
25927 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers} variables to indicate to
25928 spam-split that SpamAssassin should be either used, or has already
25929 been used on the article. The 2.63 version of SpamAssassin was used
25930 to test this functionality.
25932 @node ifile spam filtering
25933 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
25934 @cindex spam filtering
25935 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
25938 @defvar spam-use-ifile
25940 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use @command{ifile}, a
25941 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
25945 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
25947 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
25948 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
25949 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
25953 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
25955 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
25956 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
25957 the default value of @samp{spam}.
25960 @defvar spam-ifile-database
25962 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
25963 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
25967 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
25968 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
25969 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
25970 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
25973 @node Spam Statistics Filtering
25974 @subsubsection Spam Statistics Filtering
25975 @cindex spam filtering
25976 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
25980 This back end uses the Spam Statistics Emacs Lisp package to perform
25981 statistics-based filtering (@pxref{Spam Statistics Package}). Before
25982 using this, you may want to perform some additional steps to
25983 initialize your Spam Statistics dictionary. @xref{Creating a
25984 spam-stat dictionary}.
25986 @defvar spam-use-stat
25990 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
25991 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25992 customizing the group parameters or the
25993 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
25994 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
25995 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
25999 Instead of the obsolete
26000 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
26001 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
26002 the same way, we promise.
26005 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
26006 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
26007 customizing the group parameters or the
26008 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
26009 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
26010 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
26011 of non-spam messages.
26015 Instead of the obsolete
26016 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
26017 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
26018 the same way, we promise.
26021 This enables @code{spam.el} to cooperate with @file{spam-stat.el}.
26022 @file{spam-stat.el} provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database,
26023 which unlike ifile or Bogofilter does not require external programs.
26024 A spam and a ham processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for
26025 @code{spam-split} are provided.
26028 @subsubsection Using SpamOracle with Gnus
26029 @cindex spam filtering
26033 An easy way to filter out spam is to use SpamOracle. SpamOracle is an
26034 statistical mail filtering tool written by Xavier Leroy and needs to be
26035 installed separately.
26037 There are several ways to use SpamOracle with Gnus. In all cases, your
26038 mail is piped through SpamOracle in its @emph{mark} mode. SpamOracle will
26039 then enter an @samp{X-Spam} header indicating whether it regards the
26040 mail as a spam mail or not.
26042 One possibility is to run SpamOracle as a @code{:prescript} from the
26043 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}, (@pxref{SpamAssassin}). This method has
26044 the advantage that the user can see the @emph{X-Spam} headers.
26046 The easiest method is to make @file{spam.el} (@pxref{Spam Package})
26049 @vindex spam-use-spamoracle
26050 To enable SpamOracle usage by @code{spam.el}, set the variable
26051 @code{spam-use-spamoracle} to @code{t} and configure the
26052 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}. @xref{Spam
26053 Package}. In this example the @samp{INBOX} of an nnimap server is
26054 filtered using SpamOracle. Mails recognized as spam mails will be
26055 moved to @code{spam-split-group}, @samp{Junk} in this case. Ham
26056 messages stay in @samp{INBOX}:
26059 (setq spam-use-spamoracle t
26060 spam-split-group "Junk"
26061 nnimap-split-inbox '("INBOX")
26062 nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
26063 nnimap-split-fancy '(| (: spam-split) "INBOX"))
26066 @defvar spam-use-spamoracle
26067 Set to @code{t} if you want Gnus to enable spam filtering using
26071 @defvar spam-spamoracle-binary
26072 Gnus uses the SpamOracle binary called @file{spamoracle} found in the
26073 user's PATH. Using the variable @code{spam-spamoracle-binary}, this
26077 @defvar spam-spamoracle-database
26078 By default, SpamOracle uses the file @file{~/.spamoracle.db} as a database to
26079 store its analysis. This is controlled by the variable
26080 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} which defaults to @code{nil}. That means
26081 the default SpamOracle database will be used. In case you want your
26082 database to live somewhere special, set
26083 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} to this path.
26086 SpamOracle employs a statistical algorithm to determine whether a
26087 message is spam or ham. In order to get good results, meaning few
26088 false hits or misses, SpamOracle needs training. SpamOracle learns
26089 the characteristics of your spam mails. Using the @emph{add} mode
26090 (training mode) one has to feed good (ham) and spam mails to
26091 SpamOracle. This can be done by pressing @kbd{|} in the Summary
26092 buffer and pipe the mail to a SpamOracle process or using
26093 @file{spam.el}'s spam- and ham-processors, which is much more
26094 convenient. For a detailed description of spam- and ham-processors,
26095 @xref{Spam Package}.
26097 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle
26098 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
26099 customizing the group parameter or the
26100 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
26101 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles will be
26102 sent to SpamOracle as spam samples.
26106 Instead of the obsolete
26107 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
26108 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
26109 the same way, we promise.
26112 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle
26113 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
26114 customizing the group parameter or the
26115 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
26116 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked articles in
26117 @emph{ham} groups will be sent to the SpamOracle as samples of ham
26122 Instead of the obsolete
26123 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
26124 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
26125 the same way, we promise.
26128 @emph{Example:} These are the Group Parameters of a group that has been
26129 classified as a ham group, meaning that it should only contain ham
26132 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham)
26133 (spam-process ((ham spam-use-spamoracle)
26134 (spam spam-use-spamoracle))))
26136 For this group the @code{spam-use-spamoracle} is installed for both
26137 ham and spam processing. If the group contains spam message
26138 (e.g. because SpamOracle has not had enough sample messages yet) and
26139 the user marks some messages as spam messages, these messages will be
26140 processed by SpamOracle. The processor sends the messages to
26141 SpamOracle as new samples for spam.
26143 @node Extending the Spam package
26144 @subsection Extending the Spam package
26145 @cindex spam filtering
26146 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
26147 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
26149 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
26150 incoming mail, provide the following:
26158 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
26159 "True if blackbox should be used.")
26162 Write @code{spam-check-blackbox} if Blackbox can check incoming mail.
26164 Write @code{spam-blackbox-register-routine} and
26165 @code{spam-blackbox-unregister-routine} using the bogofilter
26166 register/unregister routines as a start, or other restister/unregister
26167 routines more appropriate to Blackbox, if Blackbox can
26168 register/unregister spam and ham.
26173 The @code{spam-check-blackbox} function should return @samp{nil} or
26174 @code{spam-split-group}, observing the other conventions. See the
26175 existing @code{spam-check-*} functions for examples of what you can
26176 do, and stick to the template unless you fully understand the reasons
26181 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
26188 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
26189 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
26191 Also, ham and spam processors are being phased out as single
26192 variables. Instead the form @code{(spam spam-use-blackbox)} or
26193 @code{(ham spam-use-blackbox)} is favored. For now, spam/ham
26194 processor variables are still around but they won't be for long.
26197 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-spam"
26198 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
26199 Only applicable to spam groups.")
26201 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-ham"
26202 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
26203 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
26212 (const :tag "Spam: Blackbox" (spam spam-use-blackbox))
26213 (const :tag "Ham: Blackbox" (ham spam-use-blackbox))
26215 to the @code{spam-process} group parameter in @code{gnus.el}. Make
26216 sure you do it twice, once for the parameter and once for the
26217 variable customization.
26221 (variable-item spam-use-blackbox)
26223 to the @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group parameter in
26224 @code{gnus.el} if Blackbox can check incoming mail for spam contents.
26226 Finally, use the appropriate @code{spam-install-*-backend} function in
26227 @code{spam.el}. Here are the available functions.
26233 @code{spam-install-backend-alias}
26235 This function will simply install an alias for a back end that does
26236 everything like the original back end. It is currently only used to
26237 make @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} act like @code{spam-use-BBDB}.
26240 @code{spam-install-nocheck-backend}
26242 This function installs a back end that has no check function, but can
26243 register/unregister ham or spam. The @code{spam-use-gmane} back end is
26247 @code{spam-install-checkonly-backend}
26249 This function will install a back end that can only check incoming mail
26250 for spam contents. It can't register or unregister messages.
26251 @code{spam-use-blackholes} and @code{spam-use-hashcash} are such
26255 @code{spam-install-statistical-checkonly-backend}
26257 This function installs a statistical back end (one which requires the
26258 full body of a message to check it) that can only check incoming mail
26259 for contents. @code{spam-use-regex-body} is such a filter.
26262 @code{spam-install-statistical-backend}
26264 This function install a statistical back end with incoming checks and
26265 registration/unregistration routines. @code{spam-use-bogofilter} is
26269 @code{spam-install-backend}
26271 This is the most normal back end installation, where a back end that can
26272 check and register/unregister messages is set up without statistical
26273 abilities. The @code{spam-use-BBDB} is such a back end.
26276 @code{spam-install-mover-backend}
26278 Mover back ends are internal to @code{spam.el} and specifically move
26279 articles around when the summary is exited. You will very probably
26280 never install such a back end.
26285 @node Spam Statistics Package
26286 @subsection Spam Statistics Package
26287 @cindex Paul Graham
26288 @cindex Graham, Paul
26289 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
26290 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
26291 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
26293 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
26294 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
26295 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
26296 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
26297 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
26298 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
26299 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
26300 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
26301 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
26304 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
26305 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
26306 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
26307 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
26308 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
26309 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
26310 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
26311 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
26313 The Spam Statistics package adds support to Gnus for this kind of
26314 filtering. It can be used as one of the back ends of the Spam package
26315 (@pxref{Spam Package}), or by itself.
26317 Before using the Spam Statistics package, you need to set it up.
26318 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
26319 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
26320 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
26321 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
26324 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
26325 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
26326 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
26329 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
26330 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
26332 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
26333 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
26334 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
26335 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
26336 need several hundred emails in both collections.
26338 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
26339 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
26340 per mail. Use the following:
26342 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
26343 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
26344 is treated as one spam mail.
26347 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
26348 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
26349 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
26352 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
26353 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds to
26354 the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
26355 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
26356 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds to the group
26357 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
26359 When you are using @acronym{IMAP}, you won't have the mails available
26360 locally, so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent
26361 to cache the articles. Then you can use directories such as
26362 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
26363 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
26366 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics---the
26367 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
26368 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
26369 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
26372 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
26373 reset the dictionary.
26375 @defun spam-stat-reset
26376 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
26379 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
26380 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
26381 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
26382 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
26383 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
26384 only non-spam mails.
26386 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
26387 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
26388 to update the dictionary incrementally.
26391 @defun spam-stat-save
26392 Save the dictionary.
26395 @defvar spam-stat-file
26396 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
26397 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
26400 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
26401 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
26403 This section describes how to use the Spam statistics
26404 @emph{independently} of the @xref{Spam Package}.
26406 First, add the following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
26409 (require 'spam-stat)
26413 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
26416 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
26417 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
26418 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
26419 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
26421 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
26422 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
26423 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
26424 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
26427 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
26428 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
26432 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
26433 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
26436 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
26437 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
26438 expression are considered potential spam.
26441 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
26442 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
26443 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
26447 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
26448 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
26449 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
26450 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
26451 mails, when creating the dictionary!
26454 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
26455 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
26456 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
26460 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
26461 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
26462 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
26463 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
26464 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
26468 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
26469 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
26470 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
26471 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
26476 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
26477 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
26479 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
26481 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
26482 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
26483 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
26486 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
26487 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
26488 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
26491 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
26492 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
26493 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
26494 already been processed as non-spam.
26497 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
26498 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
26499 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
26500 been processed as spam.
26503 @defun spam-stat-save
26504 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
26505 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
26508 @defun spam-stat-load
26509 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
26510 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
26513 @defun spam-stat-score-word
26514 Return the spam score for a word.
26517 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
26518 Return the spam score for a buffer.
26521 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
26522 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
26523 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
26526 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
26527 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
26530 (require 'spam-stat)
26534 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
26537 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
26538 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
26539 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
26540 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
26541 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
26542 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
26543 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
26544 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
26545 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
26546 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
26547 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
26548 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
26549 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
26550 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
26553 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
26556 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
26557 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
26558 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
26559 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
26560 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
26561 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
26564 @node The Gnus Registry
26565 @section The Gnus Registry
26570 The Gnus registry is a package that tracks messages by their
26571 Message-ID across all backends. This allows Gnus users to do several
26572 cool things, be the envy of the locals, get free haircuts, and be
26573 experts on world issues. Well, maybe not all of those, but the
26574 features are pretty cool.
26576 Although they will be explained in detail shortly, here's a quick list
26577 of said features in case your attention span is... never mind.
26581 Split messages to their parent
26583 This keeps discussions in the same group. You can use the subject and
26584 the sender in addition to the Message-ID. Several strategies are
26588 Store custom flags and keywords
26590 The registry can store custom flags and keywords for a message. For
26591 instance, you can mark a message ``To-Do'' this way and the flag will
26592 persist whether the message is in the nnimap, nnml, nnmaildir,
26596 Store arbitrary data
26598 Through a simple ELisp API, the registry can remember any data for a
26599 message. A built-in inverse map, when activated, allows quick lookups
26600 of all messages matching a particular set of criteria.
26605 * Fancy splitting to parent::
26606 * Store custom flags and keywords::
26607 * Store arbitrary data::
26613 Fortunately, setting up the Gnus registry is pretty easy:
26616 (setq gnus-registry-max-entries 2500
26617 gnus-registry-use-long-group-names t)
26619 (gnus-registry-initialize)
26622 This adds registry saves to Gnus newsrc saves (which happen on exit
26623 and when you press @kbd{s} from the @code{*Group*} buffer. It also
26624 adds registry calls to article actions in Gnus (copy, move, etc.) so
26625 it's not easy to undo the initialization. See
26626 @code{gnus-registry-initialize} for the gory details.
26628 Here are other settings used by the author of the registry (understand
26629 what they do before you copy them blindly).
26633 gnus-registry-split-strategy 'majority
26634 gnus-registry-ignored-groups '(("nntp" t)
26638 gnus-registry-max-entries 500000
26639 gnus-registry-use-long-group-names t
26640 gnus-registry-track-extra '(sender subject))
26643 They say: keep a lot of messages around, use long group names, track
26644 messages by sender and subject (not just parent Message-ID), and when
26645 the registry splits incoming mail, use a majority rule to decide where
26646 messages should go if there's more than one possibility. In addition,
26647 the registry should ignore messages in groups that match ``nntp'',
26648 ``nnrss'', ``spam'', or ``train.''
26650 You are doubtless impressed by all this, but you ask: ``I am a Gnus
26651 user, I customize to live. Give me more.'' Here you go, these are
26652 the general settings.
26654 @defvar gnus-registry-unfollowed-groups
26655 The groups that will not be followed by
26656 @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent}. They will still be
26657 remembered by the registry. This is a list of regular expressions.
26660 @defvar gnus-registry-ignored-groups
26661 The groups that will not be remembered by the registry. This is a
26662 list of regular expressions, also available through Group/Topic
26663 customization (so you can ignore or keep a specific group or a whole
26667 @defvar gnus-registry-use-long-group-names
26668 Whether the registry will use long group names. It's recommended to
26669 set this to @code{t}, although everything works if you don't. Future
26670 functionality will require it.
26673 @defvar gnus-registry-max-entries
26674 The number (an integer or @code{nil} for unlimited) of entries the
26675 registry will keep.
26678 @defvar gnus-registry-cache-file
26679 The file where the registry will be stored between Gnus sessions.
26682 @node Fancy splitting to parent
26683 @subsection Fancy splitting to parent
26685 Simply put, this lets you put followup e-mail where it belongs.
26687 Every message has a Message-ID, which is unique, and the registry
26688 remembers it. When the message is moved or copied, the registry will
26689 notice this and offer the new group as a choice to the splitting
26692 When a followup is made, usually it mentions the original message's
26693 Message-ID in the headers. The registry knows this and uses that
26694 mention to find the group where the original message lives. You only
26695 have to put a rule like this:
26698 (setq nnimap-my-split-fancy '(|
26700 ;; split to parent: you need this
26701 (: gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent)
26703 ;; other rules, as an example
26709 in your fancy split setup. In addition, you may want to customize the
26710 following variables.
26712 @defvar gnus-registry-track-extra
26713 This is a list of symbols, so it's best to change it from the
26714 Customize interface. By default it's @code{nil}, but you may want to
26715 track @code{subject} and @code{sender} as well when splitting by parent.
26716 It may work for you. It can be annoying if your mail flow is large and
26717 people don't stick to the same groups.
26720 @defvar gnus-registry-split-strategy
26721 This is a symbol, so it's best to change it from the Customize
26722 interface. By default it's @code{nil}, but you may want to set it to
26723 @code{majority} or @code{first} to split by sender or subject based on
26724 the majority of matches or on the first found.
26727 @node Store custom flags and keywords
26728 @subsection Store custom flags and keywords
26730 The registry lets you set custom flags and keywords per message. You
26731 can use the Gnus->Registry Marks menu or the @kbd{M M x} keyboard
26732 shortcuts, where @code{x} is the first letter of the mark's name.
26734 @defvar gnus-registry-marks
26735 The custom marks that the registry can use. You can modify the
26736 default list, if you like. If you do, you'll have to exit Emacs
26737 before they take effect (you can also unload the registry and reload
26738 it or evaluate the specific macros you'll need, but you probably don't
26739 want to bother). Use the Customize interface to modify the list.
26741 By default this list has the @code{Important}, @code{Work},
26742 @code{Personal}, @code{To-Do}, and @code{Later} marks. They all have
26743 keyboard shortcuts like @kbd{M M i} for Important, using the first
26747 @defun gnus-registry-mark-article
26748 Call this function to mark an article with a custom registry mark. It
26749 will offer the available marks for completion.
26752 @node Store arbitrary data
26753 @subsection Store arbitrary data
26755 The registry has a simple API that uses a Message-ID as the key to
26756 store arbitrary data (as long as it can be converted to a list for
26759 @defun gnus-registry-store-extra-entry (id key value)
26760 Store @code{value} in the extra data key @code{key} for message
26764 @defun gnus-registry-delete-extra-entry (id key)
26765 Delete the extra data key @code{key} for message @code{id}.
26768 @defun gnus-registry-fetch-extra (id key)
26769 Get the extra data key @code{key} for message @code{id}.
26772 @defvar gnus-registry-extra-entries-precious
26773 If any extra entries are precious, their presence will make the
26774 registry keep the whole entry forever, even if there are no groups for
26775 the Message-ID and if the size limit of the registry is reached. By
26776 default this is just @code{(marks)} so the custom registry marks are
26781 @section Interaction with other modes
26786 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} provides some useful functions for dired
26787 buffers. It is enabled with
26789 (add-hook 'dired-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-dired-mode)
26794 @findex gnus-dired-attach
26795 @cindex attachments, selection via dired
26796 Send dired's marked files as an attachment (@code{gnus-dired-attach}).
26797 You will be prompted for a message buffer.
26800 @findex gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap
26801 Visit a file according to the appropriate mailcap entry
26802 (@code{gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap}). With prefix, open file in a new
26806 @findex gnus-dired-print
26807 Print file according to the mailcap entry (@code{gnus-dired-print}). If
26808 there is no print command, print in a PostScript image.
26811 @node Various Various
26812 @section Various Various
26818 @item gnus-home-directory
26819 @vindex gnus-home-directory
26820 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
26821 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
26823 @item gnus-directory
26824 @vindex gnus-directory
26825 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
26826 this variable, which defaults to the @env{SAVEDIR} environment
26827 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
26829 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{~/.gnus.el} file is read.
26830 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
26831 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
26832 @file{~/.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
26834 @item gnus-default-directory
26835 @vindex gnus-default-directory
26836 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
26837 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
26838 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
26839 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
26840 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
26841 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
26844 @vindex gnus-verbose
26845 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
26846 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
26847 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
26848 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
26849 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
26851 @item gnus-verbose-backends
26852 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
26853 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
26854 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
26856 @item gnus-add-timestamp-to-message
26857 @vindex gnus-add-timestamp-to-message
26858 This variable controls whether to add timestamps to messages that are
26859 controlled by @code{gnus-verbose} and @code{gnus-verbose-backends} and
26860 are issued. The default value is @code{nil} which means never to add
26861 timestamp. If it is @code{log}, add timestamps to only the messages
26862 that go into the @samp{*Messages*} buffer (in XEmacs, it is the
26863 @w{@samp{ *Message-Log*}} buffer). If it is neither @code{nil} nor
26864 @code{log}, add timestamps not only to log messages but also to the ones
26865 displayed in the echo area.
26867 @item nnheader-max-head-length
26868 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
26869 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
26870 as little as possible. This variable (default 8192) specifies
26871 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
26872 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
26873 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
26874 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
26875 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
26876 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
26878 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
26879 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
26880 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
26881 read when doing the operation described above.
26883 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
26884 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
26886 @cindex invalid characters in file names
26887 @cindex characters in file names
26888 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
26889 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
26890 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
26894 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
26899 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
26900 Windows (phooey) systems.
26902 @item gnus-hidden-properties
26903 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
26904 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
26905 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
26906 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
26908 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
26909 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
26910 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
26911 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
26912 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
26914 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
26915 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
26916 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
26918 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
26919 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
26921 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
26922 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
26923 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
26924 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
26927 @acronym{IMAP} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
26935 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
26936 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
26938 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
26940 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
26946 Not because of victories @*
26949 but for the common sunshine,@*
26951 the largess of the spring.
26955 but for the day's work done@*
26956 as well as I was able;@*
26957 not for a seat upon the dais@*
26958 but at the common table.@*
26963 @chapter Appendices
26966 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
26967 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
26968 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
26969 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
26970 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
26971 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
26972 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
26973 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
26974 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
26981 @cindex installing under XEmacs
26983 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
26984 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
26985 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{mail-lib}, @samp{xemacs-base},
26986 @samp{eterm}, @samp{sh-script}, @samp{net-utils}, @samp{os-utils},
26987 @samp{dired}, @samp{mh-e}, @samp{sieve}, @samp{ps-print}, @samp{W3},
26988 @samp{pgg}, @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{ecrypto}, and @samp{sasl}.
26995 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
26996 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
26998 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
26999 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
27000 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
27001 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
27002 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
27004 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
27005 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
27006 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
27007 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
27008 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
27009 appropriate name, don't you think?)
27011 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
27012 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
27013 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
27014 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
27017 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
27018 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
27019 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
27020 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
27021 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
27022 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
27023 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
27024 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
27025 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
27029 @node Gnus Versions
27030 @subsection Gnus Versions
27032 @cindex September Gnus
27034 @cindex Quassia Gnus
27035 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
27038 @cindex Gnus versions
27040 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
27041 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
27042 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
27044 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
27045 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
27047 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
27048 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
27050 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
27051 It was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
27053 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
27054 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
27057 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun and was released as
27058 Gnus 5.10 on May 1st 2003 (24 releases).
27060 On the January 4th 2004, No Gnus was begun.
27062 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
27063 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
27064 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'', ``No Gnus'' -- don't panic.
27065 Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever
27066 you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach.
27067 Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
27070 @node Other Gnus Versions
27071 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
27074 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
27075 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
27076 Japan. It's based on a library called @acronym{SEMI}, which provides
27077 @acronym{MIME} capabilities.
27079 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
27080 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
27081 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
27082 @acronym{MIME} and multilingualization things, especially important for
27089 What's the point of Gnus?
27091 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
27092 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
27093 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
27094 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
27095 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
27096 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
27097 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
27098 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
27099 keep track of millions of people who post?
27101 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
27102 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
27103 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
27104 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
27105 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
27106 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
27107 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
27108 every one of you to explore and invent.
27110 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
27111 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
27114 @node Compatibility
27115 @subsection Compatibility
27117 @cindex compatibility
27118 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
27119 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
27120 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
27125 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
27129 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
27132 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
27135 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
27136 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
27137 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
27138 important variables have their values copied into their global
27139 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
27140 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
27142 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
27143 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
27144 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
27145 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
27146 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
27150 @cindex highlighting
27151 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
27152 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
27153 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
27154 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
27155 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
27156 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
27159 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
27160 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
27161 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
27162 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
27164 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
27165 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
27166 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
27167 to stop doing it the old way.
27169 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
27171 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
27173 @cindex reporting bugs
27175 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
27176 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
27177 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
27179 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
27180 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
27181 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
27182 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
27187 @subsection Conformity
27189 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
27190 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
27198 There are no known breaches of this standard.
27202 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
27204 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
27205 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
27206 We do have some breaches to this one.
27212 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
27213 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
27214 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
27215 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
27216 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
27221 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
27222 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
27223 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
27224 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
27226 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
27227 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
27228 All the various @acronym{MIME} RFCs are supported.
27230 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
27231 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
27233 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
27236 RFC 1991 is the original @acronym{PGP} message specification,
27237 published as an informational RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now
27238 called Open PGP, and put on the Standards Track. Both document a
27239 non-@acronym{MIME} aware @acronym{PGP} format. Gnus supports both
27240 encoding (signing and encryption) and decoding (verification and
27243 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
27244 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
27245 1991) describes the @acronym{MIME}-wrapping around the RFC 1991/2440 format.
27246 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
27248 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
27249 RFC 2633 describes the @acronym{S/MIME} format.
27251 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
27252 RFC 1730 is @acronym{IMAP} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060
27253 (@acronym{IMAP} 4 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5
27254 authentication for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2086 describes access control
27255 lists (ACLs) for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2359 describes a @acronym{IMAP}
27256 protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper @acronym{TLS}
27257 integration (STARTTLS) with @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 1731 describes the
27258 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @acronym{IMAP}.
27262 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
27263 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
27268 @subsection Emacsen
27274 This version of Gnus should work on:
27282 XEmacs 21.4 and up.
27286 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
27287 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
27288 Emacs versions. Particularly, Gnus 5.10.8 should also work on Emacs
27289 20.7 and XEmacs 21.1.
27291 @c No-merge comment: The paragraph added in v5-10 here must not be
27294 @node Gnus Development
27295 @subsection Gnus Development
27297 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
27298 discussion on the development mailing list @samp{ding@@gnus.org}, where people
27299 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
27300 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
27301 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
27302 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
27303 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
27304 have names like ``Oort Gnus'' and ``No Gnus''. @xref{Gnus Versions}.
27306 After futzing around for 10-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
27307 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
27308 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.10.1'' instead. Normal people are
27309 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
27310 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup. This newgroup is mirrored to the
27311 mailing list @samp{info-gnus-english@@gnu.org} which is carried on Gmane
27312 as @samp{gmane.emacs.gnus.user}. These releases are finally integrated
27316 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
27317 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae,
27318 in particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming}. This is to prevent
27319 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
27320 @xref{Mail Source Customization}.
27322 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
27323 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
27324 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
27325 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
27326 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
27327 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
27328 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
27329 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
27330 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
27331 can't be assumed to do so.
27333 So if you have problems with or questions about the alpha versions,
27334 direct those to the ding mailing list @samp{ding@@gnus.org}. This list
27335 is also available on Gmane as @samp{gmane.emacs.gnus.general}.
27338 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
27339 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae,
27340 in particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming}. This is to prevent
27341 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
27342 @xref{Mail Source Customization}.
27345 @subsection Contributors
27346 @cindex contributors
27348 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
27349 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
27350 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
27351 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
27352 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
27353 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
27354 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
27355 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
27356 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
27357 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
27359 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for@dots{} oops,
27365 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
27368 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
27369 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @acronym{MIME} and
27370 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
27371 functionality and stuff.
27374 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
27375 well as numerous other things).
27378 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
27381 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
27384 Justin Sheehy---the @acronym{FAQ} maintainer.
27387 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
27390 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
27391 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
27394 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
27397 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section.
27400 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
27403 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
27406 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
27409 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
27412 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
27413 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
27416 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
27419 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
27422 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
27425 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
27429 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
27432 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
27435 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
27438 Fran@,{c}ois Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
27439 well as autoconf support.
27443 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
27444 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
27446 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
27461 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
27463 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
27467 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
27477 Alexei V. Barantsev,
27492 Massimo Campostrini,
27497 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
27498 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
27502 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
27505 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
27511 Michael Welsh Duggan,
27516 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
27520 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
27528 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
27530 Michelangelo Grigni,
27534 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
27536 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c Hayashi
27538 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
27546 Fran@,{c}ois Felix Ingrand,
27547 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c Ichikawa
27548 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
27550 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
27560 Peter Skov Knudsen,
27561 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
27563 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
27564 Thor Kristoffersen,
27567 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
27585 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
27586 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
27593 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
27598 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
27602 John McClary Prevost,
27608 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
27613 Christian von Roques,
27616 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
27623 Philippe Schnoebelen,
27625 Randal L. Schwartz,
27639 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
27644 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
27664 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
27665 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
27666 (550kB and counting).
27668 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
27671 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
27672 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
27676 @subsection New Features
27677 @cindex new features
27680 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
27681 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
27682 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
27683 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
27684 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
27685 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10/5.11.
27686 * No Gnus:: Very punny.
27689 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
27690 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
27691 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
27694 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
27696 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
27701 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
27702 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
27705 Local spool and several @acronym{NNTP} servers can be used at once
27706 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
27709 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
27712 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
27713 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
27714 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
27717 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
27718 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
27719 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
27720 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
27723 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
27724 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
27727 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
27728 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
27729 (@pxref{The Active File}).
27732 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
27733 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
27736 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
27737 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
27738 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
27741 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
27742 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
27743 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
27746 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{~/.gnus.el}) to avoid
27747 cluttering up the @file{.emacs} file.
27750 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
27751 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
27754 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
27755 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
27758 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
27759 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
27762 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
27763 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
27766 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
27767 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
27770 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
27773 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
27774 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
27777 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
27778 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
27781 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
27782 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
27785 Gnus can fetch @acronym{FAQ}s and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
27788 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
27789 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
27792 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
27796 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
27800 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
27801 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
27804 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
27810 @node September Gnus
27811 @subsubsection September Gnus
27815 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
27819 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
27824 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
27825 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
27829 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
27830 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
27834 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
27838 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
27839 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
27842 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
27846 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions.
27849 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
27852 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
27855 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
27859 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
27860 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
27863 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
27867 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
27871 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
27875 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
27879 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
27882 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
27883 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
27886 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
27890 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
27891 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
27894 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
27897 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
27898 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
27899 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
27902 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
27906 The Gnus cache is much faster.
27909 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
27913 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
27914 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
27917 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
27918 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
27921 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
27922 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
27925 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
27926 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
27927 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
27930 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
27931 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
27934 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
27937 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
27940 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
27943 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
27946 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
27947 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
27950 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
27954 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
27957 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
27962 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
27965 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
27969 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
27972 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
27976 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
27979 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
27982 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
27983 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
27986 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
27987 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
27991 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
27992 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
27995 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
27999 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
28000 buffer to allow easier treatment.
28003 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
28006 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
28010 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
28014 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
28015 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
28018 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
28022 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
28023 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
28026 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
28027 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
28030 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
28034 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
28037 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
28040 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
28046 @subsubsection Red Gnus
28048 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
28052 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
28059 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
28062 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
28063 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
28066 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
28067 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
28071 Article washing status can be displayed in the
28072 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
28075 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
28078 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
28079 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
28082 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
28086 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
28087 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
28091 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
28092 Server Internals}).
28095 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
28099 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
28102 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
28103 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
28106 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
28107 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
28108 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
28111 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
28112 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
28115 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
28116 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
28119 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
28123 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
28124 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
28127 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
28128 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
28131 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
28135 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
28138 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
28142 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
28143 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
28146 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
28147 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
28150 A new command for reading collections of documents
28151 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
28152 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
28155 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
28159 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @acronym{NNTP}
28160 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
28163 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
28164 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
28165 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
28168 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
28169 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
28173 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
28177 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
28181 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
28186 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
28190 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
28194 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
28195 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
28198 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
28204 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
28206 New features in Gnus 5.6:
28211 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
28212 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added.
28213 @xref{Gnus Unplugged}, for the full story.
28216 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
28217 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
28218 group, which is created automatically.
28221 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
28225 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
28228 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
28229 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
28232 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
28236 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
28239 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
28240 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
28243 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
28246 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. @xref{Symbolic Prefixes}, for
28250 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
28251 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the @file{all.SCORE} file.
28254 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
28255 control over simplification.
28258 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
28261 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
28265 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
28268 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
28271 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
28272 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
28273 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
28276 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
28277 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
28280 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
28284 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
28285 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
28288 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
28289 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @acronym{NNTP} servers.
28292 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
28296 A history of where mails have been split is available.
28299 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
28302 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
28303 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
28306 A new function for citing in Message has been
28307 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
28310 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
28313 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
28317 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
28318 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
28321 The ``lapsed date'' article header can be kept continually
28322 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
28325 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
28328 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
28332 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
28333 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
28335 New features in Gnus 5.8:
28340 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
28341 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
28343 If you used procmail like in
28346 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
28347 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
28348 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
28349 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
28352 this now has changed to
28356 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
28360 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}.
28363 Gnus is now a @acronym{MIME}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
28364 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
28367 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
28368 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
28371 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
28372 called to position point.
28375 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
28376 summary buffers and @acronym{NOV} files.
28379 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
28380 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
28383 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
28384 subtly different manner.
28387 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
28388 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
28389 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
28392 Gnus can now read @acronym{IMAP} mail via @code{nnimap}.
28397 @subsubsection Oort Gnus
28400 New features in Gnus 5.10:
28404 @item Installation changes
28405 @c ***********************
28409 Upgrading from previous (stable) version if you have used Oort.
28411 If you have tried Oort (the unstable Gnus branch leading to this
28412 release) but went back to a stable version, be careful when upgrading to
28413 this version. In particular, you will probably want to remove all
28414 @file{.marks} (nnml) and @file{.mrk} (nnfolder) files, so that flags are
28415 read from your @file{.newsrc.eld} instead of from the
28416 @file{.marks}/@file{.mrk} file where this release store flags. See a
28417 later entry for more information about marks. Note that downgrading
28418 isn't save in general.
28421 Lisp files are now installed in @file{.../site-lisp/gnus/} by default.
28422 It defaulted to @file{.../site-lisp/} formerly. In addition to this,
28423 the new installer issues a warning if other Gnus installations which
28424 will shadow the latest one are detected. You can then remove those
28425 shadows manually or remove them using @code{make
28426 remove-installed-shadows}.
28429 New @file{make.bat} for compiling and installing Gnus under MS Windows
28431 Use @file{make.bat} if you want to install Gnus under MS Windows, the
28432 first argument to the batch-program should be the directory where
28433 @file{xemacs.exe} respectively @file{emacs.exe} is located, if you want
28434 to install Gnus after compiling it, give @file{make.bat} @code{/copy} as
28435 the second parameter.
28437 @file{make.bat} has been rewritten from scratch, it now features
28438 automatic recognition of XEmacs and GNU Emacs, generates
28439 @file{gnus-load.el}, checks if errors occur while compilation and
28440 generation of info files and reports them at the end of the build
28441 process. It now uses @code{makeinfo} if it is available and falls
28442 back to @file{infohack.el} otherwise. @file{make.bat} should now
28443 install all files which are necessary to run Gnus and be generally a
28444 complete replacement for the @code{configure; make; make install}
28445 cycle used under Unix systems.
28447 The new @file{make.bat} makes @file{make-x.bat} and @file{xemacs.mak}
28448 superfluous, so they have been removed.
28451 @file{~/News/overview/} not used.
28453 As a result of the following change, the @file{~/News/overview/}
28454 directory is not used any more. You can safely delete the entire
28457 @c FIXME: `gnus-load' is mentioned in README, which is not included in
28458 @c CVS. We should find a better place for this item.
28460 @code{(require 'gnus-load)}
28462 If you use a stand-alone Gnus distribution, you'd better add
28463 @code{(require 'gnus-load)} into your @file{~/.emacs} after adding the Gnus
28464 lisp directory into load-path.
28466 File @file{gnus-load.el} contains autoload commands, functions and variables,
28467 some of which may not be included in distributions of Emacsen.
28471 @item New packages and libraries within Gnus
28472 @c *****************************************
28477 The revised Gnus @acronym{FAQ} is included in the manual,
28478 @xref{Frequently Asked Questions}.
28481 @acronym{TLS} wrapper shipped with Gnus
28483 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is now supported in @acronym{IMAP} and
28484 @acronym{NNTP} via @file{tls.el} and GNUTLS. The old
28485 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} support via (external third party)
28486 @file{ssl.el} and OpenSSL still works.
28489 Improved anti-spam features.
28491 Gnus is now able to take out spam from your mail and news streams
28492 using a wide variety of programs and filter rules. Among the supported
28493 methods are RBL blocklists, bogofilter and white/blacklists. Hooks
28494 for easy use of external packages such as SpamAssassin and Hashcash
28495 are also new. @ref{Thwarting Email Spam} and @ref{Spam Package}.
28496 @c FIXME: @xref{Spam Package}?. Should this be under Misc?
28499 Gnus supports server-side mail filtering using Sieve.
28501 Sieve rules can be added as Group Parameters for groups, and the
28502 complete Sieve script is generated using @kbd{D g} from the Group
28503 buffer, and then uploaded to the server using @kbd{C-c C-l} in the
28504 generated Sieve buffer. @xref{Sieve Commands}, and the new Sieve
28505 manual @ref{Top, , Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
28509 @item Changes in group mode
28510 @c ************************
28515 @code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group} can be called interactively,
28519 Retrieval of charters and control messages
28521 There are new commands for fetching newsgroup charters (@kbd{H c}) and
28522 control messages (@kbd{H C}).
28525 The new variable @code{gnus-parameters} can be used to set group parameters.
28527 Earlier this was done only via @kbd{G p} (or @kbd{G c}), which stored
28528 the parameters in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, but via this variable you can
28529 enjoy the powers of customize, and simplified backups since you set the
28530 variable in @file{~/.gnus.el} instead of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. The
28531 variable maps regular expressions matching group names to group
28534 (setq gnus-parameters
28536 (gnus-show-threads nil)
28537 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
28538 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
28539 (to-group . "\\1"))))
28543 Unread count correct in nnimap groups.
28545 The estimated number of unread articles in the group buffer should now
28546 be correct for nnimap groups. This is achieved by calling
28547 @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} from the
28548 @code{gnus-setup-news-hook} (called on startup) and
28549 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook}. (called after getting new
28550 mail). If you have modified those variables from the default, you may
28551 want to add @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} again. If
28552 you were happy with the estimate and want to save some (minimal) time
28553 when getting new mail, remove the function.
28556 Group names are treated as UTF-8 by default.
28558 This is supposedly what USEFOR wanted to migrate to. See
28559 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist} and
28560 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist} for customization.
28563 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} and
28564 @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
28566 The regexps in these variables are compared with full group names
28567 instead of real group names in 5.8. Users who customize these
28568 variables should change those regexps accordingly. For example:
28570 ("^han\\>" euc-kr) -> ("\\(^\\|:\\)han\\>" euc-kr)
28574 Old intermediate incoming mail files (@file{Incoming*}) are deleted
28575 after a couple of days, not immediately. @xref{Mail Source
28576 Customization}. (New in Gnus 5.10.10 / Emacs 22.2)
28580 @item Changes in summary and article mode
28581 @c **************************************
28586 @kbd{F} (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}) and @kbd{R}
28587 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}) only yank the text in the
28588 region if the region is active.
28591 In draft groups, @kbd{e} is now bound to @code{gnus-draft-edit-message}.
28592 Use @kbd{B w} for @code{gnus-summary-edit-article} instead.
28597 More buttons for URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man
28598 pages and Emacs or Gnus related references. @xref{Article Buttons}. The
28599 variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} can be used to control the
28600 appearance of all article buttons. @xref{Article Button Levels}.
28603 Single-part yenc encoded attachments can be decoded.
28608 The picons code has been reimplemented to work in GNU Emacs---some of
28609 the previous options have been removed or renamed.
28611 Picons are small ``personal icons'' representing users, domain and
28612 newsgroups, which can be displayed in the Article buffer.
28616 If the new option @code{gnus-treat-body-boundary} is non-@code{nil}, a
28617 boundary line is drawn at the end of the headers.
28620 Signed article headers (X-PGP-Sig) can be verified with @kbd{W p}.
28623 The Summary Buffer uses an arrow in the fringe to indicate the current
28624 article. Use @code{(setq gnus-summary-display-arrow nil)} to disable it.
28627 Warn about email replies to news
28629 Do you often find yourself replying to news by email by mistake? Then
28630 the new option @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} is just the thing for
28634 If the new option @code{gnus-summary-display-while-building} is
28635 non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer is shown and updated as it's being
28639 The new @code{recent} mark @samp{.} indicates newly arrived messages (as
28640 opposed to old but unread messages).
28643 Gnus supports RFC 2369 mailing list headers, and adds a number of
28644 related commands in mailing list groups. @xref{Mailing List}.
28647 The Date header can be displayed in a format that can be read aloud
28648 in English. @xref{Article Date}.
28651 diffs are automatically highlighted in groups matching
28652 @code{mm-uu-diff-groups-regexp}
28655 Better handling of Microsoft citation styles
28657 Gnus now tries to recognize the mangled header block that some Microsoft
28658 mailers use to indicate that the rest of the message is a citation, even
28659 though it is not quoted in any way. The variable
28660 @code{gnus-cite-unsightly-citation-regexp} matches the start of these
28663 The new command @kbd{W Y f}
28664 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}) allows deuglifying broken
28665 Outlook (Express) articles.
28668 @code{gnus-article-skip-boring}
28670 If you set @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} to @code{t}, then Gnus will
28671 not scroll down to show you a page that contains only boring text,
28672 which by default means cited text and signature. You can customize
28673 what is skippable using @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}.
28675 This feature is especially useful if you read many articles that
28676 consist of a little new content at the top with a long, untrimmed
28677 message cited below.
28680 Smileys (@samp{:-)}, @samp{;-)} etc) are now displayed graphically in
28683 Put @code{(setq gnus-treat-display-smileys nil)} in @file{~/.gnus.el} to
28687 Face headers handling. @xref{Face}.
28690 In the summary buffer, the new command @kbd{/ N} inserts new messages
28691 and @kbd{/ o} inserts old messages.
28694 Gnus decodes morse encoded messages if you press @kbd{W m}.
28697 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}
28699 The default value changed to @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%)
28700 %s\n}. Moreover @code{gnus-extra-headers},
28701 @code{nnmail-extra-headers} and @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses}
28702 changed their default so that the users name will be replaced by the
28703 recipient's name or the group name posting to for @acronym{NNTP}
28707 Deleting of attachments.
28709 The command @code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip} (bound to @kbd{C-o}
28710 on @acronym{MIME} buttons) saves a part and replaces the part with an
28711 external one. @code{gnus-mime-delete-part} (bound to @kbd{d} on
28712 @acronym{MIME} buttons) removes a part. It works only on back ends
28713 that support editing.
28716 @code{gnus-default-charset}
28718 The default value is determined from the
28719 @code{current-language-environment} variable, instead of
28720 @code{iso-8859-1}. Also the @samp{.*} item in
28721 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} is removed.
28724 Printing capabilities are enhanced.
28726 Gnus supports Muttprint natively with @kbd{O P} from the Summary and
28727 Article buffers. Also, each individual @acronym{MIME} part can be
28728 printed using @kbd{p} on the @acronym{MIME} button.
28731 Extended format specs.
28733 Format spec @samp{%&user-date;} is added into
28734 @code{gnus-summary-line-format-alist}. Also, user defined extended
28735 format specs are supported. The extended format specs look like
28736 @samp{%u&foo;}, which invokes function
28737 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{foo}}. Because @samp{&} is used as the
28738 escape character, old user defined format @samp{%u&} is no longer supported.
28741 @kbd{/ *} (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}) is rewritten.
28742 @c FIXME: Was this a user-visible change?
28744 It was aliased to @kbd{Y c}
28745 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}). The new function filters
28746 out other articles.
28749 Some limiting commands accept a @kbd{C-u} prefix to negate the match.
28751 If @kbd{C-u} is used on subject, author or extra headers, i.e., @kbd{/
28752 s}, @kbd{/ a}, and @kbd{/ x}
28753 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-@{subject,author,extra@}}) respectively, the
28754 result will be to display all articles that do not match the expression.
28757 Gnus inlines external parts (message/external).
28761 @item Changes in Message mode and related Gnus features
28762 @c ****************************************************
28769 You can delay the sending of a message with @kbd{C-c C-j} in the Message
28770 buffer. The messages are delivered at specified time. This is useful
28771 for sending yourself reminders. @xref{Delayed Articles}.
28774 If the new option @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil},
28775 the nnml back end allows compressed message files.
28778 The new option @code{gnus-gcc-mark-as-read} automatically marks
28779 Gcc articles as read.
28782 Externalizing of attachments
28784 If @code{gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments} or
28785 @code{message-fcc-externalize-attachments} is non-@code{nil}, attach
28786 local files as external parts.
28789 The envelope sender address can be customized when using Sendmail.
28790 @xref{Mail Variables, Mail Variables,, message, Message Manual}.
28793 Gnus no longer generate the Sender: header automatically.
28795 Earlier it was generated when the user configurable email address was
28796 different from the Gnus guessed default user address. As the guessing
28797 algorithm is rarely correct these days, and (more controversially) the
28798 only use of the Sender: header was to check if you are entitled to
28799 cancel/supersede news (which is now solved by Cancel Locks instead,
28800 see another entry), generation of the header has been disabled by
28801 default. See the variables @code{message-required-headers},
28802 @code{message-required-news-headers}, and
28803 @code{message-required-mail-headers}.
28806 Features from third party @file{message-utils.el} added to @file{message.el}.
28808 Message now asks if you wish to remove @samp{(was: <old subject>)} from
28809 subject lines (see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}). @kbd{C-c
28810 M-m} and @kbd{C-c M-f} inserts markers indicating included text.
28811 @kbd{C-c C-f a} adds a X-No-Archive: header. @kbd{C-c C-f x} inserts
28812 appropriate headers and a note in the body for cross-postings and
28813 followups (see the variables @code{message-cross-post-@var{*}}).
28816 References and X-Draft-From headers are no longer generated when you
28817 start composing messages and @code{message-generate-headers-first} is
28821 Easy inclusion of X-Faces headers. @xref{X-Face}.
28824 Group Carbon Copy (GCC) quoting
28826 To support groups that contains SPC and other weird characters, groups
28827 are quoted before they are placed in the Gcc: header. This means
28828 variables such as @code{gnus-message-archive-group} should no longer
28829 contain quote characters to make groups containing SPC work. Also, if
28830 you are using the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar} (indicating Gcc
28831 into two groups) you must change it to return the list
28832 @code{("nnml:foo" "nnml:bar")}, otherwise the Gcc: line will be quoted
28833 incorrectly. Note that returning the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar}
28834 was incorrect earlier, it just didn't generate any problems since it
28835 was inserted directly.
28838 @code{message-insinuate-rmail}
28840 @c FIXME should that not be 'message-user-agent?
28841 Adding @code{(message-insinuate-rmail)} and @code{(setq
28842 mail-user-agent 'gnus-user-agent)} in @file{.emacs} convinces Rmail to
28843 compose, reply and forward messages in message-mode, where you can
28844 enjoy the power of @acronym{MML}.
28847 @code{message-minibuffer-local-map}
28849 The line below enables BBDB in resending a message:
28851 (define-key message-minibuffer-local-map [(tab)]
28852 'bbdb-complete-name)
28856 @code{gnus-posting-styles}
28858 Add a new format of match like
28860 ((header "to" "larsi.*org")
28861 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
28863 The old format like the lines below is obsolete, but still accepted.
28865 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
28866 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
28870 @code{message-ignored-news-headers} and @code{message-ignored-mail-headers}
28872 @samp{X-Draft-From} and @samp{X-Gnus-Agent-Meta-Information} have been
28873 added into these two variables. If you customized those, perhaps you
28874 need add those two headers too.
28877 Gnus supports the ``format=flowed'' (RFC 2646) parameter. On
28878 composing messages, it is enabled by @code{use-hard-newlines}.
28879 Decoding format=flowed was present but not documented in earlier
28883 The option @code{mm-fill-flowed} can be used to disable treatment of
28884 ``format=flowed'' messages. Also, flowed text is disabled when sending
28885 inline PGP signed messages. @xref{Flowed text, , Flowed text,
28886 emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
28887 @c This entry is also present in the node "No Gnus".
28890 Gnus supports the generation of RFC 2298 Disposition Notification requests.
28892 This is invoked with the @kbd{C-c M-n} key binding from message mode.
28895 Message supports the Importance: (RFC 2156) header.
28897 In the message buffer, @kbd{C-c C-f C-i} or @kbd{C-c C-u} cycles through
28901 Gnus supports Cancel Locks in News.
28903 This means a header @samp{Cancel-Lock} is inserted in news posting. It is
28904 used to determine if you wrote an article or not (for canceling and
28905 superseding). Gnus generates a random password string the first time
28906 you post a message, and saves it in your @file{~/.emacs} using the Custom
28907 system. While the variable is called @code{canlock-password}, it is not
28908 security sensitive data. Publishing your canlock string on the web
28909 will not allow anyone to be able to anything she could not already do.
28910 The behavior can be changed by customizing @code{message-insert-canlock}.
28913 Gnus supports @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991/2440), @acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC
28914 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME} (RFC 2630-2633).
28916 It needs an external @acronym{S/MIME} and OpenPGP implementation, but no
28917 additional Lisp libraries. This add several menu items to the
28918 Attachments menu, and @kbd{C-c RET} key bindings, when composing
28919 messages. This also obsoletes @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook}.
28922 @acronym{MML} (Mime compose) prefix changed from @kbd{M-m} to @kbd{C-c
28925 This change was made to avoid conflict with the standard binding of
28926 @code{back-to-indentation}, which is also useful in message mode.
28929 The default for @code{message-forward-show-mml} changed to the symbol
28932 The behavior for the @code{best} value is to show @acronym{MML} (i.e.,
28933 convert to @acronym{MIME}) when appropriate. @acronym{MML} will not be
28934 used when forwarding signed or encrypted messages, as the conversion
28935 invalidate the digital signature.
28938 If @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled, attachments are automatically
28939 decompressed when activated.
28940 @c FIXME: Does this affect article or message mode?
28943 Support for non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names
28945 Message supports non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To: and
28946 Cc: and will query you whether to perform encoding when you try to
28947 send a message. The variable @code{message-use-idna} controls this.
28948 Gnus will also decode non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To:
28949 and Cc: when you view a message. The variable @code{gnus-use-idna}
28952 @item You can now drag and drop attachments to the Message buffer.
28953 See @code{mml-dnd-protocol-alist} and @code{mml-dnd-attach-options}.
28954 @xref{MIME, ,MIME, message, Message Manual}.
28955 @c New in 5.10.9 / 5.11 (Emacs 22.1)
28957 @item @code{auto-fill-mode} is enabled by default in Message mode.
28958 See @code{message-fill-column}. @xref{Various Message Variables, ,
28959 Message Headers, message, Message Manual}.
28960 @c New in Gnus 5.10.12 / 5.11 (Emacs 22.3)
28964 @item Changes in back ends
28965 @c ***********************
28969 Gnus can display RSS newsfeeds as a newsgroup. @xref{RSS}.
28972 The nndoc back end now supports mailman digests and exim bounces.
28975 Gnus supports Maildir groups.
28977 Gnus includes a new back end @file{nnmaildir.el}. @xref{Maildir}.
28980 The nnml and nnfolder back ends store marks for each groups.
28982 This makes it possible to take backup of nnml/nnfolder servers/groups
28983 separately of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, while preserving marks. It also
28984 makes it possible to share articles and marks between users (without
28985 sharing the @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file) within e.g. a department. It
28986 works by storing the marks stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld} in a per-group
28987 file @file{.marks} (for nnml) and @file{@var{groupname}.mrk} (for
28988 nnfolder, named @var{groupname}). If the nnml/nnfolder is moved to
28989 another machine, Gnus will automatically use the @file{.marks} or
28990 @file{.mrk} file instead of the information in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
28991 The new server variables @code{nnml-marks-is-evil} and
28992 @code{nnfolder-marks-is-evil} can be used to disable this feature.
29002 The menu bar item (in Group and Summary buffer) named ``Misc'' has
29003 been renamed to ``Gnus''.
29006 The menu bar item (in Message mode) named ``@acronym{MML}'' has been
29007 renamed to ``Attachments''. Note that this menu also contains security
29008 related stuff, like signing and encryption (@pxref{Security, Security,,
29009 message, Message Manual}).
29012 The tool bars have been updated to use GNOME icons in Group, Summary and
29013 Message mode. You can also customize the tool bars: @kbd{M-x
29014 customize-apropos RET -tool-bar$} should get you started. This is a new
29015 feature in Gnus 5.10.10. (Only for Emacs, not in XEmacs.)
29017 @item The tool bar icons are now (de)activated correctly
29018 in the group buffer, see the variable @code{gnus-group-update-tool-bar}.
29019 Its default value depends on your Emacs version. This is a new feature
29024 @item Miscellaneous changes
29025 @c ************************
29032 The Gnus Agent has seen a major updated and is now enabled by default,
29033 and all nntp and nnimap servers from @code{gnus-select-method} and
29034 @code{gnus-secondary-select-method} are agentized by default. Earlier
29035 only the server in @code{gnus-select-method} was agentized by the
29036 default, and the agent was disabled by default. When the agent is
29037 enabled, headers are now also retrieved from the Agent cache instead
29038 of the back ends when possible. Earlier this only happened in the
29039 unplugged state. You can enroll or remove servers with @kbd{J a} and
29040 @kbd{J r} in the server buffer. Gnus will not download articles into
29041 the Agent cache, unless you instruct it to do so, though, by using
29042 @kbd{J u} or @kbd{J s} from the Group buffer. You revert to the old
29043 behavior of having the Agent disabled with @code{(setq gnus-agent
29044 nil)}. Note that putting @code{(gnus-agentize)} in @file{~/.gnus.el}
29045 is not needed any more.
29048 Gnus reads the @acronym{NOV} and articles in the Agent if plugged.
29050 If one reads an article while plugged, and the article already exists
29051 in the Agent, it won't get downloaded once more. @code{(setq
29052 gnus-agent-cache nil)} reverts to the old behavior.
29057 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} (see @ref{Other modes}) installs key
29058 bindings in dired buffers to send a file as an attachment, open a file
29059 using the appropriate mailcap entry, and print a file using the mailcap
29063 The format spec @code{%C} for positioning point has changed to @code{%*}.
29066 @code{gnus-slave-unplugged}
29068 A new command which starts Gnus offline in slave mode.
29075 @subsubsection No Gnus
29078 New features in No Gnus:
29079 @c FIXME: Gnus 5.12?
29081 @include gnus-news.texi
29087 @section The Manual
29091 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
29092 either @code{texi2dvi}
29094 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
29095 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
29097 to get what you hold in your hands now.
29099 The following conventions have been used:
29104 This is a @samp{string}
29107 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
29110 This is a @file{file}
29113 This is a @code{symbol}
29117 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
29121 (setq flargnoze "yes")
29124 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
29127 (setq flumphel 'yes)
29130 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
29131 ever get them confused.
29135 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
29136 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
29137 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
29138 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
29139 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
29140 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
29141 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
29147 @node On Writing Manuals
29148 @section On Writing Manuals
29150 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
29151 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
29152 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
29153 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
29154 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
29155 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code go hand
29158 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
29159 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
29160 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
29163 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
29164 reference manual as source material. It would look quite different.
29169 @section Terminology
29171 @cindex terminology
29176 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
29177 News is generally fetched from a nearby @acronym{NNTP} server, and is
29178 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
29179 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
29180 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
29184 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
29185 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
29186 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
29187 not posting, and replying is not following up.
29191 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
29195 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
29200 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
29201 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
29202 commonly fetched via the protocol @acronym{NNTP}, whereas mail
29203 messages could be read from a file on the local disk. The internal
29204 architecture of Gnus thus comprises a ``front end'' and a number of
29205 ``back ends''. Internally, when you enter a group (by hitting
29206 @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke a function in the front end in
29207 Gnus. The front end then ``talks'' to a back end and says things like
29208 ``Give me the list of articles in the foo group'' or ``Show me article
29211 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back
29212 end accesses news via @acronym{NNTP}, the @code{nnimap} back end
29213 accesses mail via @acronym{IMAP}) or a file format and directory
29214 layout (the @code{nnspool} back end accesses news via the common
29215 ``spool directory'' format, the @code{nnml} back end access mail via a
29216 file format and directory layout that's quite similar).
29218 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
29219 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
29220 access the articles.
29222 However, sometimes the term ``back end'' is also used where ``server''
29223 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term ``select
29224 method'' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
29229 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
29230 default, way of getting news.
29234 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
29235 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
29240 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
29241 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
29245 A message that has been posted as news.
29248 @cindex mail message
29249 A message that has been mailed.
29253 A mail message or news article
29257 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
29262 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
29267 A line from the head of an article.
29271 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
29272 collection of @acronym{NOV} lines.
29274 @item @acronym{NOV}
29275 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
29276 @acronym{NOV} stands for News OverView, which is a type of news server
29277 header which provide datas containing the condensed header information
29278 of articles. They are produced by the server itself; in the @code{nntp}
29279 back end Gnus uses the ones that the @acronym{NNTP} server makes, but
29280 Gnus makes them by itself for some backends (in particular, @code{nnml}).
29282 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
29283 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
29284 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
29285 normal @sc{head} format.
29287 The @acronym{NOV} data consist of one or more text lines (@pxref{Text
29288 Lines, ,Motion by Text Lines, elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual})
29289 where each line has the header information of one article. The header
29290 information is a tab-separated series of the header's contents including
29291 an article number, a subject, an author, a date, a message-id,
29294 Those data enable Gnus to generate summary lines quickly. However, if
29295 the server does not support @acronym{NOV} or you disable it purposely or
29296 for some reason, Gnus will try to generate the header information by
29297 parsing each article's headers one by one. It will take time.
29298 Therefore, it is not usually a good idea to set nn*-nov-is-evil
29299 (@pxref{Slow/Expensive Connection}) to a non-@code{nil} value unless you
29300 know that the server makes wrong @acronym{NOV} data.
29304 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
29305 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
29306 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
29307 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
29308 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
29309 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
29311 @item killed groups
29312 @cindex killed groups
29313 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
29314 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
29316 @item zombie groups
29317 @cindex zombie groups
29318 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
29321 @cindex active file
29322 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
29323 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
29324 is rather large, as you might surmise.
29327 @cindex bogus groups
29328 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
29329 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
29330 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
29333 @cindex activating groups
29334 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
29335 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
29336 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
29340 News servers store their articles locally in one fashion or other.
29341 One old-fashioned storage method is to have just one file per
29342 article. That's called a ``traditional spool''.
29346 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
29348 @item select method
29349 @cindex select method
29350 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
29353 @item virtual server
29354 @cindex virtual server
29355 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
29356 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
29357 whole is a virtual server.
29361 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
29362 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
29365 @item ephemeral groups
29366 @cindex ephemeral groups
29367 @cindex temporary groups
29368 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
29369 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
29370 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
29373 @cindex solid groups
29374 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
29375 group buffer are solid groups.
29377 @item sparse articles
29378 @cindex sparse articles
29379 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
29380 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
29384 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
29385 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
29389 @cindex thread root
29390 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
29391 articles in the thread.
29395 An article that has responses.
29399 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
29403 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
29404 specified by RFC 1153.
29407 @cindex splitting, terminology
29408 @cindex mail sorting
29409 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
29410 The action of sorting your emails according to certain rules. Sometimes
29411 incorrectly called mail filtering.
29417 @node Customization
29418 @section Customization
29419 @cindex general customization
29421 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
29422 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
29423 for some quite common situations.
29426 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
29427 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
29428 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
29429 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
29433 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
29434 @subsection Slow/Expensive Connection
29436 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
29437 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
29438 Gnus has to get from the server.
29442 @item gnus-read-active-file
29443 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
29444 entire active file from the server. This file is often very large. You
29445 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
29446 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
29447 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
29449 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
29450 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
29451 Usually this one must @emph{always} be @code{nil} (which is the
29452 default). If, for example, you wish to not use @acronym{NOV}
29453 (@pxref{Terminology}) with the @code{nntp} back end (@pxref{Crosspost
29454 Handling}), set @code{nntp-nov-is-evil} to a non-@code{nil} value
29455 instead of setting this. But you normally do not need to set
29456 @code{nntp-nov-is-evil} since Gnus by itself will detect whether the
29457 @acronym{NNTP} server supports @acronym{NOV}. Anyway, grabbing article
29458 headers from the @acronym{NNTP} server will not be very fast if you tell
29459 Gnus not to use @acronym{NOV}.
29461 As the variables for the other back ends, there are
29462 @code{nndiary-nov-is-evil}, @code{nndir-nov-is-evil},
29463 @code{nnfolder-nov-is-evil}, @code{nnimap-nov-is-evil},
29464 @code{nnml-nov-is-evil}, @code{nnspool-nov-is-evil}, and
29465 @code{nnwarchive-nov-is-evil}. Note that a non-@code{nil} value for
29466 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} overrides all those variables.@footnote{Although
29467 the back ends @code{nnkiboze}, @code{nnslashdot}, @code{nnultimate}, and
29468 @code{nnwfm} don't have their own nn*-nov-is-evil.}
29472 @node Slow Terminal Connection
29473 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
29475 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
29476 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
29477 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
29481 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
29482 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
29483 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
29484 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
29485 horizontal and vertical recentering.
29487 @item gnus-visible-headers
29488 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
29489 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
29490 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
29491 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
29493 Use the following to enable all the available hiding features:
29495 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
29496 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
29497 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
29500 @item gnus-use-full-window
29501 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
29502 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
29503 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
29504 want to read them anyway.
29506 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
29507 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
29511 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
29512 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
29513 lines, which might save some time.
29517 @node Little Disk Space
29518 @subsection Little Disk Space
29521 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
29522 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
29526 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
29527 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
29528 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
29529 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
29532 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
29533 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
29534 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
29535 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
29538 @item gnus-save-killed-list
29539 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
29540 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
29541 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
29542 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
29548 @subsection Slow Machine
29549 @cindex slow machine
29551 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
29552 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
29554 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
29555 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
29557 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
29558 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
29559 summary buffer faster. Also @pxref{Slow/Expensive Connection}.
29563 @node Troubleshooting
29564 @section Troubleshooting
29565 @cindex troubleshooting
29567 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
29575 Make sure your computer is switched on.
29578 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
29579 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
29583 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
29585 @samp{No Gnus v0.10} @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change this line!
29587 you have the right files loaded. Otherwise you have some old @file{.el}
29588 files lying around. Delete these.
29591 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a
29592 @acronym{FAQ} and a how-to.
29595 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
29596 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
29597 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
29598 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
29599 something like that.
29602 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
29605 @cindex reporting bugs
29607 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
29609 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
29610 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
29611 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
29612 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
29614 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
29615 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
29616 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
29617 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
29620 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
29621 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
29622 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
29623 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
29624 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
29625 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
29627 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
29628 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
29629 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
29633 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
29634 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
29637 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
29638 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
29639 edebug. Debugging Lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
29640 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
29641 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
29642 you discover some weird behavior when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
29643 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
29644 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
29645 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
29646 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
29647 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
29648 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
29649 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
29650 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
29655 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate an elisp error but
29656 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
29657 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press @kbd{C-g} when things are
29658 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
29659 helps isolating the real problem areas).
29661 A fancier approach is to use the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is
29662 (or should be) fully documented elsewhere, but to get you started
29663 there are a few steps that need to be followed. First, instrument the
29664 part of Gnus you are interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x
29665 elp-instrument-package RET gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package
29666 RET message}. Then perform the operation that is slow and press
29667 @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will then see which operations that takes
29668 time, and can debug them further. If the entire operation takes much
29669 longer than the time spent in the slowest function in the profiler
29670 output, you probably profiled the wrong part of Gnus. To reset
29671 profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x
29672 elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove profiling, but given the
29673 complexities and dynamic code generation in Gnus, it might not always
29676 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
29677 @cindex ding mailing list
29678 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
29679 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful. You can also ask on
29680 @email{ding@@gnus.org, the ding mailing list}. Write to
29681 @email{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
29685 @node Gnus Reference Guide
29686 @section Gnus Reference Guide
29688 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
29689 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
29690 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
29691 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
29694 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
29695 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
29696 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
29697 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
29698 and general methods of operation.
29701 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
29702 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
29703 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
29704 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
29705 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
29706 * Group Info:: The group info format.
29707 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
29708 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
29709 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
29713 @node Gnus Utility Functions
29714 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
29715 @cindex Gnus utility functions
29716 @cindex utility functions
29718 @cindex internal variables
29720 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
29721 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
29722 Below is a list of the most common ones.
29726 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
29727 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
29728 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
29730 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
29731 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
29732 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
29734 @item gnus-group-real-name
29735 @findex gnus-group-real-name
29736 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
29739 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
29740 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
29741 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
29742 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
29744 @item gnus-get-info
29745 @findex gnus-get-info
29746 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
29748 @item gnus-group-unread
29749 @findex gnus-group-unread
29750 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
29754 @findex gnus-active
29755 The active entry for @var{group}.
29757 @item gnus-set-active
29758 @findex gnus-set-active
29759 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
29761 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
29762 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
29763 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
29766 @item gnus-continuum-version
29767 @findex gnus-continuum-version
29768 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
29769 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
29772 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
29773 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
29774 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
29776 @item gnus-news-group-p
29777 @findex gnus-news-group-p
29778 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
29780 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
29781 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
29782 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
29784 @item gnus-server-to-method
29785 @findex gnus-server-to-method
29786 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
29788 @item gnus-server-equal
29789 @findex gnus-server-equal
29790 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
29792 @item gnus-group-native-p
29793 @findex gnus-group-native-p
29794 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
29796 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
29797 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
29798 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
29800 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
29801 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
29802 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
29804 @item gnus-group-find-parameter
29805 @findex gnus-group-find-parameter
29806 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
29807 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
29809 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
29810 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
29811 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
29813 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
29814 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
29815 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
29817 @item gnus-check-backend-function
29818 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
29819 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
29820 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
29823 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
29827 @item gnus-read-method
29828 @findex gnus-read-method
29829 Prompts the user for a select method.
29834 @node Back End Interface
29835 @subsection Back End Interface
29837 Gnus doesn't know anything about @acronym{NNTP}, spools, mail or virtual
29838 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
29839 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
29840 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
29841 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
29842 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
29844 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
29845 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
29846 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
29847 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
29848 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
29849 been opened, the function should fail.
29851 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
29852 name. Take this example:
29856 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
29857 (nntp-port-number 4324))
29860 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
29861 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
29863 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
29864 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
29865 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
29867 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
29868 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
29869 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
29871 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
29872 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
29873 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
29874 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
29875 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
29876 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
29879 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
29880 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
29881 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
29882 ---they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
29885 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
29886 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
29887 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
29888 possible for later articles to ``re-use'' older article numbers without
29889 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
29890 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
29891 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
29892 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
29893 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
29894 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
29896 The previous paragraph already mentions all the ``hard'' restrictions that
29897 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
29898 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
29899 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
29900 the ``no-reuse'' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
29901 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
29902 of numbers as long as possible.
29904 Note that by convention, back ends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
29905 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
29906 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
29908 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
29911 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
29914 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
29915 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
29916 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
29917 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
29918 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
29919 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
29923 @node Required Back End Functions
29924 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
29928 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
29930 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
29931 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
29932 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
29933 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
29935 The result data should either be HEADs or @acronym{NOV} lines, and the result
29936 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
29937 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
29938 of HEADs and @acronym{NOV} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
29940 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching ``extra
29941 headers'', in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
29942 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
29943 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
29944 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
29945 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
29946 number, do maximum fetches.
29948 Here's an example HEAD:
29951 221 1056 Article retrieved.
29952 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
29953 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
29954 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
29955 Subject: Re: Something very droll
29956 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
29957 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
29959 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
29960 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
29961 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
29965 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
29966 these in the data buffer.
29968 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
29972 head = error / valid-head
29973 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
29974 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
29975 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
29976 header = <text> eol
29980 (The version of BNF used here is the one used in RFC822.)
29982 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
29983 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
29987 nov-buffer = *nov-line
29988 nov-line = field 7*8[ <TAB> field ] eol
29989 field = <text except TAB>
29992 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
29996 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
29998 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
29999 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
30001 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
30002 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
30003 server. In fact, it should do so.
30005 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
30006 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
30009 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
30011 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
30012 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
30015 There should be no data returned.
30018 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
30020 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
30021 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
30022 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
30023 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
30025 There should be no data returned.
30028 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
30030 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
30031 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
30032 non-@code{nil} value. This function should under no circumstances
30033 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
30035 There should be no data returned.
30038 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
30040 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
30042 There should be no data returned.
30045 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
30047 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
30048 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
30049 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
30050 it would be nice if that were possible.
30052 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
30053 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
30054 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
30055 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
30056 into its article buffer.
30058 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
30059 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
30060 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
30061 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
30062 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
30063 on successful article retrieval.
30066 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
30068 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
30069 making @var{group} the current group.
30071 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
30074 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
30077 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
30080 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
30081 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
30082 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
30083 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
30084 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
30085 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
30086 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
30087 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
30088 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
30092 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
30093 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
30094 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
30098 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
30100 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
30101 a no-op on most back ends.
30103 There should be no data returned.
30106 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
30108 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
30111 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
30114 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
30115 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
30118 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
30119 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
30120 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
30121 and the highest as 0.
30124 active-file = *active-line
30125 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
30127 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
30130 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
30131 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
30132 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
30135 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
30137 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
30138 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
30139 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
30140 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
30141 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
30142 clear if the posting could not be completed.
30144 There should be no result data from this function.
30149 @node Optional Back End Functions
30150 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
30154 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
30156 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
30157 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
30158 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
30160 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
30161 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
30162 former is in the same format as the data from
30163 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
30164 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
30167 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
30171 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
30173 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
30174 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all
30175 the information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
30176 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
30177 should return a non-@code{nil} value (exceptionally,
30178 @code{nntp-request-update-info} always returns @code{nil} not to waste
30179 the network resources).
30181 There should be no result data from this function.
30184 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
30186 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
30187 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
30188 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
30189 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
30190 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
30191 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
30192 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
30193 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
30195 There should be no result data from this function.
30198 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
30200 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
30201 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
30202 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @acronym{IMAP}) however carry
30203 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
30204 propagate the mark information to the server.
30206 @var{action} is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
30209 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
30212 @var{range} is a range of articles you wish to update marks on.
30213 @var{action} is @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove
30214 marks (preserving all marks not mentioned). @var{mark} is a list of
30215 marks; where each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are
30216 @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
30217 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
30218 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
30219 possible, not limit itself to these.
30221 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
30222 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
30223 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
30224 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
30226 An example action list:
30229 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
30230 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
30231 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
30234 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
30235 mark on (currently not used for anything).
30237 There should be no result data from this function.
30239 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
30241 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
30242 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
30243 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
30244 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
30245 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
30247 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
30248 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
30249 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
30252 There should be no result data from this function.
30255 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
30257 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
30258 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
30259 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query
30260 the @acronym{POP} server when this function is invoked. The
30261 @var{group} doesn't have to be heeded---if the back end decides that
30262 it is too much work just scanning for a single group, it may do a
30263 total scan of all groups. It would be nice, however, to keep things
30264 local if that's practical.
30266 There should be no result data from this function.
30269 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
30271 The result data from this function should be a description of
30275 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
30277 description = <text>
30280 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
30282 The result data from this function should be the description of all
30283 groups available on the server.
30286 description-buffer = *description-line
30290 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
30292 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
30293 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
30294 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
30295 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
30296 in the active buffer format.
30298 It is okay for this function to return ``too many'' groups; some back ends
30299 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
30300 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
30301 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
30302 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
30303 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
30304 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
30307 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
30309 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
30311 There should be no return data.
30314 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
30316 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
30317 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
30318 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
30319 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
30320 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
30323 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
30326 There should be no result data returned.
30329 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM &optional LAST)
30331 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
30332 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
30334 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
30335 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
30336 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
30337 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
30338 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
30339 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
30341 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
30342 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
30345 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
30346 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
30348 There should be no data returned.
30351 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
30353 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
30354 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
30355 this function in short order.
30357 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
30358 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
30360 The group should exist before the back end is asked to accept the
30361 article for that group.
30363 There should be no data returned.
30366 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
30368 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
30369 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
30371 There should be no data returned.
30374 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
30376 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
30377 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
30378 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
30380 There should be no data returned.
30383 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
30385 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
30386 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
30388 There should be no data returned.
30393 @node Error Messaging
30394 @subsubsection Error Messaging
30396 @findex nnheader-report
30397 @findex nnheader-get-report
30398 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
30399 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
30400 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
30401 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
30402 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
30403 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
30406 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
30408 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
30411 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
30412 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
30413 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
30414 takes one argument---the server symbol.
30416 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
30417 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
30418 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
30421 @node Writing New Back Ends
30422 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
30424 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
30425 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
30426 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
30427 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
30428 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
30431 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
30432 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
30433 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
30435 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
30436 package called @code{nnoo}.
30438 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
30439 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
30445 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
30446 parameters. For instance:
30449 (nnoo-declare nndir
30453 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
30454 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
30457 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
30458 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
30459 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
30461 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
30462 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
30463 a function in those back ends.
30466 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
30467 "Where nndir will look for groups."
30468 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
30471 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
30472 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
30473 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
30475 @item nnoo-define-basics
30476 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
30480 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
30484 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
30485 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
30486 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
30488 @item nnoo-map-functions
30489 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
30490 functions from the parent back ends.
30493 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
30494 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
30495 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
30498 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
30499 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
30500 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
30501 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
30504 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
30505 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
30506 haven't already been defined.
30512 nnmh-request-newgroups)
30516 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
30517 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
30518 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
30523 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
30526 ;;; @r{nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus}
30527 ;; @r{Copyright (C) 1995,1996 Free Software Foundation, Inc.}
30531 (require 'nnheader)
30535 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
30537 (nnoo-declare nndir
30540 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
30541 "Where nndir will look for groups."
30542 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
30544 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
30545 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
30548 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
30550 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
30551 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
30552 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
30554 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
30555 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
30557 ;;; @r{Interface functions.}
30559 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
30561 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
30562 (setq nndir-directory
30563 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
30565 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
30566 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
30567 (push `(nndir-current-group
30568 ,(file-name-nondirectory
30569 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
30571 (push `(nndir-top-directory
30572 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
30574 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
30576 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
30577 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
30578 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
30579 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
30580 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
30584 nnmh-status-message
30586 nnmh-request-newgroups))
30592 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
30593 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
30595 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
30596 @findex gnus-declare-backend
30597 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
30598 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
30599 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
30601 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
30602 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
30607 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
30610 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
30612 The abilities can be:
30616 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
30618 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
30620 This back end supports both mail and news.
30622 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
30625 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
30626 articles and groups.
30628 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
30629 true for almost all back ends.
30630 @item prompt-address
30631 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
30632 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
30633 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
30637 @node Mail-like Back Ends
30638 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
30640 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
30641 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
30642 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
30643 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
30646 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
30647 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
30648 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
30651 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
30652 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
30655 This function takes four parameters.
30659 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
30662 @item exit-function
30663 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
30665 @item temp-directory
30666 Where the temporary files should be stored.
30669 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
30670 performed for one group only.
30673 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
30674 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
30675 find the article number assigned to this article.
30677 The function also uses the following variables:
30678 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
30679 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
30680 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
30681 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
30685 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
30686 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
30690 @node Score File Syntax
30691 @subsection Score File Syntax
30693 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
30694 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
30695 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
30697 Here's a typical score file:
30701 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
30708 BNF definition of a score file:
30711 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
30712 element = rule / atom
30713 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
30714 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
30715 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
30716 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
30718 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
30719 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
30720 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
30721 date-header = "date"
30722 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
30723 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
30724 score = "nil" / <integer>
30725 date = "nil" / <natural number>
30726 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
30727 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
30728 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
30729 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
30730 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
30731 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
30732 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
30733 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
30734 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
30735 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
30736 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
30737 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
30738 exclude-files / read-only / touched
30739 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
30740 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
30741 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
30742 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
30743 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
30744 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
30745 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
30746 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
30747 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
30748 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
30749 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
30750 eval = "eval" space <form>
30751 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
30754 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
30757 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
30758 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
30759 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
30760 one looong line, then that's ok.
30762 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
30763 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
30767 @subsection Headers
30769 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
30770 corresponds to the @acronym{NOV} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
30771 almost suspect that the author looked at the @acronym{NOV} specification and
30772 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
30774 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
30775 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
30776 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
30777 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
30778 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
30779 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
30780 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
30782 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
30783 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
30784 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
30785 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
30786 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
30788 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
30789 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
30795 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
30796 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
30798 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
30799 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
30800 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
30801 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
30803 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
30807 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
30810 is transformed into
30813 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
30816 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
30817 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
30820 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
30823 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
30824 is slightly tricky:
30827 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
30833 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
30836 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
30842 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
30849 and is equal to the previous range.
30851 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
30852 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
30853 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
30857 range = simple-range / normal-range
30858 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
30859 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
30860 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
30861 number *[ " " contents ]
30864 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
30865 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
30866 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
30867 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
30868 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
30873 @subsection Group Info
30875 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
30876 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
30877 describes the group.
30879 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
30880 second is a more complex one:
30883 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
30885 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
30886 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
30888 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
30891 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
30892 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
30893 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
30894 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
30895 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
30896 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
30897 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
30898 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
30899 this section is about.
30901 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
30902 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
30903 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
30905 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
30908 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
30909 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
30910 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
30911 group = quote <string> quote
30912 ralevel = rank / level
30913 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
30914 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
30915 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
30917 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
30918 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
30919 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
30920 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
30923 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
30924 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
30927 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
30928 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
30931 @item gnus-info-group
30932 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
30933 @findex gnus-info-group
30934 @findex gnus-info-set-group
30935 Get/set the group name.
30937 @item gnus-info-rank
30938 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
30939 @findex gnus-info-rank
30940 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
30941 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
30943 @item gnus-info-level
30944 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
30945 @findex gnus-info-level
30946 @findex gnus-info-set-level
30947 Get/set the group level.
30949 @item gnus-info-score
30950 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
30951 @findex gnus-info-score
30952 @findex gnus-info-set-score
30953 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
30955 @item gnus-info-read
30956 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
30957 @findex gnus-info-read
30958 @findex gnus-info-set-read
30959 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
30961 @item gnus-info-marks
30962 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
30963 @findex gnus-info-marks
30964 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
30965 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
30967 @item gnus-info-method
30968 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
30969 @findex gnus-info-method
30970 @findex gnus-info-set-method
30971 Get/set the group select method.
30973 @item gnus-info-params
30974 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
30975 @findex gnus-info-params
30976 @findex gnus-info-set-params
30977 Get/set the group parameters.
30980 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
30981 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
30983 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
30984 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
30985 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
30986 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
30989 @node Extended Interactive
30990 @subsection Extended Interactive
30991 @cindex interactive
30992 @findex gnus-interactive
30994 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
30995 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
30996 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
30999 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
31000 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
31005 The best thing to do would have been to implement
31006 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
31007 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
31008 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
31009 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
31010 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
31011 @code{interactive}.
31013 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
31018 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
31019 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
31023 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
31024 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
31025 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
31028 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
31032 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
31036 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
31042 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
31043 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
31047 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
31048 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
31049 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
31051 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
31052 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
31053 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
31054 Gnus, that's very useful.
31056 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
31057 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
31058 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
31059 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
31060 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
31061 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
31062 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
31063 following function:
31066 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
31070 (,function ,@@args))
31074 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
31075 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
31076 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
31079 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
31080 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
31081 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
31083 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
31084 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
31085 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
31088 @node Various File Formats
31089 @subsection Various File Formats
31092 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
31093 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
31097 @node Active File Format
31098 @subsubsection Active File Format
31100 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
31101 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
31104 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
31107 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
31108 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
31109 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
31110 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
31111 no.general 1000 900 y
31114 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
31117 active = *group-line
31118 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
31119 group = <non-white-space string>
31121 high-number = <non-negative integer>
31122 low-number = <positive integer>
31123 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
31126 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
31127 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
31130 @node Newsgroups File Format
31131 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
31133 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
31134 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
31135 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
31138 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
31139 Here's the definition:
31143 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
31144 group = <non-white-space string>
31146 description = <string>
31151 @node Emacs for Heathens
31152 @section Emacs for Heathens
31154 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
31155 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
31156 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
31157 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
31158 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
31159 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
31160 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
31164 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
31165 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
31170 @subsection Keystrokes
31174 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
31177 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
31180 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
31181 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
31182 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
31183 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
31184 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
31185 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
31187 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
31188 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
31189 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
31190 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
31191 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
31192 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
31193 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
31195 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
31196 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
31197 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
31198 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
31199 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
31200 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
31201 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
31203 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
31204 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
31205 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
31206 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
31207 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
31213 @subsection Emacs Lisp
31215 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
31216 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
31217 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
31218 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
31220 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
31221 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
31222 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
31223 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
31224 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
31225 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
31226 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{~/.gnus.el}
31227 file to customize Gnus. (You can also use the @file{~/.emacs} file, but
31228 in order to set things of Gnus up, it is much better to use the
31229 @file{~/.gnus.el} file, @xref{Startup Files}.)
31231 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
31232 write the following:
31235 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
31238 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
31239 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
31240 you can go and fill your @file{~/.gnus.el} file with lots of these to
31241 change how Gnus works.
31243 If you have put that thing in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, it will be
31244 read and @code{eval}ed (which is Lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
31245 start Gnus. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
31246 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
31247 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
31249 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
31250 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
31251 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
31255 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
31259 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
31262 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
31263 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
31266 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
31269 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
31270 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
31273 @include gnus-faq.texi
31275 @node GNU Free Documentation License
31276 @chapter GNU Free Documentation License
31277 @include doclicense.texi
31295 @c Local Variables:
31297 @c coding: iso-8859-1
31301 arch-tag: c9fa47e7-78ca-4681-bda9-9fef45d1c819