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335 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
340 @setchapternewpage odd
347 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
349 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
355 @top The Gnus Newsreader
359 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
360 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@acronym{NNTP}, local
361 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
364 @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change the following line:
365 This manual corresponds to No Gnus v0.7.
376 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
377 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
379 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
380 being accused of plagiarism:
382 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
383 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
384 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
385 can even read news with it!
387 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
388 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
389 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
390 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
391 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
397 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
398 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
399 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
400 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
401 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
402 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
403 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
404 * Various:: General purpose settings.
405 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
406 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, @acronym{FAQ}, History, Internals.
407 * GNU Free Documentation License:: The license for this documentation.
408 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
409 * Key Index:: Key Index.
411 Other related manuals
413 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
414 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
415 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
416 * PGG:(pgg). @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
417 * SASL:(sasl). @acronym{SASL} authentication in Emacs.
420 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
424 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
425 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
426 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
427 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
428 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
429 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
430 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
431 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
432 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
433 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
434 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
438 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
439 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
440 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
444 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
445 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
446 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
447 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
448 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
449 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
450 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
451 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
452 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
453 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
454 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
455 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
456 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
457 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
458 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
459 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
460 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
464 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
465 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
466 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
470 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
471 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
472 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
473 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
474 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
478 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
479 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
480 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
481 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
482 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
486 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
487 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
488 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
489 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
490 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
491 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
492 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
493 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
494 * Threading:: How threads are made.
495 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
496 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
497 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
498 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
499 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
500 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
501 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
502 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
503 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
504 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
505 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
506 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
507 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
508 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
509 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
510 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
511 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
512 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
513 or reselecting the current group.
514 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
515 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
516 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
517 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
519 Summary Buffer Format
521 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
522 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
523 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
524 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
528 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
529 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
531 Reply, Followup and Post
533 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
534 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
535 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
536 * Canceling and Superseding::
540 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
541 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
542 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
543 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
544 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
545 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
549 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
550 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
552 Customizing Threading
554 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
555 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
556 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
557 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
561 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
562 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
563 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
564 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
565 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
566 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
570 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
571 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
572 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
576 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
577 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
578 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
579 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
580 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
581 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
582 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
583 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
584 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
585 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
586 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
588 Alternative Approaches
590 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
591 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
593 Various Summary Stuff
595 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
596 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
597 * Summary Generation Commands::
598 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
602 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
603 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
604 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
605 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
606 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
610 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
611 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
612 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
613 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
614 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
615 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
616 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
617 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
618 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
622 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
623 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
624 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
625 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
626 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
627 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
628 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
629 * Email Based Diary:: Using mails to manage diary events in Gnus.
630 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
634 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
635 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
636 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
637 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
638 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
639 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
640 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
644 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
645 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
649 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
650 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
651 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
652 * NNTP marks:: Storing marks for @acronym{NNTP} servers.
656 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
657 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
658 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
659 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
660 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
661 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
662 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
663 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
664 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
665 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
666 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
667 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
668 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
672 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
673 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
674 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
676 Choosing a Mail Back End
678 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
679 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
680 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
681 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
682 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
683 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
684 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
689 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
690 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
691 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
692 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
693 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
694 * Customizing W3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/W3 from Gnus.
698 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
699 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
700 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
701 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
702 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
703 * Debugging IMAP:: What to do when things don't work.
707 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
708 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
709 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
710 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
711 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
715 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
719 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
720 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
721 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
725 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
726 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
730 * The NNDiary Back End:: Basic setup and usage.
731 * The Gnus Diary Library:: Utility toolkit on top of nndiary.
732 * Sending or Not Sending:: A final note on sending diary messages.
736 * Diary Messages:: What makes a message valid for nndiary.
737 * Running NNDiary:: NNDiary has two modes of operation.
738 * Customizing NNDiary:: Bells and whistles.
740 The Gnus Diary Library
742 * Diary Summary Line Format:: A nicer summary buffer line format.
743 * Diary Articles Sorting:: A nicer way to sort messages.
744 * Diary Headers Generation:: Not doing it manually.
745 * Diary Group Parameters:: Not handling them manually.
749 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
750 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
751 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
752 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
753 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
754 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
755 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
756 * Agent and flags:: How the Agent maintains flags.
757 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
758 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
759 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
760 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
761 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
762 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
766 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
767 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
768 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
772 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
773 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
774 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
778 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
779 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
780 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
781 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
782 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
783 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
784 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
785 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
786 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
787 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
788 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
789 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
790 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
791 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
792 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
793 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
797 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
798 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
799 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
803 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
804 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
805 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
806 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
807 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
808 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
809 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
810 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
811 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
812 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
813 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
814 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
815 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
816 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
817 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
818 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
819 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
820 * Thwarting Email Spam:: Simple ways to avoid unsolicited commercial email.
821 * Spam Package:: A package for filtering and processing spam.
822 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
823 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
827 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
828 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
829 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
830 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
831 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
832 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
833 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
834 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
838 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
839 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
840 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were
842 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
843 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
847 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
848 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
849 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
850 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
854 * Spam Package Introduction::
855 * Filtering Incoming Mail::
856 * Detecting Spam in Groups::
857 * Spam and Ham Processors::
858 * Spam Package Configuration Examples::
860 * Extending the Spam package::
861 * Spam Statistics Package::
863 Spam Statistics Package
865 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
866 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
867 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
871 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
872 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
873 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
874 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
875 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
876 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
877 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
878 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
879 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
883 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
884 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
885 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
886 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
887 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
888 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
889 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
890 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
891 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
895 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
896 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
897 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
898 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
899 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
900 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10/5.11.
901 * No Gnus:: Very punny.
905 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
906 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
907 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
908 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
912 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
913 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
914 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
915 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
916 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
917 * Group Info:: The group info format.
918 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
919 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
920 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
924 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
925 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
926 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
927 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
928 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
929 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
933 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
934 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
938 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
939 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
945 @chapter Starting Gnus
948 If you are haven't used Emacs much before using Gnus, read @ref{Emacs
953 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
954 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
955 your Emacs. If not, you should customize the variable
956 @code{gnus-select-method} as described in @ref{Finding the News}. For a
957 minimal setup for posting should also customize the variables
958 @code{user-full-name} and @code{user-mail-address}.
960 @findex gnus-other-frame
961 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
962 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
963 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
965 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
966 variables in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file. This file is similar to
967 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when Gnus starts.
969 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
970 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
973 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
974 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
975 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
976 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
977 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
978 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
979 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
980 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
981 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
982 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
986 @node Finding the News
987 @section Finding the News
990 @vindex gnus-select-method
992 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
993 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
994 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
995 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
998 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @acronym{NNTP} server is where
999 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
1002 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
1005 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
1008 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1011 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1012 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1013 server is running Leafnode (which is a simple, standalone private news
1014 server); in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1016 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1018 @cindex @acronym{NNTP} server
1019 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
1020 @env{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1021 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1022 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter.
1023 If that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs
1024 as an @acronym{NNTP} server. That's a long shot, though.
1026 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1027 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1028 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1029 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1031 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1032 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1033 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1034 @acronym{NNTP} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1035 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
1036 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1037 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1038 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1039 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1042 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1044 However, if you use one @acronym{NNTP} server regularly and are just
1045 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1046 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1047 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1048 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1049 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1051 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1053 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1054 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1055 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1056 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1057 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1058 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1061 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1062 you would typically set this variable to
1065 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1068 Note: the @acronym{NNTP} back end stores marks in marks files
1069 (@pxref{NNTP marks}). This feature makes it easy to share marks between
1070 several Gnus installations, but may slow down things a bit when fetching
1071 new articles. @xref{NNTP marks}, for more information.
1074 @node The First Time
1075 @section The First Time
1076 @cindex first time usage
1078 If no startup files exist (@pxref{Startup Files}), Gnus will try to
1079 determine what groups should be subscribed by default.
1081 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1082 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1083 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1084 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1087 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1088 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1089 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1091 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1092 help you with most common problems.
1094 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1095 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1099 @node The Server is Down
1100 @section The Server is Down
1101 @cindex server errors
1103 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1104 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1105 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1107 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1108 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1109 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1110 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1111 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1112 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1113 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1115 @findex gnus-no-server
1116 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1118 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1119 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1120 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1121 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1122 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1123 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1124 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1128 @section Slave Gnusae
1131 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1132 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1133 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1134 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1136 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1137 @file{.newsrc} file.
1139 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1140 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1141 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1142 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1143 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1144 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1145 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1148 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1149 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1150 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1151 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1152 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1153 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1154 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1155 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1157 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1158 information in the normal (i.e., master) @file{.newsrc} file.
1160 If the @file{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1161 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1162 file. If you answer ``yes'', the unsaved changes to the master will be
1163 incorporated into the slave. If you answer ``no'', the slave may see some
1164 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1171 @cindex subscription
1173 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1174 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1175 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1176 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1177 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1178 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1179 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1180 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1181 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1184 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1185 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1186 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1190 @node Checking New Groups
1191 @subsection Checking New Groups
1193 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1194 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1195 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1196 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1197 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1198 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1199 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1200 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1201 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1202 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1204 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1205 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1206 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1207 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1208 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1209 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1210 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1211 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1212 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1213 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1214 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1216 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1217 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1218 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1219 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1220 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1221 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1224 @node Subscription Methods
1225 @subsection Subscription Methods
1227 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1228 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1229 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1231 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1232 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1234 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1238 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1239 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1240 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1241 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1242 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1244 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1245 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1246 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1247 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1249 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1250 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1251 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1253 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1254 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1255 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1256 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1257 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1258 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1259 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1260 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1261 up. Or something like that.
1263 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1264 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1265 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1266 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1267 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1269 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1270 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1271 Kill all new groups.
1273 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1274 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1275 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1276 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1277 topic parameter that looks like
1283 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1286 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1291 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1292 A closely related variable is
1293 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1294 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1295 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1296 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1299 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1300 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1301 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1302 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1305 @node Filtering New Groups
1306 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1308 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1309 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1310 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1313 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1316 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1317 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1318 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1319 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1320 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1321 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1322 subscribing these groups.
1323 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1324 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1326 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1327 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1328 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1329 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1330 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1331 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1332 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1333 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1335 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1336 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1337 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1338 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous,
1339 but I thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is
1340 more meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is
1341 used more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new
1342 groups that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1343 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1344 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1347 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1348 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1351 @node Changing Servers
1352 @section Changing Servers
1353 @cindex changing servers
1355 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another.
1356 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1357 very flaky and you want to use another.
1359 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1360 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1364 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1365 @acronym{NNTP} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1366 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1367 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1370 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1371 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1372 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1373 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1375 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1376 @findex gnus-change-server
1377 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1378 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1379 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1380 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1381 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1383 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1384 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1385 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1386 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1387 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1389 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1390 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1391 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1392 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1393 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1394 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1396 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1397 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1398 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1399 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1401 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1402 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1403 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1404 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1405 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1406 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1407 cache for all groups).
1411 @section Startup Files
1412 @cindex startup files
1417 Most common Unix news readers use a shared startup file called
1418 @file{.newsrc}. This file contains all the information about what
1419 groups are subscribed, and which articles in these groups have been
1422 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1423 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1424 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1425 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1426 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1427 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1428 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1430 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1431 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1432 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1433 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1434 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1435 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1437 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1438 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1439 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1440 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1441 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1442 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1443 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1444 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1445 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which can be
1446 convenient if you use a different news reader occasionally, and you
1447 want to read a different subset of the available groups with that
1450 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1451 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1452 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1453 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1454 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1455 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1456 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1457 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1458 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1459 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1460 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1461 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1463 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1464 @vindex gnus-backup-startup-file
1465 @vindex version-control
1466 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1467 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1468 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1469 If you want version control for this file, set
1470 @code{gnus-backup-startup-file}. It respects the same values as the
1471 @code{version-control} variable.
1473 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1474 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1475 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1476 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1477 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1478 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1479 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1480 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1481 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1482 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1485 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1486 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1488 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1489 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1492 @vindex gnus-init-file
1493 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1494 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1495 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus-init} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1496 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1497 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1498 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1499 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1500 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1501 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1502 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order). If Emacs was invoked with
1503 the @option{-q} or @option{--no-init-file} options (@pxref{Initial
1504 Options, ,Initial Options, emacs, The Emacs Manual}), Gnus doesn't read
1505 @code{gnus-init-file}.
1510 @cindex dribble file
1513 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1514 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1515 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1516 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1517 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1520 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1521 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1524 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1525 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1526 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1528 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1529 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1530 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1531 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1532 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1533 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1535 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1536 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1537 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1540 @node The Active File
1541 @section The Active File
1543 @cindex ignored groups
1545 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1546 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1547 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1549 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1550 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1551 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1552 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1553 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1554 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1555 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1558 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1559 @c if you set it to anything else.
1561 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1563 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1564 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1565 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1567 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1568 you actually subscribe to.
1570 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1571 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1572 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1573 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1575 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1576 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1577 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1578 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1579 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1580 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1582 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1583 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1584 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1587 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1588 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1589 @acronym{NNTP} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1590 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1591 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1592 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1594 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1595 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1597 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1598 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1600 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1601 secondary select methods.
1604 @node Startup Variables
1605 @section Startup Variables
1609 @item gnus-load-hook
1610 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1611 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1612 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1613 times you start Gnus.
1615 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1616 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1617 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1619 @item gnus-startup-hook
1620 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1621 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1623 @item gnus-started-hook
1624 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1625 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1628 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1629 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1630 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1631 generating the group buffer.
1633 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1634 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1635 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1636 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1637 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1638 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1639 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1640 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1642 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1643 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1644 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1645 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1646 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1647 @file{~/.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1649 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1650 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1651 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1653 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1654 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1655 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1657 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1658 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1659 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1660 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1666 @chapter Group Buffer
1667 @cindex group buffer
1669 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1671 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1672 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1673 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1674 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1675 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1676 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1677 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1678 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1679 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1680 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1681 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1682 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1683 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1684 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1685 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1686 @c human rights at 9...
1689 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1690 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1691 long as Gnus is active.
1695 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1696 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1697 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1698 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1699 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1700 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1701 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1702 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1708 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1709 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1710 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1711 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1712 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1713 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1714 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1715 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1716 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1717 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1718 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1719 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1720 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1721 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1722 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1723 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1724 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1728 @node Group Buffer Format
1729 @section Group Buffer Format
1732 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1733 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
1734 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1737 You can customize the Group Mode tool bar, see @kbd{M-x
1738 customize-apropos RET gnus-group-tool-bar}. This feature is only
1741 The tool bar icons are now (de)activated correctly depending on the
1742 cursor position. Therefore, moving around in the Group Buffer is
1743 slower. You can disable this via the variable
1744 @code{gnus-group-update-tool-bar}. Its default value depends on your
1747 @node Group Line Specification
1748 @subsection Group Line Specification
1749 @cindex group buffer format
1751 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1752 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1754 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1757 25: news.announce.newusers
1758 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1763 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1764 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1765 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1766 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1768 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1769 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1770 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1771 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1772 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1773 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1775 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1777 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1778 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1779 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1780 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1781 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1783 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1784 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1785 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1787 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1792 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1795 Whether the group is subscribed.
1798 Level of subscribedness.
1801 Number of unread articles.
1804 Number of dormant articles.
1807 Number of ticked articles.
1810 Number of read articles.
1813 Number of unseen articles.
1816 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1817 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1819 Gnus uses this estimation because the @acronym{NNTP} protocol provides
1820 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1821 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1822 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1823 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1824 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1825 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job.
1827 The nnml backend (@pxref{Mail Spool}) has a feature called ``group
1828 compaction'' which circumvents this deficiency: the idea is to
1829 renumber all articles from 1, removing all gaps between numbers, hence
1830 getting a correct total count. Other backends may support this in the
1831 future. In order to keep your total article count relatively up to
1832 date, you might want to compact your groups (or even directly your
1833 server) from time to time. @xref{Misc Group Stuff}, @xref{Server Commands}.
1836 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1839 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1848 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1849 comment element in the group parameters.
1852 Newsgroup description. You need to read the group descriptions
1853 before these will appear, and to do that, you either have to set
1854 @code{gnus-read-active-file} or use the group buffer @kbd{M-d}
1858 @samp{m} if moderated.
1861 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1867 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1873 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1877 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1880 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1881 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1882 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1883 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1884 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1887 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1889 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1893 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1896 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1900 The disk space used by the articles fetched by both the cache and
1901 agent. The value is automatically scaled to bytes(B), kilobytes(K),
1902 megabytes(M), or gigabytes(G) to minimize the column width. A format
1903 of %7F is sufficient for a fixed-width column.
1906 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1907 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1908 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1909 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1910 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1911 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1916 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1917 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1918 group, or a bogus native group.
1921 @node Group Mode Line Specification
1922 @subsection Group Mode Line Specification
1923 @cindex group mode line
1925 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1926 The mode line can be changed by setting
1927 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1928 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1932 The native news server.
1934 The native select method.
1938 @node Group Highlighting
1939 @subsection Group Highlighting
1940 @cindex highlighting
1941 @cindex group highlighting
1943 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1944 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1945 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1946 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1947 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1949 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1953 (cond (window-system
1954 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1955 (defface my-group-face-1
1956 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1957 (defface my-group-face-2
1958 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t)))
1959 "Second group face")
1960 (defface my-group-face-3
1961 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1962 (defface my-group-face-4
1963 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1964 (defface my-group-face-5
1965 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1967 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1968 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1969 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1970 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1971 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1972 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1975 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1977 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1984 The number of unread articles in the group.
1988 Whether the group is a mail group.
1990 The level of the group.
1992 The score of the group.
1994 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1996 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather,
1997 @var{max-number} minus @var{min-number} plus one.
1999 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
2000 topic being inserted.
2003 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
2004 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
2005 functions for snarfing info on the group.
2007 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
2008 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
2009 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
2010 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
2011 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
2014 @node Group Maneuvering
2015 @section Group Maneuvering
2016 @cindex group movement
2018 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
2019 expected, hopefully.
2025 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
2026 Go to the next group that has unread articles
2027 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
2033 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
2034 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
2035 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
2039 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2040 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2044 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2045 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2049 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2050 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2051 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2055 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2056 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2057 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2060 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2066 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2067 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2068 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2073 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2074 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2075 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2079 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2080 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2081 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2084 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2085 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2086 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2087 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2091 @node Selecting a Group
2092 @section Selecting a Group
2093 @cindex group selection
2098 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2099 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2100 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2101 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2102 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2103 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2104 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{n}, @var{n}
2105 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{n} is
2106 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{n} newest articles, if @var{n} is
2107 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{n})} oldest articles.
2109 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2110 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2111 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2113 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2114 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2119 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2120 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2121 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2122 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2123 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2127 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2128 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2129 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2130 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2131 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2132 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2133 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2134 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2135 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2136 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2139 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2140 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2141 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2142 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2143 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2146 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2147 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2148 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2149 doing any processing of its contents
2150 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2151 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2152 manner will have no permanent effects.
2156 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2157 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should
2158 consider to be a big group. If it is @code{nil}, no groups are
2159 considered big. The default value is 200. If the group has more
2160 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2161 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many
2162 articles should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a
2163 negative number (@var{-n}), the @var{n} oldest articles will be
2164 fetched. If it is positive, the @var{n} articles that have arrived
2165 most recently will be fetched.
2167 @vindex gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup
2168 @code{gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup} is the same as
2169 @code{gnus-large-newsgroup}, but is only used for ephemeral
2172 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2173 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2174 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2175 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2176 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2177 Which article this is is controlled by the
2178 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2184 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2187 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2190 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2192 @item unseen-or-unread
2193 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2194 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2198 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2202 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2203 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2205 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2206 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2207 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2208 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2212 @node Subscription Commands
2213 @section Subscription Commands
2214 @cindex subscription
2222 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2223 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2224 Toggle subscription to the current group
2225 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2231 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2232 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2233 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2234 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2240 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2241 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2242 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2248 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2249 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2252 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2253 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2254 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2255 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2256 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2262 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2263 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2267 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2268 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2271 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2272 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2273 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2274 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2275 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2276 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2277 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2278 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2279 @file{.newsrc} file.
2283 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2293 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2294 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2295 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2296 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2297 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2298 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2303 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2304 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2305 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2309 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2310 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2311 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2313 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2314 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2315 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2316 If you have switched from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another, all your marks
2317 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2318 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2325 @section Group Levels
2329 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2330 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2331 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2332 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2333 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2335 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2341 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2342 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2343 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2344 prompted for a level.
2347 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2348 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2349 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2350 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2351 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2352 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2353 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2354 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2355 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2356 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2357 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2358 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2359 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2360 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2361 reasons of efficiency.
2363 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2364 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2366 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2367 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2368 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2369 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2370 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2371 groups are hidden, in a way.
2373 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2374 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2375 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2376 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2377 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2378 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2380 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2381 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2382 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2383 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2384 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2385 list of killed groups.)
2387 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2388 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2389 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2391 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2392 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2393 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2394 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2395 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2396 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2397 relevant valid ranges.
2399 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2400 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2401 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2402 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2403 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2404 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2407 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2408 one with the best level.
2410 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2411 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2412 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2415 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2416 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2417 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2418 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2421 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2422 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2423 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2424 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2426 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2427 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2428 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2429 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2430 to 5. The default is 6.
2434 @section Group Score
2439 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2440 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2441 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2444 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2445 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2446 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2447 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2448 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2449 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2450 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2451 least significant part.))
2453 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2454 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2455 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2456 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2457 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2458 action after each summary exit, you can add
2459 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2460 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2461 slow things down somewhat.
2464 @node Marking Groups
2465 @section Marking Groups
2466 @cindex marking groups
2468 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2469 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2470 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2471 bidding on those groups.
2473 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2474 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2475 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2483 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2484 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2490 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2491 Remove the mark from the current group
2492 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2496 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2497 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2501 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2502 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2506 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2507 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2511 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2512 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2513 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2516 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2518 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2519 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2520 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2521 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2522 the command to be executed.
2525 @node Foreign Groups
2526 @section Foreign Groups
2527 @cindex foreign groups
2529 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2530 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2531 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2532 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2535 Changes from the group editing commands are stored in
2536 @file{~/.newsrc.eld} (@code{gnus-startup-file}). An alternative is the
2537 variable @code{gnus-parameters}, @xref{Group Parameters}.
2543 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2544 @cindex making groups
2545 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2546 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2547 to subscribe to @acronym{NNTP} groups (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
2551 @findex gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group
2552 Make an ephemeral group (@code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group}). Gnus
2553 will prompt you for a name, a method and an @dfn{address}.
2557 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2558 @cindex renaming groups
2559 Rename the current group to something else
2560 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2561 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2567 @findex gnus-group-customize
2568 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2572 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2573 @cindex renaming groups
2574 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2575 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2579 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2580 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2581 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2585 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2586 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2587 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2591 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2593 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2594 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2599 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2600 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2604 @cindex (ding) archive
2605 @cindex archive group
2606 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2607 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2608 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2609 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2610 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2611 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2612 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2616 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2618 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2619 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2620 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2621 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2625 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2627 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2628 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2629 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2633 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2634 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2636 Make a group based on some file or other
2637 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2638 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2639 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2640 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2641 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2642 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2643 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2644 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2645 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2649 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2650 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2651 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2652 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2656 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2660 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2661 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2662 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2663 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2664 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2665 @xref{Web Searches}.
2667 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2668 to a particular group by using a match string like
2669 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2673 @findex gnus-group-make-rss-group
2674 Make a group based on an @acronym{RSS} feed
2675 (@code{gnus-group-make-rss-group}). You will be prompted for an URL.
2679 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2680 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2681 This function will delete the current group
2682 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2683 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2684 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2685 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2686 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} groups), though.
2690 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2691 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2692 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2696 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2697 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2698 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2701 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2704 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2705 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2706 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2707 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2708 groups from different @acronym{NNTP} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2709 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2713 @node Group Parameters
2714 @section Group Parameters
2715 @cindex group parameters
2717 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2718 Here's an example group parameter list:
2721 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2725 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing before
2726 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2727 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2728 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2730 Some parameters have correspondent customizable variables, each of which
2731 is an alist of regexps and values.
2733 The following group parameters can be used:
2738 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2741 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2744 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2745 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2746 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2747 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2748 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2750 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2751 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2752 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2753 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2754 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2755 list address instead.
2757 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2761 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2764 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2767 It is totally ignored
2768 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2769 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2771 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2772 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2773 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2774 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2775 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2777 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2778 @cindex mail list groups
2779 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2780 entering summary buffer.
2782 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2787 @cindex Mail-Followup-To
2788 @findex gnus-find-subscribed-addresses
2789 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2790 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2791 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2792 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2793 headers for your posts to these lists. The second step is to put the
2794 following in your @file{.gnus.el}
2797 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
2798 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
2801 @xref{Mailing Lists, ,Mailing Lists, message, The Message Manual}, for
2802 a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2806 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2807 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2808 of whether it has any unread articles.
2810 This parameter cannot be set via @code{gnus-parameters}. See
2811 @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} as an alternative.
2813 @item broken-reply-to
2814 @cindex broken-reply-to
2815 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2816 headers in this group are to be ignored, and for the header to be hidden
2817 if @code{reply-to} is part of @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}. This
2818 can be useful if you're reading a mailing list group where the listserv
2819 has inserted @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv
2820 itself. That is broken behavior. So there!
2824 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2825 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2829 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2830 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2831 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2836 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2837 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2838 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2839 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2840 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2841 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2842 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2844 @strong{Caveat}: Adding @code{(gcc-self . t)} to the parameter list of
2845 @code{nntp} groups (or the like) isn't valid. An @code{nntp} server
2846 doesn't accept articles.
2850 @cindex expiring mail
2851 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2852 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2853 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2855 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2858 @cindex total-expire
2859 @cindex expiring mail
2860 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2861 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2862 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2863 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2866 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2870 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2871 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2872 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2873 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2874 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2875 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2876 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2879 @cindex expiry-target
2880 Where expired messages end up. This parameter overrides
2881 @code{nnmail-expiry-target}.
2884 @cindex score file group parameter
2885 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2886 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2887 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2890 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2891 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2892 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2893 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2896 @cindex admin-address
2897 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2898 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2899 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2900 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2904 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2905 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2909 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2912 Display the last @var{integer} articles in the group. This is the same as
2913 entering the group with @kbd{C-u @var{integer}}.
2916 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2920 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2922 Here are some examples:
2926 Display only unread articles.
2929 Display everything except expirable articles.
2931 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2932 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2936 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2937 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2938 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2939 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2940 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2944 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2945 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2946 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2950 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2951 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2952 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2956 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2957 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2958 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2960 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2962 @item ignored-charsets
2963 @cindex ignored-charset
2964 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2965 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2966 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2968 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2971 @cindex posting-style
2972 You can store additional posting style information for this group
2973 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2974 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2975 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2976 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2978 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2979 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2980 like this in the group parameters:
2985 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
2986 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2989 If you're using topics to organize your group buffer
2990 (@pxref{Group Topics}), note that posting styles can also be set in
2991 the topics parameters. Posting styles in topic parameters apply to all
2992 groups in this topic. More precisely, the posting-style settings for a
2993 group result from the hierarchical merging of all posting-style
2994 entries in the parameters of this group and all the topics it belongs
3000 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
3001 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
3005 An item like @code{(banner . @var{regexp})} causes any part of an article
3006 that matches the regular expression @var{regexp} to be stripped. Instead of
3007 @var{regexp}, you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
3008 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
3009 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
3013 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
3014 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
3015 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
3016 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
3018 For example, if the @samp{INBOX.list.sieve} group has the @code{(sieve
3019 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
3020 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
3021 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
3024 if address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com" @{
3025 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
3029 To generate tests for multiple email-addresses use a group parameter
3030 like @code{(sieve address "sender" ("name@@one.org" else@@two.org"))}.
3031 When generating a sieve script (@pxref{Sieve Commands}) Sieve code
3032 like the following is generated:
3035 if address "sender" ["name@@one.org", "else@@two.org"] @{
3036 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
3040 See @pxref{Sieve Commands} for commands and variables that might be of
3041 interest in relation to the sieve parameter.
3043 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve,
3044 Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
3046 @item (agent parameters)
3047 If the agent has been enabled, you can set any of the its parameters
3048 to control the behavior of the agent in individual groups. See Agent
3049 Parameters in @ref{Category Syntax}. Most users will choose to set
3050 agent parameters in either an agent category or group topic to
3051 minimize the configuration effort.
3053 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
3054 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
3055 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
3056 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
3057 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
3058 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
3059 @code{eval}ed there.
3061 Note that this feature sets the variable locally to the summary buffer.
3062 But some variables are evaluated in the article buffer, or in the
3063 message buffer (of a reply or followup or otherwise newly created
3064 message). As a workaround, it might help to add the variable in
3065 question to @code{gnus-newsgroup-variables}. @xref{Various Summary
3066 Stuff}. So if you want to set @code{message-from-style} via the group
3067 parameters, then you may need the following statement elsewhere in your
3068 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3071 (add-to-list 'gnus-newsgroup-variables 'message-from-style)
3074 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
3075 A use for this feature is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
3076 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
3079 nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps
3082 has the tag @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this
3083 tag can be removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for
3084 the group by putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")}
3085 into the group parameters for the group.
3087 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function. If you want to
3088 hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put something like
3089 @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that group.
3090 @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the (meaningless) result of the
3093 Alternatively, since the VARIABLE becomes local to the group, this
3094 pattern can be used to temporarily change a hook. For example, if the
3095 following is added to a group parameter
3098 (gnus-summary-prepared-hook
3099 '(lambda nil (local-set-key "d" (local-key-binding "n"))))
3102 when the group is entered, the 'd' key will not mark the article as
3107 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
3108 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
3109 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
3110 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
3111 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
3113 @vindex gnus-parameters
3114 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
3115 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect (For this
3116 case see @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} as an alternative.).
3120 (setq gnus-parameters
3122 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3123 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
3124 (gnus-summary-line-format
3125 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
3129 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
3133 (gnus-use-scoring t))
3137 (broken-reply-to . t))))
3140 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
3141 the @code{to-group} example shows.
3143 @vindex gnus-parameters-case-fold-search
3144 By default, whether comparing the group name and one of those regexps
3145 specified in @code{gnus-parameters} is done in a case-sensitive manner
3146 or a case-insensitive manner depends on the value of
3147 @code{case-fold-search} at the time when the comparison is done. The
3148 value of @code{case-fold-search} is typically @code{t}; it means, for
3149 example, the element @code{("INBOX\\.FOO" (total-expire . t))} might be
3150 applied to both the @samp{INBOX.FOO} group and the @samp{INBOX.foo}
3151 group. If you want to make those regexps always case-sensitive, set the
3152 value of the @code{gnus-parameters-case-fold-search} variable to
3153 @code{nil}. Otherwise, set it to @code{t} if you want to compare them
3154 always in a case-insensitive manner.
3156 You can define different sorting to different groups via
3157 @code{gnus-parameters}. Here is an example to sort an @acronym{NNTP}
3158 group by reverse date to see the latest news at the top and an
3159 @acronym{RSS} group by subject. In this example, the first group is the
3160 Debian daily news group @code{gmane.linux.debian.user.news} from
3161 news.gmane.org. The @acronym{RSS} group corresponds to the Debian
3162 weekly news RSS feed
3163 @url{http://packages.debian.org/unstable/newpkg_main.en.rdf},
3169 '(("nntp.*gmane\\.debian\\.user\\.news"
3170 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3171 (gnus-article-sort-functions '((not gnus-article-sort-by-date)))
3172 (gnus-use-adaptive-scoring nil)
3173 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
3175 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3176 (gnus-article-sort-functions 'gnus-article-sort-by-subject)
3177 (gnus-use-adaptive-scoring nil)
3178 (gnus-use-scoring t)
3179 (gnus-score-find-score-files-function 'gnus-score-find-single)
3180 (gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%d %I%(%[ %s %]%)\n"))))
3184 @node Listing Groups
3185 @section Listing Groups
3186 @cindex group listing
3188 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3196 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3197 List all groups that have unread articles
3198 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3199 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3200 only lists groups of level five (i.e.,
3201 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3208 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3209 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3210 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3211 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3212 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3213 unsubscribed groups).
3217 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3218 List all unread groups on a specific level
3219 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3220 with no unread articles.
3224 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3225 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3226 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3227 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3232 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3233 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3237 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3238 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3239 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3243 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3244 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3248 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3249 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3250 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3251 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3252 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3253 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3254 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3255 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3259 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3260 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3261 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3265 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3266 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3267 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3271 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3272 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3276 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3277 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3281 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3282 List groups limited within the current selection
3283 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3287 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3288 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3292 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3293 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3297 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3298 @cindex visible group parameter
3299 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3300 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3301 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3302 get the same effect.
3304 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3305 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3306 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3307 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3308 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3311 @node Sorting Groups
3312 @section Sorting Groups
3313 @cindex sorting groups
3315 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3316 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3317 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3318 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3319 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3320 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3325 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3326 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3327 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3329 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3330 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3331 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3333 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3334 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3335 Sort by group level.
3337 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3338 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3339 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3341 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3342 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3343 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3344 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3346 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3347 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3348 Sort by number of unread articles.
3350 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3351 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3352 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3354 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3355 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3356 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3361 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3362 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3366 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3367 some sorting criteria:
3371 @kindex G S a (Group)
3372 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3373 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3374 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3377 @kindex G S u (Group)
3378 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3379 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3380 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3383 @kindex G S l (Group)
3384 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3385 Sort the group buffer by group level
3386 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3389 @kindex G S v (Group)
3390 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3391 Sort the group buffer by group score
3392 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3395 @kindex G S r (Group)
3396 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3397 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3398 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3401 @kindex G S m (Group)
3402 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3403 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name@*
3404 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3407 @kindex G S n (Group)
3408 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3409 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3410 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3414 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3415 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3417 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3418 commands will sort in reverse order.
3420 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3424 @kindex G P a (Group)
3425 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3426 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3427 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3430 @kindex G P u (Group)
3431 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3432 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3433 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3436 @kindex G P l (Group)
3437 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3438 Sort the groups by group level
3439 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3442 @kindex G P v (Group)
3443 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3444 Sort the groups by group score
3445 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3448 @kindex G P r (Group)
3449 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3450 Sort the groups by group rank
3451 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3454 @kindex G P m (Group)
3455 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3456 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name@*
3457 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3460 @kindex G P n (Group)
3461 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3462 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3463 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3466 @kindex G P s (Group)
3467 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3468 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3472 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3476 @node Group Maintenance
3477 @section Group Maintenance
3478 @cindex bogus groups
3483 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3484 Find bogus groups and delete them
3485 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3489 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3490 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3491 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3492 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3493 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3497 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3498 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3499 @cindex expiring mail
3500 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3501 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3502 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3503 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3506 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3507 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3508 @cindex expiring mail
3509 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3510 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3515 @node Browse Foreign Server
3516 @section Browse Foreign Server
3517 @cindex foreign servers
3518 @cindex browsing servers
3523 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3524 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3525 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3526 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3529 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3530 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3531 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3532 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3534 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3539 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3540 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3544 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3545 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3548 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3549 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3550 Enter the current group and display the first article
3551 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3554 @kindex RET (Browse)
3555 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3556 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3560 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3561 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3562 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3568 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3569 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3573 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3574 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3578 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3579 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3580 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3585 @section Exiting Gnus
3586 @cindex exiting Gnus
3588 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3593 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3594 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3595 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3596 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3600 @findex gnus-group-exit
3601 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3602 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3606 @findex gnus-group-quit
3607 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3608 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3611 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3612 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3613 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3614 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3615 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3616 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3622 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3623 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3624 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3630 @section Group Topics
3633 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3634 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3635 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3636 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3637 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3638 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3642 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3643 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3654 2: alt.religion.emacs
3657 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3659 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3660 13: comp.sources.unix
3663 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3665 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3666 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3667 is a toggling command.)
3669 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3670 dum@dots{} Nice tune, that@dots{} la la la@dots{} What, you're back?
3671 Yes, and now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed
3672 under @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
3675 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3676 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3677 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3680 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3684 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3685 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3686 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3687 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3688 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3692 @node Topic Commands
3693 @subsection Topic Commands
3694 @cindex topic commands
3696 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3697 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3698 definitions slightly.
3700 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3701 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3702 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3703 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3704 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3705 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3707 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3714 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3715 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3716 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3720 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3722 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3723 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3724 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3725 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3728 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3729 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3730 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3731 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3735 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3736 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3737 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3738 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3744 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3745 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3746 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3750 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3751 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3752 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3755 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3756 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the ``cut'' part of cut and paste. Then,
3757 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the ``Gnus''
3758 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the ``paste'' part of cut and
3759 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3761 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3762 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3766 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3767 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3774 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3776 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3777 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3778 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3779 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3780 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3781 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3785 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3791 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3792 Move the current group to some other topic
3793 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3794 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3798 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3799 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3803 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3804 Copy the current group to some other topic
3805 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3806 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3810 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3811 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3812 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3816 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3817 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3818 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3822 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3823 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3824 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3825 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3826 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3827 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3828 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3831 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3832 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3836 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3837 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3838 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3842 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3843 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3844 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3848 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3849 Toggle hiding empty topics
3850 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3854 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3855 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3856 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3857 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3860 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3861 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3862 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3863 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3864 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3867 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3868 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3869 @cindex expiring mail
3870 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3871 expiry process (if any)
3872 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3876 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3877 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3880 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3881 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3882 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3886 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3887 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3888 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3891 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3892 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3893 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3896 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3897 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3898 Go to the previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3902 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3903 @cindex group parameters
3904 @cindex topic parameters
3906 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3907 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3912 @node Topic Variables
3913 @subsection Topic Variables
3914 @cindex topic variables
3916 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3917 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3919 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3920 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3921 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3934 Number of groups in the topic.
3936 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3938 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3941 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3942 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3943 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3946 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3947 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3949 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3950 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3951 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3955 @subsection Topic Sorting
3956 @cindex topic sorting
3958 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3964 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3965 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3966 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3967 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3970 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3971 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3972 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3973 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3976 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3977 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3978 Sort the current topic by group level
3979 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3982 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3983 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3984 Sort the current topic by group score
3985 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3988 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3989 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3990 Sort the current topic by group rank
3991 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3994 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3995 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3996 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3997 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
4000 @kindex T S e (Topic)
4001 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
4002 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
4003 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
4006 @kindex T S s (Topic)
4007 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
4008 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
4009 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
4010 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
4014 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
4015 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
4019 @node Topic Topology
4020 @subsection Topic Topology
4021 @cindex topic topology
4024 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
4031 2: alt.religion.emacs
4034 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4036 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4037 13: comp.sources.unix
4041 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
4042 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
4043 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
4048 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
4049 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
4053 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
4054 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
4055 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
4056 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
4057 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
4058 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
4060 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
4061 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
4062 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
4065 @node Topic Parameters
4066 @subsection Topic Parameters
4067 @cindex topic parameters
4069 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent
4070 (and ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid
4071 topic parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}). When the agent is
4072 enabled, all agent parameters (See Agent Parameters in @ref{Category
4073 Syntax}) are also valid topic parameters.
4075 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
4080 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
4081 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
4082 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
4085 @item subscribe-level
4086 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
4087 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
4088 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
4092 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
4093 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
4094 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
4095 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
4102 2: alt.religion.emacs
4106 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4108 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4109 13: comp.sources.unix
4114 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
4115 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
4116 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
4117 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
4118 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
4119 . "religion.SCORE")}.
4121 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
4122 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
4123 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
4124 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
4125 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
4127 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
4128 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
4129 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
4130 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
4131 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
4132 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
4133 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
4134 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
4137 @node Misc Group Stuff
4138 @section Misc Group Stuff
4141 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
4142 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
4143 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
4144 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
4145 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
4152 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Group)
4153 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it key to some
4154 function or better use it as a prefix key. For example:
4157 (define-key gnus-group-mode-map (kbd "v j d")
4160 (gnus-group-jump-to-group "nndraft:drafts")))
4163 On keys reserved for users in Emacs and on keybindings in general
4164 @xref{Keymaps, Keymaps, , emacs, The Emacs Editor}.
4168 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
4169 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
4170 @xref{Server Buffer}.
4174 @findex gnus-group-post-news
4175 Start composing a message (a news by default)
4176 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
4177 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
4178 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
4179 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
4180 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4184 @findex gnus-group-mail
4185 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
4186 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
4187 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
4188 @xref{Composing Messages}.
4192 @findex gnus-group-news
4193 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
4194 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
4195 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4197 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
4198 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
4199 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
4200 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
4201 for this to work though.
4205 @findex gnus-group-compact-group
4207 Compact the group under point (@code{gnus-group-compact-group}).
4208 Currently implemented only in nnml (@pxref{Mail Spool}). This removes
4209 gaps between article numbers, hence getting a correct total article
4214 Variables for the group buffer:
4218 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
4219 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4220 is called after the group buffer has been
4223 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4224 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4225 is called after the group buffer is
4226 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4229 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4230 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4231 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4232 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4234 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4235 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4236 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4237 whether they are empty or not.
4239 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4240 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4241 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
4242 non-@acronym{ASCII} group names.
4246 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4247 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4250 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4251 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4252 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4253 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4254 is used to show non-@acronym{ASCII} group names. @code{((".*"
4255 utf-8))} is the default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the
4256 default is @code{nil}.
4260 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4261 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4266 @node Scanning New Messages
4267 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4268 @cindex new messages
4269 @cindex scanning new news
4275 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4276 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4277 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4278 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4279 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4280 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4285 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4286 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4287 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4288 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4289 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4290 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4291 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4293 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4294 @cindex activating groups
4296 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4297 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4302 @findex gnus-group-restart
4303 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4304 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4305 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
4309 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4310 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4312 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4313 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4317 @node Group Information
4318 @subsection Group Information
4319 @cindex group information
4320 @cindex information on groups
4327 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4328 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4331 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} for the current group
4332 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the @acronym{FAQ}
4333 from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on
4334 a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
4335 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4336 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be
4337 used for fetching the file.
4339 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
4340 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4344 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4345 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4347 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4348 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4351 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4352 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4353 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4357 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4358 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4359 @cindex control message
4360 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4361 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4362 group if given a prefix argument.
4364 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-@code{nil},
4365 Gnus will open the control messages in a browser using
4366 @code{browse-url}. Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp}
4367 and displayed in an ephemeral group.
4369 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4370 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed
4371 Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
4375 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4377 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4378 @cindex describing groups
4379 @cindex group description
4380 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4381 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4382 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4386 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4387 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4388 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4395 @findex gnus-version
4396 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4400 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4401 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4404 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4407 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4408 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4412 @node Group Timestamp
4413 @subsection Group Timestamp
4415 @cindex group timestamps
4417 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4418 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4419 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4422 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4425 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4427 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4428 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4431 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4432 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4435 This will result in lines looking like:
4438 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4439 0: custom 19961002T012713
4442 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4443 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4447 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4448 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4451 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4452 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4456 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4457 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4458 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4459 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4461 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4467 @subsection File Commands
4468 @cindex file commands
4474 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4475 @vindex gnus-init-file
4476 @cindex reading init file
4477 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4478 @file{~/.gnus.el}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4482 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4483 @cindex saving .newsrc
4484 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4485 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4486 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4489 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4490 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4491 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4496 @node Sieve Commands
4497 @subsection Sieve Commands
4498 @cindex group sieve commands
4500 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4501 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4502 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4503 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4504 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4506 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4507 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4508 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4509 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4510 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4511 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4512 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4513 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4514 regenerate the Sieve script.
4516 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4517 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4518 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
4519 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
4520 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
4521 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4522 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4523 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
4524 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
4525 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4528 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4529 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4534 @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve, Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4540 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4541 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4542 @cindex generating sieve script
4543 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4544 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4548 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4549 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4550 @cindex updating sieve script
4551 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4552 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4553 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4558 @node Summary Buffer
4559 @chapter Summary Buffer
4560 @cindex summary buffer
4562 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4563 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4565 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4566 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4568 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4570 You can customize the Summary Mode tool bar, see @kbd{M-x
4571 customize-apropos RET gnus-summary-tool-bar}. This feature is only
4575 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Summary)
4576 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it key to some
4577 function or better use it as a prefix key. For example:
4579 (define-key gnus-summary-mode-map (kbd "v -") "LrS") ;; lower subthread
4583 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4584 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4585 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4586 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4587 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4588 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4589 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4590 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4591 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4592 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4593 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4594 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4595 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4596 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4597 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4598 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4599 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4600 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4601 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4602 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4603 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4604 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4605 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4606 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4607 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4608 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4609 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4610 or reselecting the current group.
4611 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4612 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4613 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4614 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4618 @node Summary Buffer Format
4619 @section Summary Buffer Format
4620 @cindex summary buffer format
4624 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4625 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4626 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4632 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4633 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4634 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4635 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4638 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4639 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4640 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4641 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4642 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4643 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4644 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4645 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4646 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4647 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4648 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4651 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4652 'mail-extract-address-components)
4655 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4656 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4657 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4658 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4661 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4662 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4664 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4665 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4666 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4667 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4668 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4670 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4671 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4672 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4673 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4674 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4675 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4677 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4679 The following format specification characters and extended format
4680 specification(s) are understood:
4686 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4687 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4689 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4690 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4691 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4693 Full @code{From} header.
4695 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4697 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4700 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4701 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4702 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4703 may be more thorough.
4705 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4708 Number of lines in the article.
4710 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4711 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4713 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4714 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4716 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4718 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4719 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
4732 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
4733 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
4734 replacing the default @acronym{ASCII} characters with graphic
4735 line-drawing glyphs.
4737 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4738 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4739 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
4740 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4742 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4743 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4744 Used for the false root of a thread (@pxref{Loose Threads}). If
4745 @code{nil}, use subject instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4747 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4748 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4749 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
4750 instead. The default is @samp{}.
4752 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4753 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4754 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
4756 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4757 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4758 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
4760 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4761 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4762 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
4764 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4765 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4766 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
4771 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4772 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4774 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4775 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4777 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4778 for adopted articles.
4780 One space for each thread level.
4782 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4784 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4787 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4788 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4789 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4792 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4794 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4795 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4796 default level. If the difference between
4797 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4798 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4806 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4808 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4814 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4815 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4817 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4818 article has any children.
4824 Desired cursor position (instead of after first colon).
4826 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4827 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4829 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4830 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4831 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{x}}, where @var{x} is the letter
4832 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4833 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4834 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4837 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4838 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4839 There can only be one such area.
4841 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4842 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4843 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4844 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4845 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4846 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4848 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4849 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4851 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4854 @node To From Newsgroups
4855 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4859 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4860 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4861 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4862 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4863 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4867 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4868 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4869 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4873 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4874 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4877 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4878 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4881 @findex gnus-extra-header
4882 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4883 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4884 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4887 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4891 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4892 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4893 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4894 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4895 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4896 headers are used instead.
4898 To distinguish regular articles from those where the @code{From} field
4899 has been swapped, a string is prefixed to the @code{To} or
4900 @code{Newsgroups} header in the summary line. By default the string is
4901 @samp{-> } for @code{To} and @samp{=> } for @code{Newsgroups}, you can
4902 customize these strings with @code{gnus-summary-to-prefix} and
4903 @code{gnus-summary-newsgroup-prefix}.
4907 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4908 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4909 to include extra headers when generating overview (@acronym{NOV}) files.
4910 If you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after
4911 changing this variable, by entering the server buffer using @kbd{^},
4912 and then @kbd{g} on the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause
4915 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4916 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4917 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4918 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4920 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4924 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4926 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4927 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4928 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4929 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4933 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4936 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4937 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4940 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4941 the @acronym{NOV} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4942 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4948 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4949 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4952 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4953 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4955 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4956 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4957 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4958 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4960 Here are the elements you can play with:
4966 Unprefixed group name.
4968 Current article number.
4970 Current article score.
4974 Number of unread articles in this group.
4976 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4979 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4980 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4981 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4982 and no unselected ones.
4984 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4985 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4987 Subject of the current article.
4989 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4991 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4993 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4995 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4997 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4999 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
5003 @node Summary Highlighting
5004 @subsection Summary Highlighting
5008 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
5009 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
5010 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
5011 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
5012 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
5014 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
5015 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
5016 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
5017 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
5019 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
5020 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
5021 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
5022 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
5024 @item gnus-summary-highlight
5025 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
5026 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
5027 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
5028 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
5029 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
5032 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
5033 ((> score default) . bold))
5035 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
5036 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
5040 @node Summary Maneuvering
5041 @section Summary Maneuvering
5042 @cindex summary movement
5044 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
5045 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
5047 None of these commands select articles.
5052 @kindex M-n (Summary)
5053 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
5054 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
5055 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
5056 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
5060 @kindex M-p (Summary)
5061 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
5062 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
5063 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
5064 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
5067 @kindex G g (Summary)
5068 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
5069 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
5070 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
5073 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
5074 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
5075 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
5076 to the group buffer.
5078 Variables related to summary movement:
5082 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
5083 @item gnus-auto-select-next
5084 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
5085 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
5086 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
5087 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
5088 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
5089 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
5090 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
5091 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
5092 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
5093 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
5094 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
5095 @pxref{Group Levels}.
5097 @item gnus-auto-select-same
5098 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
5099 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
5100 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
5101 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
5102 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
5103 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
5105 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
5107 @item gnus-summary-check-current
5108 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
5109 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
5110 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
5111 Instead, they will choose the current article.
5113 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
5114 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
5115 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
5116 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
5117 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
5118 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
5119 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
5120 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
5123 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
5124 the given number of lines from the top.
5129 @node Choosing Articles
5130 @section Choosing Articles
5131 @cindex selecting articles
5134 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
5135 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
5139 @node Choosing Commands
5140 @subsection Choosing Commands
5142 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
5143 and they all select and display an article.
5145 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
5146 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
5150 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5151 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5152 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
5153 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5155 If you have an article window open already and you press @kbd{SPACE}
5156 again, the article will be scrolled. This lets you conveniently
5157 @kbd{SPACE} through an entire newsgroup. @xref{Paging the Article}.
5162 @kindex G n (Summary)
5163 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
5164 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
5165 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
5170 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
5171 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
5172 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
5177 @kindex G N (Summary)
5178 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
5179 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
5184 @kindex G P (Summary)
5185 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
5186 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
5189 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
5190 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
5191 Go to the next article with the same subject
5192 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
5195 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
5196 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
5197 Go to the previous article with the same subject
5198 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
5202 @kindex G f (Summary)
5204 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
5205 Go to the first unread article
5206 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
5210 @kindex G b (Summary)
5212 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
5213 Go to the unread article with the highest score
5214 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
5215 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
5220 @kindex G l (Summary)
5221 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
5222 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
5225 @kindex G o (Summary)
5226 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
5228 @cindex article history
5229 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
5230 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
5231 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
5232 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
5233 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
5234 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
5239 @kindex G j (Summary)
5240 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
5241 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
5242 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
5247 @node Choosing Variables
5248 @subsection Choosing Variables
5250 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
5253 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5254 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5255 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
5256 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
5257 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
5258 the server and display it in the article buffer.
5260 @item gnus-select-article-hook
5261 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
5262 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. The default is
5263 @code{nil}. If you would like each article to be saved in the Agent as
5264 you read it, putting @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this
5267 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
5268 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
5269 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
5270 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
5271 @findex gnus-unread-mark
5272 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
5273 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
5274 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
5275 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-read-mark}. The only
5276 articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
5277 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
5278 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
5279 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
5280 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
5285 @node Paging the Article
5286 @section Scrolling the Article
5287 @cindex article scrolling
5292 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5293 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5294 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5295 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5296 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5298 @vindex gnus-article-boring-faces
5299 @vindex gnus-article-skip-boring
5300 If @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} is non-@code{nil} and the rest of
5301 the article consists only of citations and signature, then it will be
5302 skipped; the next article will be shown instead. You can customize
5303 what is considered uninteresting with
5304 @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}. You can manually view the article's
5305 pages, no matter how boring, using @kbd{C-M-v}.
5308 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5309 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5310 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5313 @kindex RET (Summary)
5314 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5315 Scroll the current article one line forward
5316 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5319 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5320 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5321 Scroll the current article one line backward
5322 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5326 @kindex A g (Summary)
5328 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5329 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5330 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5331 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
5332 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5333 the way it came from the server.
5335 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5336 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5337 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5340 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5345 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5350 @kindex A < (Summary)
5351 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5352 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5353 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5358 @kindex A > (Summary)
5359 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5360 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5364 @kindex A s (Summary)
5366 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5367 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5368 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5372 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5373 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5378 @node Reply Followup and Post
5379 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5382 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5383 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5384 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5385 * Canceling and Superseding::
5389 @node Summary Mail Commands
5390 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5392 @cindex composing mail
5394 Commands for composing a mail message:
5400 @kindex S r (Summary)
5402 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5403 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5404 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5405 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5406 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5411 @kindex S R (Summary)
5412 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5413 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5414 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5415 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5416 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5419 @kindex S w (Summary)
5420 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5421 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5422 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5423 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5424 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers. If @code{Mail-Followup-To} is
5425 present, that's used instead.
5428 @kindex S W (Summary)
5429 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5430 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5431 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5432 the process/prefix convention.
5435 @kindex S v (Summary)
5436 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5437 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5438 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5439 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5440 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5441 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5444 @kindex S V (Summary)
5445 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5446 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5447 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5448 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5451 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5452 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5453 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5454 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5455 If you need this because a mailing list incorrectly sets a
5456 @code{Reply-To} header pointing to the list, you probably want to set
5457 the @code{broken-reply-to} group parameter instead, so things will work
5458 correctly. @xref{Group Parameters}.
5461 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5462 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5463 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5464 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5465 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5469 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5470 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5471 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5472 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5473 Forward the current article to some other person
5474 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
5475 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
5476 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5477 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5478 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5479 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5480 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5481 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5482 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME}
5488 @kindex S m (Summary)
5489 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5490 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5491 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5492 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5493 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5498 @kindex S i (Summary)
5499 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5500 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5501 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5502 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5504 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5505 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
5506 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5507 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5508 for this to work though.
5511 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5512 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5513 @cindex bouncing mail
5514 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5515 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5516 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5517 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5518 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5519 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5520 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5521 very well fail, though.
5524 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5525 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5526 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5527 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5528 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5529 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5530 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5531 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5532 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5533 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5535 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5536 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5537 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5538 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5539 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5541 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5542 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5545 @kindex S D e (Summary)
5546 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message-edit
5548 Like the previous command, but will allow you to edit the message as
5549 if it were a new message before resending.
5552 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5553 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5554 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5555 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5556 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5559 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5560 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5561 @cindex crossposting
5562 @cindex excessive crossposting
5563 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5564 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5566 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5567 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5568 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5569 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5570 command understands the process/prefix convention
5571 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5575 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5576 Manual}, for more information.
5579 @node Summary Post Commands
5580 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5582 @cindex composing news
5584 Commands for posting a news article:
5590 @kindex S p (Summary)
5591 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5592 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5593 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5594 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5595 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5600 @kindex S f (Summary)
5601 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5602 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5603 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5607 @kindex S F (Summary)
5609 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5610 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5611 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5612 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5613 process/prefix convention.
5616 @kindex S n (Summary)
5617 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5618 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5619 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5622 @kindex S N (Summary)
5623 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5624 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5625 message through mail and include the original message
5626 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5627 the process/prefix convention.
5630 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5631 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5632 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5633 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5634 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5635 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5636 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5637 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5638 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5639 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5640 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5641 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5642 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section.
5645 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5646 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5648 @cindex making digests
5649 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5650 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-post-forward}). This command uses the
5651 process/prefix convention.
5654 @kindex S u (Summary)
5655 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5656 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5657 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5658 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5661 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5662 Manual}, for more information.
5665 @node Summary Message Commands
5666 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5670 @kindex S y (Summary)
5671 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5672 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5673 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5674 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5675 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5680 @node Canceling and Superseding
5681 @subsection Canceling Articles
5682 @cindex canceling articles
5683 @cindex superseding articles
5685 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5686 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5688 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5690 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5692 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5693 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5694 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5695 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5696 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5697 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5699 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5700 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5703 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5704 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5705 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5707 Gnus ensures that only you can cancel your own messages using a
5708 @code{Cancel-Lock} header (@pxref{Canceling News, Canceling News, ,
5709 message, Message Manual}).
5711 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5712 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5713 your original article.
5715 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5717 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5718 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5719 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5722 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5723 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5724 have posted almost the same article twice.
5726 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5727 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5728 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5729 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5730 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5731 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5732 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5733 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5734 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5735 canceled/superseded.
5737 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5739 @node Delayed Articles
5740 @section Delayed Articles
5741 @cindex delayed sending
5742 @cindex send delayed
5744 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5745 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5746 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5747 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5750 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5753 @findex gnus-delay-article
5754 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5755 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5756 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5757 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5761 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5762 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5763 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5764 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5767 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5768 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5769 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5772 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5773 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5774 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5775 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5776 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5777 that means a time tomorrow.
5780 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5781 couple of variables:
5784 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5785 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5786 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5787 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5789 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5790 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5791 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5792 formats described above.
5794 @item gnus-delay-group
5795 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5796 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5797 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5798 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5800 @item gnus-delay-header
5801 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5802 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5803 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5804 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5807 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5808 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5809 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5810 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5811 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5813 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
5814 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5815 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5816 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5817 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5818 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5819 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5822 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5823 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5824 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5825 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5826 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5827 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5828 argument is ignored.
5830 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5831 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5832 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5836 @node Marking Articles
5837 @section Marking Articles
5838 @cindex article marking
5839 @cindex article ticking
5842 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5844 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5845 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5846 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5848 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5851 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks.
5855 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5856 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5857 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5858 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5859 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5860 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5864 @node Unread Articles
5865 @subsection Unread Articles
5867 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5872 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5873 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5875 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5876 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5877 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5878 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5879 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5880 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5881 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5884 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5885 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5887 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5888 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5889 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5890 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5894 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5895 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5897 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5902 @subsection Read Articles
5903 @cindex expirable mark
5905 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5910 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5911 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5912 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5915 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5916 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5919 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5920 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5921 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5924 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5925 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5928 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5929 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5932 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5933 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5936 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5937 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5940 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5941 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5944 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5945 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5948 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5949 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5953 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5954 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5955 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5959 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5960 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5962 One more special mark, though:
5966 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5967 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5969 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5970 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5971 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5972 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5978 @subsection Other Marks
5979 @cindex process mark
5982 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5988 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5989 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5990 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5991 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5992 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5995 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5996 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5997 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5998 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
6001 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
6002 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
6003 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
6006 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
6007 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
6008 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
6011 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
6012 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
6013 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
6014 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
6017 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
6018 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
6019 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
6020 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
6021 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
6022 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
6025 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
6026 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
6027 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
6028 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
6031 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
6032 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), articles may be
6033 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
6034 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
6035 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
6039 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
6040 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), some articles might
6041 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
6042 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
6043 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
6044 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
6047 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
6048 The Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}) downloads some articles
6049 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
6050 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
6051 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
6052 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
6056 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
6057 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
6058 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
6059 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
6060 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
6063 @vindex gnus-process-mark
6064 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
6065 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
6066 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
6067 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
6068 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
6072 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
6073 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
6074 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
6076 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
6077 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
6078 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
6082 @subsection Setting Marks
6083 @cindex setting marks
6085 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
6090 @kindex M c (Summary)
6091 @kindex M-u (Summary)
6092 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
6093 @cindex mark as unread
6094 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
6095 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
6101 @kindex M t (Summary)
6102 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
6103 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
6104 @xref{Article Caching}.
6109 @kindex M ? (Summary)
6110 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
6111 Mark the current article as dormant
6112 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
6116 @kindex M d (Summary)
6118 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
6119 Mark the current article as read
6120 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
6124 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
6125 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
6126 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
6131 @kindex M k (Summary)
6132 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
6133 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
6134 and then select the next unread article
6135 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
6139 @kindex M K (Summary)
6140 @kindex C-k (Summary)
6141 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
6142 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
6143 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
6146 @kindex M C (Summary)
6147 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
6148 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
6149 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
6152 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
6153 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
6154 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
6155 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
6158 @kindex M H (Summary)
6159 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
6160 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
6161 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
6164 @kindex M h (Summary)
6165 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
6166 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
6167 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
6170 @kindex C-w (Summary)
6171 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
6172 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
6173 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
6176 @kindex M V k (Summary)
6177 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
6178 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
6179 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
6183 @kindex M e (Summary)
6185 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
6186 Mark the current article as expirable
6187 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
6190 @kindex M b (Summary)
6191 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
6192 Set a bookmark in the current article
6193 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
6196 @kindex M B (Summary)
6197 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
6198 Remove the bookmark from the current article
6199 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
6202 @kindex M V c (Summary)
6203 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
6204 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
6205 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6208 @kindex M V u (Summary)
6209 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
6210 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
6211 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
6214 @kindex M V m (Summary)
6215 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
6216 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
6217 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
6218 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6221 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
6222 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
6223 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
6224 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
6225 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
6226 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
6227 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
6228 The default is @code{t}.
6231 @node Generic Marking Commands
6232 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
6234 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
6235 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
6236 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
6237 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
6238 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
6241 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
6242 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
6245 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
6246 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
6247 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
6248 to list in this manual.
6250 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
6251 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
6252 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
6253 article, you could say something like:
6257 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
6258 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6259 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
6267 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6268 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
6272 @node Setting Process Marks
6273 @subsection Setting Process Marks
6274 @cindex setting process marks
6276 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
6277 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
6278 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
6279 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
6280 articles into the cache. For more information,
6281 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6288 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6289 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6290 Mark the current article with the process mark
6291 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6292 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6296 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6297 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6298 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6299 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6302 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6303 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6304 Remove the process mark from all articles
6305 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6308 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6309 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6310 Invert the list of process marked articles
6311 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6314 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6315 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6316 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6317 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6320 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6321 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6322 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6323 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6326 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6327 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6328 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6331 @kindex M P g (Summary)
6332 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6333 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6336 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6337 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6338 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6339 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6342 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6343 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6344 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6345 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6348 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6349 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6350 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6351 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6354 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6355 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6356 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6359 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6360 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6361 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6362 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6365 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6366 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6367 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}).
6370 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6371 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6372 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6373 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6376 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6377 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6378 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6379 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6382 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6383 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6384 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6385 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6388 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6389 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6390 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6391 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6395 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @ref{Searching for Articles}, for how to
6396 set process marks based on article body contents.
6403 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6404 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6405 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6408 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6409 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6410 additional articles.
6416 @kindex / / (Summary)
6417 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6418 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6419 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6423 @kindex / a (Summary)
6424 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6425 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6426 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6430 @kindex / R (Summary)
6431 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient
6432 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some recipient
6433 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient}). If given a prefix, exclude
6437 @kindex / S (Summary)
6438 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-singletons
6439 Limit the summary buffer to articles that aren't part of any displayed
6440 threads (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-singletons}). If given a prefix,
6441 limit to articles that are part of displayed threads.
6444 @kindex / x (Summary)
6445 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6446 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6447 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6448 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6453 @kindex / u (Summary)
6455 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6456 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6457 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6458 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6459 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6462 @kindex / m (Summary)
6463 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6464 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6465 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6468 @kindex / t (Summary)
6469 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6470 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6471 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6472 articles younger than that number of days.
6475 @kindex / n (Summary)
6476 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6477 With prefix @samp{n}, limit the summary buffer to the next @samp{n}
6478 articles. If not given a prefix, use the process marked articles
6479 instead. (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}).
6482 @kindex / w (Summary)
6483 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6484 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6485 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6489 @kindex / . (Summary)
6490 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6491 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6492 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6495 @kindex / v (Summary)
6496 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6497 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6498 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6501 @kindex / p (Summary)
6502 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6503 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6504 group parameter predicate
6505 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). @xref{Group
6506 Parameters}, for more on this predicate.
6509 @kindex / r (Summary)
6510 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-replied
6511 Limit the summary buffer to replied articles
6512 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-replied}). If given a prefix, exclude
6517 @kindex M S (Summary)
6518 @kindex / E (Summary)
6519 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6520 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6521 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6524 @kindex / D (Summary)
6525 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6526 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6527 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6530 @kindex / * (Summary)
6531 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6532 Include all cached articles in the limit
6533 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6536 @kindex / d (Summary)
6537 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6538 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6539 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6542 @kindex / M (Summary)
6543 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6544 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6547 @kindex / T (Summary)
6548 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6549 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6552 @kindex / c (Summary)
6553 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6554 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit@*
6555 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6558 @kindex / C (Summary)
6559 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6560 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6561 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6562 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6565 @kindex / N (Summary)
6566 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6567 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6568 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6571 @kindex / o (Summary)
6572 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6573 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6574 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6577 @kindex / b (Summary)
6578 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-bodies
6579 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have bodies that match a
6580 certain regexp (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-bodies}). If given a
6581 prefix, reverse the limit. This command is quite slow since it
6582 requires selecting each article to find the matches.
6585 @kindex / h (Summary)
6586 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-headers
6587 Like the previous command, only limit to headers instead
6588 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-headers}).
6596 @cindex article threading
6598 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6599 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6600 hierarchical fashion.
6602 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6603 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6604 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6605 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6606 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6607 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6608 @ref{Customizing Threading}.
6610 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6614 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6617 A tree-like article structure.
6620 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6623 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6624 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6625 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6626 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6627 called loose threads.
6629 @item thread gathering
6630 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6632 @item sparse threads
6633 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6634 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6640 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6641 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6645 @node Customizing Threading
6646 @subsection Customizing Threading
6647 @cindex customizing threading
6650 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6651 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6652 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6653 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
6658 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6661 @cindex loose threads
6664 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6665 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6666 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6667 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6668 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6669 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6671 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6672 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6673 There are four possible values:
6677 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6678 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6679 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6680 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6681 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6686 @cindex adopting articles
6691 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6692 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6693 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6694 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6697 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6698 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6699 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6700 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6701 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6702 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6703 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6704 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6705 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6706 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6709 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6710 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6711 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6715 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6716 display them after one another.
6719 Don't gather loose threads.
6722 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6723 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6724 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6725 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6726 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6727 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6728 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6729 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6730 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6731 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6732 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6734 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6735 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6736 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6739 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6740 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6741 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6742 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6743 simplification is used.
6745 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6746 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6747 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6748 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6750 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6752 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6758 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6759 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6760 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6761 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6766 (mapconcat 'identity
6767 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6769 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6772 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6775 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6776 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6777 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6778 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6779 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6780 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6782 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6785 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6786 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6787 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6789 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6790 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6793 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6794 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6795 Remove excessive whitespace.
6797 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6798 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6799 Remove all whitespace.
6802 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6805 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6806 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6807 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6808 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6809 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6810 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6811 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6812 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6814 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6815 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6816 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6817 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6818 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6819 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6820 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6821 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6822 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6826 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6827 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6828 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6829 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6831 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6832 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6833 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6836 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6840 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6841 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6847 @node Filling In Threads
6848 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6851 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6852 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6853 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6854 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you would
6855 like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still connect as
6856 many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable to
6857 @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than that
6858 number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case, fetching
6859 old headers only works if the back end you are using carries overview
6860 files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6861 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6862 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can
6865 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6866 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6867 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6869 @item gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6870 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6871 Same as @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}, but only used for ephemeral
6874 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6875 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6876 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6877 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6878 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6879 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6880 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6881 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6882 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6883 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6884 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6885 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6886 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6887 @code{nil} by default.
6889 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6890 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6891 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6892 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6893 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6894 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6895 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6897 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6898 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6899 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6904 @node More Threading
6905 @subsubsection More Threading
6908 @item gnus-show-threads
6909 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6910 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6911 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6912 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6913 slower and more awkward.
6915 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6916 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6917 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6920 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6921 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6922 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}.
6927 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6928 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6929 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6932 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6933 unread, but you get my drift.)
6936 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6937 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6938 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6939 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6940 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6941 threads are expunged.
6943 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6944 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6945 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6948 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6949 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6950 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6951 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6952 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6953 result in a new thread.
6955 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6956 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6957 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6960 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6961 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6962 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6963 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6964 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6965 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6966 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6967 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6968 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6969 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6970 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6975 @node Low-Level Threading
6976 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6980 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6981 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6982 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6984 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6985 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6986 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6987 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6988 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6989 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6990 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6991 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6992 meaningful. Here's one example:
6995 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6997 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6998 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
7000 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
7002 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
7009 @node Thread Commands
7010 @subsection Thread Commands
7011 @cindex thread commands
7017 @kindex T k (Summary)
7018 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
7019 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
7020 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
7021 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
7022 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
7027 @kindex T l (Summary)
7028 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
7029 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
7030 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
7031 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
7034 @kindex T i (Summary)
7035 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
7036 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
7037 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
7040 @kindex T # (Summary)
7041 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
7042 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
7043 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
7046 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
7047 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
7048 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
7049 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
7052 @kindex T T (Summary)
7053 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
7054 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
7057 @kindex T s (Summary)
7058 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
7059 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any@*
7060 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
7063 @kindex T h (Summary)
7064 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
7065 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
7068 @kindex T S (Summary)
7069 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
7070 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
7073 @kindex T H (Summary)
7074 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
7075 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
7078 @kindex T t (Summary)
7079 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
7080 Re-thread the current article's thread
7081 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
7082 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
7085 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
7086 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
7087 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
7088 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
7091 @kindex T M-^ (Summary)
7092 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-children
7093 Make the current article the parent of the marked articles
7094 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-children}).
7098 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
7099 understand the numeric prefix.
7104 @kindex T n (Summary)
7106 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
7108 @kindex M-down (Summary)
7109 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
7110 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
7113 @kindex T p (Summary)
7115 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
7117 @kindex M-up (Summary)
7118 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
7119 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
7122 @kindex T d (Summary)
7123 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
7124 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
7127 @kindex T u (Summary)
7128 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
7129 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
7132 @kindex T o (Summary)
7133 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
7134 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
7137 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
7138 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
7139 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
7140 a command like @kbd{T k} (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
7141 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
7142 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
7143 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
7144 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
7145 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
7146 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
7147 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
7148 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
7152 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
7153 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
7155 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
7156 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
7157 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date-reverse
7158 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
7159 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7160 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
7161 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient
7162 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7163 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
7164 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
7165 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number
7166 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date
7167 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
7168 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
7169 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
7170 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
7172 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
7173 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
7174 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient},
7175 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
7176 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date-reverse},
7177 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
7178 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
7179 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
7180 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
7181 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
7183 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
7184 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
7185 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
7187 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
7188 last function in the list. You should probably always include
7189 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
7190 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
7191 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
7192 ascending article order.
7194 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
7195 by number, you could do something like:
7198 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7199 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7200 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7201 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
7204 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
7205 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
7206 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
7207 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
7208 which the articles arrived.
7210 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
7214 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7215 '((not gnus-thread-sort-by-number)
7216 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
7219 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
7220 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
7221 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
7222 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
7225 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
7226 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
7227 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
7228 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
7229 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
7230 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
7231 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
7232 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
7233 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
7234 variable. It is very similar to the
7235 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
7236 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
7237 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
7238 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
7239 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
7240 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
7241 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
7243 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
7247 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
7248 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
7249 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
7252 You can define group specific sorting via @code{gnus-parameters},
7253 @xref{Group Parameters}.
7256 @node Asynchronous Fetching
7257 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
7258 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
7259 @cindex article pre-fetch
7262 If you read your news from an @acronym{NNTP} server that's far away, the
7263 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
7264 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
7265 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
7266 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
7268 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
7269 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
7271 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
7272 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
7273 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
7274 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
7275 connection is blocked.
7277 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
7278 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
7279 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
7280 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
7282 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
7283 the link between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server will become more
7284 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
7285 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
7288 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing@dots{} unless
7291 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
7292 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
7293 happen automatically.
7295 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
7296 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
7297 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
7298 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
7299 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
7300 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
7301 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
7303 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
7304 @findex gnus-async-read-p
7305 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
7306 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p}
7307 variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This
7308 function should return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is
7309 to be pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which
7310 returns @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an
7311 article data structure as the only parameter.
7313 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
7314 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
7317 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
7318 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
7319 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
7320 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
7323 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
7326 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
7327 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
7328 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
7330 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
7331 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
7332 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
7333 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7337 Remove articles when they are read.
7340 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7343 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7345 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7346 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7347 @c from the next group.
7350 @node Article Caching
7351 @section Article Caching
7352 @cindex article caching
7355 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @acronym{NNTP} connection, you may
7356 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7357 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7358 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7359 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7361 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7363 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7364 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7365 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7366 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7367 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7368 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7369 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7370 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7372 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7373 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7374 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7375 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7376 as dormant, and don't worry.
7378 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7380 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7381 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7382 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7383 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7384 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7385 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7386 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7387 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7388 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7389 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7391 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7392 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7393 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7394 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7395 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7396 command if 1) your connection to the @acronym{NNTP} server is really, really,
7397 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7398 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7399 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7400 not then be downloaded by this command.
7402 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7403 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7404 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7405 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7406 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7407 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7409 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7410 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7411 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7412 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7413 variables, the group is not cached.
7415 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7416 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7417 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7418 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7419 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7420 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
7421 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7422 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @acronym{NOV}
7423 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7426 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7427 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7428 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7429 where, isn't that cool?
7431 @node Persistent Articles
7432 @section Persistent Articles
7433 @cindex persistent articles
7435 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7436 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7437 useful in my opinion.
7439 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7440 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7441 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7442 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7443 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7444 the expiry going on at the news server.
7446 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7447 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7448 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7454 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7455 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7458 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7459 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7460 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7461 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7465 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7467 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7468 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7469 interested in persistent articles:
7472 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7476 @node Article Backlog
7477 @section Article Backlog
7479 @cindex article backlog
7481 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7482 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7483 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
7484 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7485 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7486 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7487 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
7488 increase memory usage some.
7490 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7491 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
7492 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7493 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
7494 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7495 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7496 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7498 The default value is 20.
7501 @node Saving Articles
7502 @section Saving Articles
7503 @cindex saving articles
7505 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7506 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7507 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7508 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7509 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7511 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7512 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7513 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7515 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7516 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
7517 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7519 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7520 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7521 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7522 deleted before saving.
7528 @kindex O o (Summary)
7530 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7531 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7532 Save the current article using the default article saver
7533 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7536 @kindex O m (Summary)
7537 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7538 Save the current article in a Unix mail box (mbox) file
7539 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7542 @kindex O r (Summary)
7543 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7544 Save the current article in Rmail format
7545 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7548 @kindex O f (Summary)
7549 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7550 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7551 Save the current article in plain file format
7552 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7555 @kindex O F (Summary)
7556 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7557 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7558 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7561 @kindex O b (Summary)
7562 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7563 Save the current article body in plain file format
7564 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7567 @kindex O h (Summary)
7568 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7569 Save the current article in mh folder format
7570 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7573 @kindex O v (Summary)
7574 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7575 Save the current article in a VM folder
7576 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7580 @kindex O p (Summary)
7582 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7583 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7584 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7585 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7586 complete headers in the piped output.
7589 @kindex O P (Summary)
7590 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7591 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7592 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7593 external program @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/,
7594 Muttprint}. The program name and options to use is controlled by the
7595 variable @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}.
7596 (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7600 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7601 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7602 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7603 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7604 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7605 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7606 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7607 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7608 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7609 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7610 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7611 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7615 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7616 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7617 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the eight ready-made
7618 functions below, or you can create your own.
7622 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7623 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7624 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7625 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7626 This is the default format, @dfn{Babyl}. Uses the function in the
7627 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7628 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7630 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7631 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7632 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7633 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7634 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7635 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7637 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7638 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7639 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7640 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7641 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7642 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7643 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7645 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7646 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7647 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7648 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7649 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7650 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7652 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7653 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7654 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7655 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7656 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7658 @item gnus-summary-write-body-to-file
7659 @findex gnus-summary-write-body-to-file
7660 Write the article body straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7661 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7662 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7663 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7665 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7666 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7667 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7668 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7669 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7672 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7673 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7674 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7675 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7676 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7678 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7679 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7680 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7681 reader to use this setting.
7684 The symbol of each function may have the following properties:
7688 The value non-@code{nil} means save decoded articles. This is
7689 meaningful only with @code{gnus-summary-save-in-file},
7690 @code{gnus-summary-save-body-in-file},
7691 @code{gnus-summary-write-to-file}, and
7692 @code{gnus-summary-write-body-to-file}.
7695 The value specifies an alternative function which appends, not
7696 overwrites, articles to a file. This implies that when saving many
7697 articles at a time, @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} is bound to
7698 @code{t} and all articles are saved in a single file. This is
7699 meaningful only with @code{gnus-summary-write-to-file} and
7700 @code{gnus-summary-write-body-to-file}.
7703 The value specifies the symbol of a variable of which the value
7704 specifies headers to be saved. If it is omitted,
7705 @code{gnus-save-all-headers} and @code{gnus-saved-headers} control what
7706 headers should be saved.
7709 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7710 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7711 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7712 @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7715 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7716 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7717 available functions that generate names:
7721 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7722 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7723 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7725 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7726 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7727 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7729 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7730 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7731 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7733 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7734 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7735 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7737 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7738 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7739 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7742 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7743 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7744 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7745 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7746 related to VM in @file{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7750 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7751 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7752 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7753 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7756 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7757 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7758 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7759 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7760 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7761 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7762 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7763 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7764 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7766 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7767 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7768 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7769 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7771 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7772 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7773 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7776 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7777 lots of mail groups called things like
7778 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7779 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7780 following will do just that:
7783 (defun my-save-name (group)
7784 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7785 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7787 (setq gnus-split-methods
7788 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7793 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7794 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7795 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7796 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7797 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7798 all the files in the top level directory
7799 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7800 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7801 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7802 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7804 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7805 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7806 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7807 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7808 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7811 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7815 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; @r{to get a hierarchy}
7816 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7817 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; @r{no encoding}
7820 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7821 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7822 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7823 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7826 @node Decoding Articles
7827 @section Decoding Articles
7828 @cindex decoding articles
7830 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7831 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7834 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7835 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7836 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7837 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7838 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7839 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7843 @cindex article series
7844 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7845 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7846 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7847 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7848 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7850 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7851 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7852 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7854 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
7855 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7856 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7858 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7859 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7860 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7863 @node Uuencoded Articles
7864 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7866 @cindex uuencoded articles
7871 @kindex X u (Summary)
7872 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7873 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7874 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7877 @kindex X U (Summary)
7878 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7879 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7880 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7883 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7884 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7885 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7888 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7889 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7890 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7891 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7895 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7896 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7897 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7898 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7899 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7901 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7902 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7903 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7904 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7907 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7908 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7909 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7910 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7911 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7912 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7916 @node Shell Archives
7917 @subsection Shell Archives
7919 @cindex shell archives
7920 @cindex shared articles
7922 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7923 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7924 some commands to deal with these:
7929 @kindex X s (Summary)
7930 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7931 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7934 @kindex X S (Summary)
7935 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7936 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7939 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7940 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7941 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7944 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7945 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7946 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7947 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7951 @node PostScript Files
7952 @subsection PostScript Files
7958 @kindex X p (Summary)
7959 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7960 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7963 @kindex X P (Summary)
7964 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7965 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7966 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7969 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7970 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7971 View the current PostScript series
7972 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7975 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7976 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7977 View and save the current PostScript series
7978 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7983 @subsection Other Files
7987 @kindex X o (Summary)
7988 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7989 Save the current series
7990 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7993 @kindex X b (Summary)
7994 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7995 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7996 doesn't really work yet.
8000 @node Decoding Variables
8001 @subsection Decoding Variables
8003 Adjective, not verb.
8006 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
8007 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
8008 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
8012 @node Rule Variables
8013 @subsubsection Rule Variables
8014 @cindex rule variables
8016 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
8017 variables are of the form
8020 (list '(regexp1 command2)
8027 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8028 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8030 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
8031 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @file{.au} sound file, you could
8034 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8035 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
8038 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
8039 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
8040 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
8041 user and default view rules.
8043 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
8044 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
8045 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
8050 @node Other Decode Variables
8051 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
8054 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
8056 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
8057 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
8058 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
8059 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
8060 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
8064 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
8065 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
8068 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
8069 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
8070 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
8073 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
8074 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
8075 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
8076 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
8077 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
8080 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
8081 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
8082 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
8084 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
8085 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
8086 Files with a @acronym{MIME} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
8087 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
8088 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @acronym{MIME} package (yet), so this is slightly
8091 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
8092 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
8093 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
8095 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
8096 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
8097 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
8098 looking for files to display.
8100 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
8101 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
8102 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
8105 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
8106 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
8107 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
8110 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
8111 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
8112 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
8115 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
8116 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
8117 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
8120 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
8121 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
8122 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
8123 decoded articles as unread.
8125 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
8126 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
8127 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
8128 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
8130 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
8131 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
8132 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
8134 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
8135 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
8137 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
8138 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @acronym{MIME}
8139 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
8140 @code{metamail} for viewing.
8142 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
8143 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
8144 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
8145 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
8146 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
8147 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
8148 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
8149 simply dropped them.
8154 @node Uuencoding and Posting
8155 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
8159 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
8160 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
8161 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
8162 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
8163 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
8164 for you when you post the article.
8166 @item gnus-uu-post-length
8167 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
8168 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
8169 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
8171 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
8172 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
8173 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
8174 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
8175 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
8176 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
8177 think that counts@dots{}) Default is @code{nil}.
8179 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
8180 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
8181 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
8182 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
8183 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
8184 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
8185 Default is @code{t}.
8191 @subsection Viewing Files
8192 @cindex viewing files
8193 @cindex pseudo-articles
8195 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
8196 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
8197 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
8198 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
8199 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
8200 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
8201 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
8203 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
8204 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
8205 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
8206 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
8208 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
8209 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
8210 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
8212 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
8213 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
8214 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
8215 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
8216 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
8218 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
8219 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
8220 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
8221 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
8222 a list of parameters to that command.
8224 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
8225 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
8226 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
8228 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
8229 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
8230 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
8233 @node Article Treatment
8234 @section Article Treatment
8236 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
8237 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
8238 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
8239 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
8240 these articles easier.
8243 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
8244 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
8245 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
8246 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
8247 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
8248 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
8249 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
8250 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
8251 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
8252 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
8253 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
8257 @node Article Highlighting
8258 @subsection Article Highlighting
8259 @cindex highlighting
8261 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
8262 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
8267 @kindex W H a (Summary)
8268 @findex gnus-article-highlight
8269 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
8270 Do much highlighting of the current article
8271 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
8272 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
8275 @kindex W H h (Summary)
8276 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
8277 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
8278 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
8279 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
8280 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
8281 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
8282 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
8283 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
8284 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
8285 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
8286 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
8289 @kindex W H c (Summary)
8290 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
8291 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
8293 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
8296 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8298 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8299 If the article size in bytes is bigger than this variable (which is
8300 25000 by default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
8302 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
8303 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
8304 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
8306 @item gnus-cite-face-list
8307 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
8308 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
8309 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
8310 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
8311 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
8313 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
8314 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
8315 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
8317 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8318 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8319 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
8321 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8322 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8323 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
8324 that it's a citation.
8326 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8327 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8328 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
8330 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8331 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8332 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
8334 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
8335 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
8336 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
8337 cited text belonging to the attribution.
8339 @item gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
8340 @vindex gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
8341 If non-@code{nil}, no citation highlighting will be performed on lines
8342 beginning with @samp{>From }. Those lines may have been quoted by MTAs
8343 in order not to mix up with the envelope From line. The default value
8350 @kindex W H s (Summary)
8351 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8352 @vindex gnus-signature-face
8353 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
8354 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
8355 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
8356 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
8357 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
8362 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
8365 @node Article Fontisizing
8366 @subsection Article Fontisizing
8368 @cindex article emphasis
8370 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
8371 @kindex W e (Summary)
8372 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
8373 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
8374 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
8375 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
8377 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
8378 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
8379 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
8380 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
8381 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
8382 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
8383 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
8384 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
8388 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
8389 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
8390 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
8399 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
8400 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
8401 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
8402 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
8403 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
8404 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
8405 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
8406 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
8407 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
8408 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
8409 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
8410 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
8411 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
8413 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
8414 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
8415 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
8419 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
8422 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
8424 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
8425 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8426 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8427 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8429 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8432 @node Article Hiding
8433 @subsection Article Hiding
8434 @cindex article hiding
8436 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8437 too much cruft in most articles.
8442 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8443 @findex gnus-article-hide
8444 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8445 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8446 headers, @acronym{PGP}, cited text and the signature.
8449 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8450 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8451 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8455 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8456 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8457 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8458 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8461 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8462 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8463 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8467 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8468 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8469 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8470 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8471 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8472 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8473 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8474 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8478 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8479 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8480 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8481 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8486 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8487 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8488 Hide @acronym{PEM} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8489 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8492 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8493 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8494 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8495 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8498 @cindex stripping advertisements
8499 @cindex advertisements
8500 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8501 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8502 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8503 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8504 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8505 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8506 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8507 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8508 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8509 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8512 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8513 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8514 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8518 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8519 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8520 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8521 @code{(@var{address} . @var{banner})}, where @var{address} is a regexp
8522 matching a mail address in the From header, @var{banner} is one of a
8523 symbol @code{signature}, an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist},
8524 a regexp and @code{nil}. If @var{address} matches author's mail
8525 address, it will remove things like advertisements. For example, if a
8526 sender has the mail address @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a
8527 banner something like @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he
8528 sends, you can use the following element to remove them:
8531 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" .
8532 "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8538 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8539 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8540 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8541 customizing the hiding:
8545 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8546 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8547 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8548 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8549 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8550 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8551 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8556 Starting point of the hidden text.
8558 Ending point of the hidden text.
8560 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8562 Number of lines of hidden text.
8565 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8566 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8567 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8568 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8569 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8574 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8575 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8577 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8578 following two variables:
8581 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8582 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8583 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8584 50), hide the cited text.
8586 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8587 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8588 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8593 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8594 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8595 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8596 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8597 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8598 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8602 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8603 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8604 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8606 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8607 citation customization.
8609 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8613 @node Article Washing
8614 @subsection Article Washing
8616 @cindex article washing
8618 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8619 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8621 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8622 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8625 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8626 articles by default.
8631 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8632 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8636 Force redisplaying of the current article
8637 (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). This is also not really washing.
8638 If you type this, you see the article without any previously applied
8639 interactive Washing functions but with all default treatments
8640 (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8643 @kindex W l (Summary)
8644 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8645 Remove page breaks from the current article
8646 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8650 @kindex W r (Summary)
8651 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8652 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8653 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8654 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8655 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8656 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8658 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8659 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8660 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8661 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8664 @kindex W m (Summary)
8665 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8666 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8669 @kindex W i (Summary)
8670 @findex gnus-summary-idna-message
8671 Decode IDNA encoded domain names in the current articles. IDNA
8672 encoded domain names looks like @samp{xn--bar}. If a string remain
8673 unencoded after running invoking this, it is likely an invalid IDNA
8674 string (@samp{xn--bar} is invalid). You must have GNU Libidn
8675 (@url{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/}) installed for this command
8680 @kindex W t (Summary)
8682 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8683 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8684 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8687 @kindex W v (Summary)
8688 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8689 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8690 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8693 @kindex W o (Summary)
8694 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8695 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8698 @kindex W d (Summary)
8699 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8700 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8702 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8704 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8705 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8706 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8707 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8710 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8711 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8712 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8713 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8716 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
8717 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8718 @cindex Outlook Express
8719 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
8720 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
8721 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8724 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
8725 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
8726 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min
8727 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max
8728 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
8729 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
8730 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
8731 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the minimum and
8732 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
8733 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines}).
8736 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
8737 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
8738 Repair a broken attribution line.@*
8739 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
8742 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
8743 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
8744 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
8745 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
8748 @kindex W w (Summary)
8749 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8750 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8752 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8756 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8757 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8758 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8761 @kindex W C (Summary)
8762 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8763 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8764 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8767 @kindex W c (Summary)
8768 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8769 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8770 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8771 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8772 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8775 @kindex W q (Summary)
8776 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8777 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8778 Quoted-Printable is one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when
8779 sending non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. It typically
8780 makes strings like @samp{d@'ej@`a vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu},
8781 which doesn't look very readable to me. Note that this is usually
8782 done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8783 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8784 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8787 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8788 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8789 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}). Base64 is
8790 one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when sending
8791 non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is
8792 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8793 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8794 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8797 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8798 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8799 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8800 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8801 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8804 @kindex W A (Summary)
8805 @findex gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences
8806 @cindex @acronym{ANSI} control sequences
8807 Translate @acronym{ANSI} SGR control sequences into overlays or
8808 extents (@code{gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences}). @acronym{ANSI}
8809 sequences are used in some Chinese hierarchies for highlighting.
8812 @kindex W u (Summary)
8813 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8814 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8815 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8816 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8817 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8820 @kindex W h (Summary)
8821 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8822 Treat @acronym{HTML} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8823 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8824 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @acronym{HTML}.
8826 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for. If it is a number,
8827 the charset defined in @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist}
8828 (@pxref{Paging the Article}) will be used.
8830 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8831 The default is to use the function specified by
8832 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display
8833 Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) to convert the
8834 @acronym{HTML}, but this is controlled by the
8835 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
8843 Use @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/, emacs-w3m}.
8845 @item w3m-standalone
8846 Use @uref{http://w3m.sourceforge.net/, w3m}.
8849 Use @uref{http://links.sf.net/, Links}.
8852 Use @uref{http://lynx.isc.org/, Lynx}.
8855 Use html2text---a simple @acronym{HTML} converter included with Gnus.
8860 @kindex W b (Summary)
8861 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8862 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8863 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8866 @kindex W B (Summary)
8867 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8868 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8869 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8872 @kindex W p (Summary)
8873 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8874 Verify a signed control message
8875 (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}). Control messages such as
8876 @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are usually signed by the
8877 hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the @acronym{PGP} public key of
8878 the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8879 message.@footnote{@acronym{PGP} keys for many hierarchies are
8880 available at @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8883 @kindex W s (Summary)
8884 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8885 Verify a signed (@acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME} or
8886 @acronym{S/MIME}) message
8887 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8890 @kindex W a (Summary)
8891 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8892 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8893 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8896 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8897 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8898 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8899 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8902 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8903 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8904 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8905 lines with a single empty line.
8906 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8909 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8910 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8911 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8912 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8915 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8916 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8917 Do all the three commands above
8918 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8921 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8922 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8923 Remove all blank lines
8924 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8927 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8928 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8929 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8930 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8933 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8934 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8935 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8936 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8940 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8943 @node Article Header
8944 @subsection Article Header
8946 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8951 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8952 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8953 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8956 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8957 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8958 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8959 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8962 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8963 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8964 Fold all the message headers
8965 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8968 @kindex W E w (Summary)
8969 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8970 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8971 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8976 @node Article Buttons
8977 @subsection Article Buttons
8980 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8981 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8982 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8983 button on these references.
8985 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8986 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8987 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man pages and
8988 Emacs or Gnus related references. This is controlled by two variables,
8989 one that handles article bodies and one that handles article heads:
8993 @item gnus-button-alist
8994 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8995 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8998 (@var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
9004 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
9005 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
9006 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
9007 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
9008 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp} and @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp}.
9011 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
9012 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
9013 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
9016 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
9017 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
9018 avoid false matches. Often variables named
9019 @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} are used here, @xref{Article Button
9020 Levels}, but any other form may be used too.
9022 @c @code{use-p} is @code{eval}ed only if @code{regexp} matches.
9025 This function will be called when you click on this button.
9028 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
9029 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
9033 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
9036 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
9039 @item gnus-header-button-alist
9040 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
9041 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
9042 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
9043 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
9046 (@var{header} @var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
9049 @var{header} is a regular expression.
9052 @subsubsection Related variables and functions
9055 @item gnus-button-@var{*}-level
9056 @xref{Article Button Levels}.
9058 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-browse-level
9060 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
9061 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
9062 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
9063 default values of the variables above.
9065 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-man-level
9067 @item gnus-button-man-handler
9068 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
9069 The function to use for displaying man pages. It must take at least one
9070 argument with a string naming the man page.
9072 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-message-level
9074 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
9075 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
9076 Regular expression that matches a message ID or a mail address.
9078 @item gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
9079 @vindex gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
9080 This variable determines what to do when the button on a string as
9081 @samp{foo123@@bar.invalid} is pushed. Strings like this can be either a
9082 message ID or a mail address. If it is one of the symbols @code{mid} or
9083 @code{mail}, Gnus will always assume that the string is a message ID or
9084 a mail address, respectively. If this variable is set to the symbol
9085 @code{ask}, always query the user what do do. If it is a function, this
9086 function will be called with the string as its only argument. The
9087 function must return @code{mid}, @code{mail}, @code{invalid} or
9088 @code{ask}. The default value is the function
9089 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
9091 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
9092 @findex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
9093 Function that guesses whether its argument is a message ID or a mail
9094 address. Returns @code{mid} if it's a message IDs, @code{mail} if
9095 it's a mail address, @code{ask} if unsure and @code{invalid} if the
9098 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
9099 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
9100 An alist of @code{(RATE . REGEXP)} pairs used by the function
9101 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
9103 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-tex-level
9105 @item gnus-button-ctan-handler
9106 @findex gnus-button-ctan-handler
9107 The function to use for displaying CTAN links. It must take one
9108 argument, the string naming the URL.
9111 @vindex gnus-ctan-url
9112 Top directory of a CTAN (Comprehensive TeX Archive Network) archive used
9113 by @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler}.
9117 @item gnus-article-button-face
9118 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
9119 Face used on buttons.
9121 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
9122 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
9123 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
9127 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
9130 @node Article Button Levels
9131 @subsection Article button levels
9132 @cindex button levels
9133 The higher the value of the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level},
9134 the more buttons will appear. If the level is zero, no corresponding
9135 buttons are displayed. With the default value (which is 5) you should
9136 already see quite a lot of buttons. With higher levels, you will see
9137 more buttons, but you may also get more false positives. To avoid them,
9138 you can set the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} local to
9139 specific groups (@pxref{Group Parameters}). Here's an example for the
9140 variable @code{gnus-parameters}:
9143 ;; @r{increase @code{gnus-button-*-level} in some groups:}
9144 (setq gnus-parameters
9145 '(("\\<\\(emacs\\|gnus\\)\\>" (gnus-button-emacs-level 10))
9146 ("\\<unix\\>" (gnus-button-man-level 10))
9147 ("\\<tex\\>" (gnus-button-tex-level 10))))
9152 @item gnus-button-browse-level
9153 @vindex gnus-button-browse-level
9154 Controls the display of references to message IDs, mail addresses and
9155 news URLs. Related variables and functions include
9156 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}, @code{browse-url}, and
9157 @code{browse-url-browser-function}.
9159 @item gnus-button-emacs-level
9160 @vindex gnus-button-emacs-level
9161 Controls the display of Emacs or Gnus references. Related functions are
9162 @code{gnus-button-handle-custom},
9163 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-function},
9164 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-variable},
9165 @code{gnus-button-handle-symbol},
9166 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-key},
9167 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos},
9168 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-command},
9169 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-variable},
9170 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-documentation}, and
9171 @code{gnus-button-handle-library}.
9173 @item gnus-button-man-level
9174 @vindex gnus-button-man-level
9175 Controls the display of references to (Unix) man pages.
9176 See @code{gnus-button-man-handler}.
9178 @item gnus-button-message-level
9179 @vindex gnus-button-message-level
9180 Controls the display of message IDs, mail addresses and news URLs.
9181 Related variables and functions include
9182 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp},
9183 @code{gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail},
9184 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}, and
9185 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist}.
9187 @item gnus-button-tex-level
9188 @vindex gnus-button-tex-level
9189 Controls the display of references to @TeX{} or LaTeX stuff, e.g. for CTAN
9190 URLs. See the variables @code{gnus-ctan-url},
9191 @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler},
9192 @code{gnus-button-ctan-directory-regexp}, and
9193 @code{gnus-button-handle-ctan-bogus-regexp}.
9199 @subsection Article Date
9201 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
9202 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
9203 when the article was sent.
9208 @kindex W T u (Summary)
9209 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
9210 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
9211 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
9214 @kindex W T i (Summary)
9215 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
9217 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
9218 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
9221 @kindex W T l (Summary)
9222 @findex gnus-article-date-local
9223 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
9226 @kindex W T p (Summary)
9227 @findex gnus-article-date-english
9228 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
9229 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
9232 @kindex W T s (Summary)
9233 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
9234 @findex gnus-article-date-user
9235 @findex format-time-string
9236 Display the date using a user-defined format
9237 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
9238 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
9239 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
9240 for a list of possible format specs.
9243 @kindex W T e (Summary)
9244 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
9245 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
9246 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
9247 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
9248 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
9251 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
9254 @vindex gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header
9255 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
9256 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
9259 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
9260 into wonderful absurdities.
9262 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
9265 (gnus-start-date-timer)
9268 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
9269 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
9273 @kindex W T o (Summary)
9274 @findex gnus-article-date-original
9275 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
9276 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
9277 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
9278 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
9279 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
9283 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
9284 preferred format automatically.
9287 @node Article Display
9288 @subsection Article Display
9293 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
9294 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
9296 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
9297 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
9299 @code{Face} headers are small colored images supplied by the message
9300 headers (@pxref{Face}).
9302 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
9303 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
9305 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
9306 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
9308 All these functions are toggles---if the elements already exist,
9313 @kindex W D x (Summary)
9314 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
9315 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
9316 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
9319 @kindex W D d (Summary)
9320 @findex gnus-article-display-face
9321 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
9322 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
9325 @kindex W D s (Summary)
9326 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
9327 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
9330 @kindex W D f (Summary)
9331 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
9332 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
9335 @kindex W D m (Summary)
9336 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
9337 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
9338 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
9341 @kindex W D n (Summary)
9342 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
9343 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
9344 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
9347 @kindex W D D (Summary)
9348 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
9349 Remove all images from the article buffer
9350 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
9356 @node Article Signature
9357 @subsection Article Signature
9359 @cindex article signature
9361 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
9362 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
9363 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
9364 that says what is to be considered a signature is
9365 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
9366 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
9367 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
9368 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
9369 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
9372 (setq gnus-signature-separator
9373 '("^-- $" ; @r{The standard}
9374 "^-- *$" ; @r{A common mangling}
9375 "^-------*$" ; @r{Many people just use a looong}
9376 ; @r{line of dashes. Shame!}
9377 "^ *--------*$" ; @r{Double-shame!}
9378 "^________*$" ; @r{Underscores are also popular}
9379 "^========*$")) ; @r{Pervert!}
9382 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
9385 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
9386 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
9387 signature when displaying articles.
9391 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
9394 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
9397 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
9398 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
9400 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
9401 in question is not a signature.
9404 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
9405 listed above. Here's an example:
9408 (setq gnus-signature-limit
9409 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
9412 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
9413 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
9414 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
9415 signature after all.
9418 @node Article Miscellanea
9419 @subsection Article Miscellanea
9423 @kindex A t (Summary)
9424 @findex gnus-article-babel
9425 Translate the article from one language to another
9426 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
9432 @section MIME Commands
9433 @cindex MIME decoding
9435 @cindex viewing attachments
9437 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
9438 instance, @kbd{3 K v} means ``view the third @acronym{MIME} part''.
9444 @kindex K v (Summary)
9445 View the @acronym{MIME} part.
9448 @kindex K o (Summary)
9449 Save the @acronym{MIME} part.
9452 @kindex K O (Summary)
9453 Prompt for a file name, then save the @acronym{MIME} part and strip it
9454 from the article. The stripped @acronym{MIME} object will be referred
9455 via the message/external-body @acronym{MIME} type.
9458 @kindex K r (Summary)
9459 Replace the @acronym{MIME} part with an external body.
9462 @kindex K d (Summary)
9463 Delete the @acronym{MIME} part and add some information about the
9467 @kindex K c (Summary)
9468 Copy the @acronym{MIME} part.
9471 @kindex K e (Summary)
9472 View the @acronym{MIME} part externally.
9475 @kindex K i (Summary)
9476 View the @acronym{MIME} part internally.
9479 @kindex K | (Summary)
9480 Pipe the @acronym{MIME} part to an external command.
9483 The rest of these @acronym{MIME} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
9488 @kindex K b (Summary)
9489 Make all the @acronym{MIME} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
9490 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
9494 @kindex K m (Summary)
9495 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
9496 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
9497 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
9498 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
9499 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
9502 @kindex X m (Summary)
9503 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
9504 Save all parts matching a @acronym{MIME} type to a directory
9505 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
9506 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9509 @kindex M-t (Summary)
9510 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
9511 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
9512 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
9515 @kindex W M w (Summary)
9516 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
9517 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
9518 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
9521 @kindex W M c (Summary)
9522 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
9523 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
9524 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
9526 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
9527 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
9528 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
9529 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
9530 include @acronym{MIME} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
9531 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9534 @kindex W M v (Summary)
9535 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
9536 View all the @acronym{MIME} parts in the current article
9537 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
9544 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
9545 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
9546 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9547 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
9550 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
9553 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
9557 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
9558 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
9559 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't require the @samp{MIME-Version} header
9560 before interpreting the message as a @acronym{MIME} message. This helps
9561 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
9562 default is @code{nil}.
9564 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
9565 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
9568 There are other, non-@acronym{MIME} encoding methods used. The most common
9569 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
9570 this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
9571 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
9572 Gnus @acronym{MIME} machinery. The default is @code{t}. Only
9573 single-part yEnc encoded attachments can be decoded. There's no support
9574 for encoding in Gnus.
9576 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9577 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9578 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9579 this list won't have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9580 displayed or this variable is overridden by
9581 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
9582 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
9583 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is @code{nil}.
9585 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9586 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9587 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9588 this list will have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9589 displayed. This variable overrides
9590 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
9591 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
9594 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
9595 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
9596 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
9598 You could also add @code{"multipart/alternative"} to this list to
9599 display radio buttons that allow you to choose one of two media types
9600 those mails include. See also @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}
9601 (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The
9602 Emacs MIME Manual}).
9604 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9605 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9606 If this is non-@code{nil}, then all @acronym{MIME} parts get buttons. The
9607 default value is @code{nil}.
9609 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
9610 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
9611 For each @acronym{MIME} part, this function will be called with the @acronym{MIME}
9612 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
9613 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
9614 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
9615 save all jpegs into some directory).
9617 Here's an example function the does the latter:
9620 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
9621 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
9623 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
9624 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
9625 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
9626 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
9627 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
9630 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9631 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9632 Alist of @acronym{MIME} multipart types and functions to handle them.
9634 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
9635 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
9636 Display "multipart/alternative" parts as "multipart/mixed".
9638 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
9639 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
9640 Display "multipart/related" parts as "multipart/mixed".
9642 If displaying "text/html" is discouraged, see
9643 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}, images or other material inside a
9644 "multipart/related" part might be overlooked when this variable is
9645 @code{nil}. @ref{Display Customization, Display Customization, ,
9646 emacs-mime, Emacs-Mime Manual}.
9648 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
9649 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
9650 Display "multipart" parts as "multipart/mixed". If @code{t}, it
9651 overrides @code{nil} values of
9652 @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed} and
9653 @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed}.
9655 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9656 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9657 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @acronym{MIME} parts.
9658 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
9660 Ready-made functions include@*
9661 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
9662 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
9663 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
9664 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
9665 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
9666 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
9667 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
9668 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9669 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9670 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9671 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9672 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9674 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9675 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9677 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9678 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9679 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9682 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9683 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9684 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9685 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
9689 to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
9698 People use different charsets, and we have @acronym{MIME} to let us know what
9699 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
9700 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @acronym{MIME}, and
9701 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
9702 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
9703 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
9704 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp}.
9706 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
9707 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
9708 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
9709 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
9711 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets
9712 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @acronym{MIME}-aware agents that
9713 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
9714 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
9715 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
9716 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
9717 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
9718 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
9719 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
9721 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
9722 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9723 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @acronym{MIME}
9724 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9725 quoted-printable header encoding.
9727 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9728 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9729 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9733 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9736 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9737 means encode all charsets),
9739 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9740 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9741 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9748 @cindex coding system aliases
9749 @cindex preferred charset
9751 @xref{Encoding Customization, , Encoding Customization, emacs-mime,
9752 The Emacs MIME Manual}, for additional variables that control which
9753 MIME charsets are used when sending messages.
9755 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9757 If there are several @acronym{MIME} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9758 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9761 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9762 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9765 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9766 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @acronym{MIME} charset.
9768 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9771 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9774 This will almost do the right thing.
9776 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9780 (codepage-setup 1251)
9781 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9785 @node Article Commands
9786 @section Article Commands
9793 @kindex A P (Summary)
9794 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9795 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9796 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9797 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9798 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9799 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9804 @node Summary Sorting
9805 @section Summary Sorting
9806 @cindex summary sorting
9808 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9809 can't really see why you'd want that.
9814 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9815 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9816 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9819 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9820 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9821 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9824 @kindex C-c C-s C-t (Summary)
9825 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-recipient
9826 Sort by recipient (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-recipient}).
9829 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9830 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9831 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9834 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9835 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9836 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9839 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9840 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9841 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9844 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9845 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9846 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9849 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9850 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9851 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9854 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9855 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9856 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9859 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9860 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9861 Sort using the default sorting method
9862 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9865 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9866 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9867 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9868 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9869 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9873 @node Finding the Parent
9874 @section Finding the Parent
9875 @cindex parent articles
9876 @cindex referring articles
9881 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9882 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9883 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9884 if the current group is fetched by @acronym{NNTP}, the parent hasn't expired
9885 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9886 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9887 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9888 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9889 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9891 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9892 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9893 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
9894 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9895 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9899 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9900 @kindex A R (Summary)
9901 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9902 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9905 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9906 @kindex A T (Summary)
9907 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9908 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9909 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9910 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9911 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9912 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9913 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9915 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9916 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9917 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9918 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9919 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9920 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9923 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9924 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9926 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9927 You can also ask Gnus for an arbitrary article, no matter what group it
9928 belongs to. @kbd{M-^} (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you
9929 for a @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read
9930 thingies that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}.
9931 You have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9933 Gnus looks for the @code{Message-ID} in the headers that have already
9934 been fetched, but also tries all the select methods specified by
9935 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} if it is not found.
9938 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9939 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9940 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9941 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @acronym{NNTP} method. It
9942 would, perhaps, be best if the @acronym{NNTP} server you consult is the one
9943 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9946 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9947 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9948 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9951 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9952 then ask Google if that fails:
9955 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9957 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
9960 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9961 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9962 @code{nnbabyl}, @code{nnmaildir}, @code{nnml}, are able to locate
9963 articles from any groups, while @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9964 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current
9965 group. (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does
9966 not support this at all.
9969 @node Alternative Approaches
9970 @section Alternative Approaches
9972 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9973 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9976 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9977 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9982 @subsection Pick and Read
9983 @cindex pick and read
9985 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9986 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9987 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9988 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9990 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9991 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9992 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9993 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9994 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9995 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9997 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
10002 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
10003 Pick the article or thread on the current line
10004 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
10005 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
10006 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
10007 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
10008 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
10009 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
10012 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
10013 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
10014 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
10015 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
10019 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
10020 Unpick the thread or article
10021 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
10022 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
10023 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
10024 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
10025 the thread or article at that line.
10029 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
10030 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
10031 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
10032 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
10033 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
10034 will still be visible when you are reading.
10038 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
10039 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
10040 which is mapped to the same function
10041 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
10043 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
10046 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
10049 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
10050 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
10052 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
10053 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
10054 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
10056 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
10057 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
10058 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
10059 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
10060 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
10061 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
10062 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
10065 @node Binary Groups
10066 @subsection Binary Groups
10067 @cindex binary groups
10069 @findex gnus-binary-mode
10070 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
10071 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
10072 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
10073 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
10074 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
10075 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
10078 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
10079 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
10080 command, when you have turned on this mode
10081 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
10083 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
10084 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
10088 @section Tree Display
10091 @vindex gnus-use-trees
10092 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
10093 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
10094 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
10095 in the tree buffer.
10097 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
10100 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
10101 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
10102 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
10104 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
10105 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
10106 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
10107 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
10108 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
10110 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
10111 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
10112 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
10113 default is @code{modeline}.
10115 @item gnus-tree-line-format
10116 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
10117 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
10118 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
10119 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
10120 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
10121 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
10127 The name of the poster.
10129 The @code{From} header.
10131 The number of the article.
10133 The opening bracket.
10135 The closing bracket.
10140 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
10142 Variables related to the display are:
10145 @item gnus-tree-brackets
10146 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
10147 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
10148 ``sparse'' articles. The format is
10150 ((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
10151 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close})
10152 (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))
10154 and the default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
10156 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
10157 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
10158 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
10159 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
10163 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
10164 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
10165 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
10166 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
10167 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
10168 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
10169 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
10170 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
10171 other windows displayed next to it.
10173 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
10177 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
10178 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
10181 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
10182 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
10183 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
10184 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
10185 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
10186 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
10187 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
10191 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
10194 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
10204 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
10209 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
10210 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
10212 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
10214 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
10220 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
10221 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
10222 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
10225 (setq gnus-use-trees t
10226 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
10227 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
10228 (gnus-add-configuration
10232 (summary 0.75 point)
10237 @xref{Window Layout}.
10240 @node Mail Group Commands
10241 @section Mail Group Commands
10242 @cindex mail group commands
10244 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
10245 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
10247 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
10248 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10253 @kindex B e (Summary)
10254 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
10255 @cindex expiring mail
10256 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
10257 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
10258 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
10259 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
10262 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
10263 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
10264 @cindex expiring mail
10265 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
10266 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
10267 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
10268 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
10271 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
10272 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
10273 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
10274 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
10275 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
10276 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
10279 @kindex B m (Summary)
10281 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
10282 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
10283 Move the article from one mail group to another
10284 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
10285 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
10288 @kindex B c (Summary)
10290 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
10291 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
10292 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
10293 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
10294 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
10297 @kindex B B (Summary)
10298 @cindex crosspost mail
10299 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
10300 Crosspost the current article to some other group
10301 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
10302 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
10303 be properly updated.
10306 @kindex B i (Summary)
10307 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
10308 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
10309 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
10310 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10313 @kindex B I (Summary)
10314 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
10315 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
10316 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
10317 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10320 @kindex B r (Summary)
10321 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
10322 @vindex gnus-summary-respool-default-method
10323 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
10324 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
10325 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
10326 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
10327 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
10328 (which is the default).
10332 @kindex B w (Summary)
10333 @kindex e (Summary)
10334 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
10335 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
10336 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
10337 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
10338 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
10339 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
10340 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
10343 @kindex B q (Summary)
10344 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
10345 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
10346 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
10347 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
10350 @kindex B t (Summary)
10351 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
10352 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
10353 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
10356 @kindex B p (Summary)
10357 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
10358 Some people have a tendency to send you ``courtesy'' copies when they
10359 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
10360 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
10361 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
10362 article from your news server (or rather, from
10363 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
10364 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
10365 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
10366 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
10367 just not have arrived yet.
10370 @kindex K E (Summary)
10371 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
10372 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
10373 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
10374 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
10375 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
10379 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
10380 @cindex moving articles
10381 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
10382 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
10383 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
10384 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
10385 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
10386 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
10387 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
10390 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
10391 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
10392 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
10393 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
10397 @node Various Summary Stuff
10398 @section Various Summary Stuff
10401 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
10402 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
10403 * Summary Generation Commands::
10404 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
10408 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
10409 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
10410 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
10411 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
10412 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
10413 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
10415 @vindex gnus-summary-display-arrow
10416 @item gnus-summary-display-arrow
10417 If non-@code{nil}, display an arrow in the fringe to indicate the
10420 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
10421 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
10422 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
10424 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
10425 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
10426 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
10427 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
10428 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
10429 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
10432 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10433 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10434 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
10435 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
10436 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
10438 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10439 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10440 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
10443 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10444 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10445 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
10446 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
10447 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
10448 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
10449 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
10450 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
10451 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
10452 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
10454 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10455 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10456 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
10457 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
10458 list of articles to be selected.
10460 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
10461 the list in one particular group:
10464 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
10465 (if (string= group "some.group")
10466 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
10470 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
10471 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
10472 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
10473 variables and their default expressions to be evalled (when the default
10474 values are not @code{nil}), that should be made global while the summary
10477 Note: The default expressions will be evaluated (using function
10478 @code{eval}) before assignment to the local variable rather than just
10479 assigned to it. If the default expression is the symbol @code{global},
10480 that symbol will not be evaluated but the global value of the local
10481 variable will be used instead.
10483 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
10484 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
10485 buffers. For example:
10488 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
10489 '(message-use-followup-to
10490 (gnus-visible-headers .
10491 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
10494 Also @pxref{Group Parameters}.
10498 @node Summary Group Information
10499 @subsection Summary Group Information
10504 @kindex H f (Summary)
10505 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
10506 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
10507 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} (list of frequently asked questions)
10508 for the current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try
10509 to get the @acronym{FAQ} from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which
10510 is usually a directory on a remote machine. This variable can also be
10511 a list of directories. In that case, giving a prefix to this command
10512 will allow you to choose between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp}
10513 or @code{efs} will probably be used for fetching the file.
10516 @kindex H d (Summary)
10517 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
10518 Give a brief description of the current group
10519 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
10520 rereading the description from the server.
10523 @kindex H h (Summary)
10524 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
10525 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
10526 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
10529 @kindex H i (Summary)
10530 @findex gnus-info-find-node
10531 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
10535 @node Searching for Articles
10536 @subsection Searching for Articles
10541 @kindex M-s (Summary)
10542 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
10543 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
10544 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
10547 @kindex M-r (Summary)
10548 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
10549 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
10550 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
10553 @kindex M-S (Summary)
10554 @findex gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-forward
10555 Repeat the previous search forwards
10556 (@code{gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-forward}).
10559 @kindex M-R (Summary)
10560 @findex gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-backward
10561 Repeat the previous search backwards
10562 (@code{gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-backward}).
10565 @kindex & (Summary)
10566 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
10567 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
10568 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
10569 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
10570 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
10571 search backward instead.
10573 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string RET #} will put the process mark on
10574 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
10577 @kindex M-& (Summary)
10578 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
10579 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
10580 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
10583 @node Summary Generation Commands
10584 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
10589 @kindex Y g (Summary)
10590 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
10591 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
10594 @kindex Y c (Summary)
10595 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
10596 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10597 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
10600 @kindex Y d (Summary)
10601 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
10602 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10603 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
10606 @kindex Y t (Summary)
10607 @findex gnus-summary-insert-ticked-articles
10608 Pull all ticked articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10609 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-ticked-articles}).
10614 @node Really Various Summary Commands
10615 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
10621 @kindex C-d (Summary)
10622 @kindex A D (Summary)
10623 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
10624 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
10625 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
10626 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
10627 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
10628 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
10629 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
10630 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
10634 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
10635 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
10636 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
10637 several documents into one biiig group
10638 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
10639 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
10640 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
10641 command understands the process/prefix convention
10642 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10645 @kindex C-t (Summary)
10646 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
10647 Toggle truncation of summary lines
10648 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
10649 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
10650 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
10653 @kindex = (Summary)
10654 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
10655 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
10656 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
10659 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
10660 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
10661 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10662 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
10665 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
10666 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
10667 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10668 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
10673 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
10674 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
10675 @cindex summary exit
10676 @cindex exiting groups
10678 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
10679 group and return you to the group buffer.
10686 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
10687 @kindex Z Q (Summary)
10688 @kindex q (Summary)
10689 @findex gnus-summary-exit
10690 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
10691 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
10692 @vindex gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook
10693 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
10694 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
10695 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
10696 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
10697 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
10698 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
10699 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
10700 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
10704 @kindex Z E (Summary)
10705 @kindex Q (Summary)
10706 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
10707 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
10708 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
10712 @kindex Z c (Summary)
10713 @kindex c (Summary)
10714 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
10715 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
10716 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
10717 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
10720 @kindex Z C (Summary)
10721 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
10722 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
10723 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
10726 @kindex Z n (Summary)
10727 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
10728 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
10729 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
10732 @kindex Z p (Summary)
10733 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-prev-group
10734 Mark all articles as read and go to the previous group
10735 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-prev-group}).
10739 @kindex Z R (Summary)
10740 @kindex C-x C-s (Summary)
10741 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
10742 Exit this group, and then enter it again
10743 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
10744 all articles, both read and unread.
10748 @kindex Z G (Summary)
10749 @kindex M-g (Summary)
10750 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
10751 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
10752 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
10753 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
10754 articles, both read and unread.
10757 @kindex Z N (Summary)
10758 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
10759 Exit the group and go to the next group
10760 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
10763 @kindex Z P (Summary)
10764 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
10765 Exit the group and go to the previous group
10766 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
10769 @kindex Z s (Summary)
10770 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
10771 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
10772 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
10773 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
10774 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
10777 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
10778 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
10779 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
10780 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
10782 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
10783 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
10784 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
10785 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
10786 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
10787 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
10788 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
10789 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
10790 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
10791 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
10792 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
10793 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
10795 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10797 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10798 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10799 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10800 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10801 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10802 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10803 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10804 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10805 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10808 @node Crosspost Handling
10809 @section Crosspost Handling
10813 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10814 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10815 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10816 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10817 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10818 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10821 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10822 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10823 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10824 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10825 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10827 @cindex cross-posting
10829 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
10830 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10831 correctly is if you use an @acronym{NNTP} server that supports @sc{xover}
10832 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10833 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @acronym{NOV} lines. This is
10834 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10835 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10836 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10837 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10838 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10839 the cross reference mechanism.
10841 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10842 @cindex overview.fmt
10843 To check whether your @acronym{NNTP} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10844 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10845 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10846 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10847 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10848 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10851 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10852 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10853 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10858 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10861 @node Duplicate Suppression
10862 @section Duplicate Suppression
10864 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10865 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10866 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10867 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10872 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10873 is evil and not very common.
10876 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10877 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10880 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10881 different @acronym{NNTP} servers.
10884 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10887 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10888 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10890 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10891 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10892 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10893 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10894 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10895 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10896 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10899 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10900 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10901 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10902 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10903 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10904 saw the article in.
10907 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10908 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10909 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10911 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10912 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10913 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10914 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10915 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
10916 session are suppressed.
10918 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10919 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10920 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10921 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10923 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10924 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10925 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10926 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10929 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
10930 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10931 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10932 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10933 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
10934 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10935 to you to figure out, I think.
10940 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10941 The formats that are supported are @acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME}
10942 and @acronym{S/MIME}, however you need some external programs to get
10947 To handle @acronym{PGP} and @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages, you have to
10948 install an OpenPGP implementation such as GnuPG. The Lisp interface
10949 to GnuPG included with Gnus is called PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg, PGG
10950 Manual}), but Mailcrypt and gpg.el are also supported.
10953 To handle @acronym{S/MIME} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10954 or newer is recommended.
10958 The variables that control security functionality on reading messages
10962 @item mm-verify-option
10963 @vindex mm-verify-option
10964 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10965 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10966 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10968 @item mm-decrypt-option
10969 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10970 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10971 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10972 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10975 @vindex mml1991-use
10976 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10977 @acronym{PGP} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
10978 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
10982 @vindex mml2015-use
10983 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10984 @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
10985 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
10990 By default the buttons that display security information are not
10991 shown, because they clutter reading the actual e-mail. You can type
10992 @kbd{K b} manually to display the information. Use the
10993 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types} and
10994 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} variables to control this
10995 permanently. @ref{MIME Commands} for further details, and hints on
10996 how to customize these variables to always display security
10999 @cindex snarfing keys
11000 @cindex importing PGP keys
11001 @cindex PGP key ring import
11002 Snarfing OpenPGP keys (i.e., importing keys from articles into your
11003 key ring) is not supported explicitly through a menu item or command,
11004 rather Gnus do detect and label keys as @samp{application/pgp-keys},
11005 allowing you to specify whatever action you think is appropriate
11006 through the usual @acronym{MIME} infrastructure. You can use a
11007 @file{~/.mailcap} entry (@pxref{mailcap, , mailcap, emacs-mime, The
11008 Emacs MIME Manual}) such as the following to import keys using GNU
11009 Privacy Guard when you click on the @acronym{MIME} button
11010 (@pxref{Using MIME}).
11013 application/pgp-keys; gpg --import --interactive --verbose; needsterminal
11016 This happens to also be the default action defined in
11017 @code{mailcap-mime-data}.
11019 More information on how to set things for sending outgoing signed and
11020 encrypted messages up can be found in the message manual
11021 (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
11024 @section Mailing List
11025 @cindex mailing list
11028 @kindex A M (summary)
11029 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
11030 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
11031 add a @code{to-list} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
11032 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
11035 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
11040 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
11041 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
11042 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
11045 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
11046 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
11047 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
11050 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
11051 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
11052 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
11056 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
11057 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
11058 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
11061 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
11062 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
11063 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
11066 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
11067 @findex gnus-mailing-list-archive
11068 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
11073 @node Article Buffer
11074 @chapter Article Buffer
11075 @cindex article buffer
11077 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
11078 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
11079 tell Gnus otherwise.
11082 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
11083 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
11084 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
11085 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
11086 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
11090 @node Hiding Headers
11091 @section Hiding Headers
11092 @cindex hiding headers
11093 @cindex deleting headers
11095 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
11096 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
11098 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
11099 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
11100 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
11101 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
11102 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
11103 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
11104 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseam---and you'll probably want to get rid
11105 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
11106 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
11108 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
11112 @item gnus-visible-headers
11113 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
11114 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
11115 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
11116 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
11118 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
11119 the article and the subject, you'd say:
11122 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
11125 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
11128 @item gnus-ignored-headers
11129 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
11130 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
11131 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
11132 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
11133 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
11135 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
11136 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
11139 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
11142 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
11145 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
11146 variable will have no effect.
11150 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
11151 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
11152 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
11153 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
11154 the headers are to be displayed.
11156 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
11157 and then the subject, you might say something like:
11160 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
11163 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
11164 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
11166 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
11167 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
11168 You can hide further boring headers by setting
11169 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
11170 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
11171 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead it
11172 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
11175 These conditions are:
11178 Remove all empty headers.
11180 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
11181 @code{Newsgroups} header.
11183 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same addresses as
11184 the @code{From} header, or if the @code{broken-reply-to} group
11187 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
11190 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
11191 the current group's @code{to-address} parameter.
11193 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
11194 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
11196 Remove the @code{Cc} header if it only contains the address identical to
11197 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
11199 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
11202 Remove the @code{To} and/or @code{Cc} header if it is very long.
11204 Remove all @code{To} and/or @code{Cc} headers if there are more than one.
11207 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
11210 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
11211 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
11214 This is also the default value for this variable.
11218 @section Using MIME
11219 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
11221 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
11222 while people stand around yawning.
11224 @acronym{MIME}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
11225 while all newsreaders die of fear.
11227 @acronym{MIME} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
11228 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
11229 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
11231 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
11232 @findex gnus-display-mime
11233 Gnus pushes @acronym{MIME} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
11234 to display the @acronym{MIME} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
11235 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
11236 display, save and manipulate the @acronym{MIME} objects.
11238 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
11239 @acronym{MIME} button:
11242 @findex gnus-article-press-button
11243 @item RET (Article)
11244 @kindex RET (Article)
11245 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
11246 Toggle displaying of the @acronym{MIME} object
11247 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}). If built-in viewers can not display
11248 the object, Gnus resorts to external viewers in the @file{mailcap}
11249 files. If a viewer has the @samp{copiousoutput} specification, the
11250 object is displayed inline.
11252 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
11253 @item M-RET (Article)
11254 @kindex M-RET (Article)
11256 Prompt for a method, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
11257 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
11259 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
11261 @kindex t (Article)
11262 View the @acronym{MIME} object as if it were a different @acronym{MIME} media type
11263 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
11265 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
11267 @kindex C (Article)
11268 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
11269 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
11271 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
11273 @kindex o (Article)
11274 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @acronym{MIME} object
11275 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
11277 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
11278 @item C-o (Article)
11279 @kindex C-o (Article)
11280 Prompt for a file name, then save the @acronym{MIME} object and strip it from
11281 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
11282 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
11283 like. The stripped @acronym{MIME} object will be referred via the
11284 message/external-body @acronym{MIME} type.
11285 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
11287 @findex gnus-mime-replace-part
11289 @kindex r (Article)
11290 Prompt for a file name, replace the @acronym{MIME} object with an
11291 external body refering to the file via the message/external-body
11292 @acronym{MIME} type. (@code{gnus-mime-replace-part}).
11294 @findex gnus-mime-delete-part
11296 @kindex d (Article)
11297 Delete the @acronym{MIME} object from the article and replace it with some
11298 information about the removed @acronym{MIME} object
11299 (@code{gnus-mime-delete-part}).
11301 @c FIXME: gnus-auto-select-part should be documented here
11303 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
11305 @kindex c (Article)
11306 Copy the @acronym{MIME} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
11307 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}). If given a prefix, copy the raw contents
11308 without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual
11309 charset stuff (see @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in
11310 @ref{Paging the Article}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and
11311 @file{.bz2} are automatically decompressed if
11312 @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled (@pxref{Compressed Files,,
11313 Accessing Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
11315 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
11317 @kindex p (Article)
11318 Print the @acronym{MIME} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
11319 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
11320 @file{.mailcap} file.
11322 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
11324 @kindex i (Article)
11325 Insert the contents of the @acronym{MIME} object into the buffer
11326 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
11327 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
11328 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
11329 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @ref{Paging the
11330 Article}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and @file{.bz2} are
11331 automatically decompressed depending on @code{jka-compr} regardless of
11332 @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed Files,, Accessing
11333 Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
11335 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-internally
11337 @kindex E (Article)
11338 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
11339 viewer is available, use an external viewer
11340 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-internally}).
11342 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-externally
11344 @kindex e (Article)
11345 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an external viewer.
11346 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-externally}).
11348 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
11350 @kindex | (Article)
11351 Output the @acronym{MIME} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
11353 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
11355 @kindex . (Article)
11356 Interactively run an action on the @acronym{MIME} object
11357 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
11361 Gnus will display some @acronym{MIME} objects automatically. The way Gnus
11362 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs
11363 @acronym{MIME} manual.
11365 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
11366 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
11367 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @acronym{MIME} has
11368 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
11369 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
11370 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
11371 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
11372 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
11373 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
11375 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
11377 Also @pxref{MIME Commands}.
11380 @node Customizing Articles
11381 @section Customizing Articles
11382 @cindex article customization
11384 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
11385 exist. You can call these functions interactively
11386 (@pxref{Article Washing}), or you can have them
11387 called automatically when you select the articles.
11389 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
11390 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
11391 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
11392 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
11394 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
11395 for sensible values.
11399 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
11402 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
11405 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
11408 @code{first}: Do this treatment on the first body part.
11411 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last body part.
11414 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
11418 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
11419 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
11420 regexps in the list.
11423 A list where the first element is not a string:
11425 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
11426 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
11427 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
11431 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
11436 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
11437 to the fact that some messages are @acronym{MIME} multipart articles that may
11438 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
11439 considered to contain just a single part.
11441 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
11442 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
11443 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
11444 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
11445 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
11446 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
11447 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
11450 @c Avoid sort of redundant entries in the same section for the printed
11451 @c manual, but add them in info to allow `i gnus-treat-foo-bar RET' or
11453 @vindex gnus-treat-buttonize
11454 @vindex gnus-treat-buttonize-head
11455 @vindex gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences
11456 @vindex gnus-treat-overstrike
11457 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-cr
11458 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body
11459 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines
11460 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines
11461 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-pem
11462 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines
11463 @vindex gnus-treat-unsplit-urls
11464 @vindex gnus-treat-wash-html
11465 @vindex gnus-treat-date-english
11466 @vindex gnus-treat-date-iso8601
11467 @vindex gnus-treat-date-lapsed
11468 @vindex gnus-treat-date-local
11469 @vindex gnus-treat-date-original
11470 @vindex gnus-treat-date-user-defined
11471 @vindex gnus-treat-date-ut
11472 @vindex gnus-treat-from-picon
11473 @vindex gnus-treat-mail-picon
11474 @vindex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
11475 @vindex gnus-treat-display-smileys
11476 @vindex gnus-treat-body-boundary
11477 @vindex gnus-treat-display-x-face
11478 @vindex gnus-treat-display-face
11479 @vindex gnus-treat-emphasize
11480 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-article
11481 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-long-lines
11482 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers
11483 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation
11484 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe
11485 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-headers
11486 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-signature
11487 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-banner
11488 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers
11489 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-citation
11490 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-headers
11491 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-signature
11492 @vindex gnus-treat-play-sounds
11493 @vindex gnus-treat-translate
11494 @vindex gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig
11495 @vindex gnus-treat-unfold-headers
11496 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-headers
11497 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups
11498 @vindex gnus-treat-leading-whitespace
11501 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
11502 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
11503 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
11504 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
11507 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
11508 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
11510 @xref{Article Buttons}.
11512 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
11513 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
11514 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
11515 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
11516 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, first, integer)
11517 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
11518 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
11519 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
11520 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
11521 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
11523 @xref{Article Washing}.
11525 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
11526 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
11527 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
11528 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
11529 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
11530 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
11531 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
11533 @xref{Article Date}.
11535 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
11536 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
11537 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
11541 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
11543 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
11545 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
11546 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
11547 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
11551 @vindex gnus-treat-display-x-face
11552 @item gnus-treat-display-x-face (head)
11556 @vindex gnus-treat-display-face
11557 @item gnus-treat-display-face (head)
11561 @vindex gnus-treat-emphasize
11562 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
11563 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-article
11564 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
11565 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-long-lines
11566 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
11567 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers
11568 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
11569 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation
11570 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
11571 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe
11572 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
11573 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-headers
11574 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
11575 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-signature
11576 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
11577 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-banner
11578 @item gnus-treat-strip-banner (t, last)
11579 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers
11580 @item gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers (head)
11582 @xref{Article Hiding}.
11584 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-citation
11585 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
11586 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-headers
11587 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
11588 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-signature
11589 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
11591 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
11593 @vindex gnus-treat-play-sounds
11594 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
11595 @vindex gnus-treat-translate
11596 @item gnus-treat-translate
11597 @item gnus-treat-ansi-sequences (t)
11598 @vindex gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig
11599 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
11601 @vindex gnus-treat-unfold-headers
11602 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
11603 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-headers
11604 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
11605 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups
11606 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
11607 @vindex gnus-treat-leading-whitespace
11608 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
11610 @xref{Article Header}.
11615 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
11616 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
11617 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
11618 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
11619 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
11623 @node Article Keymap
11624 @section Article Keymap
11626 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
11627 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
11628 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
11629 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
11632 @kindex v (Article)
11633 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Article)
11634 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it key to some
11635 function or better use it as a prefix key.
11637 A few additional keystrokes are available:
11642 @kindex SPACE (Article)
11643 @findex gnus-article-next-page
11644 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
11645 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h SPACE h}.
11648 @kindex DEL (Article)
11649 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
11650 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
11651 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h DEL h}.
11654 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
11655 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
11656 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
11657 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
11658 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
11661 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
11662 @findex gnus-article-mail
11663 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
11664 given a prefix, include the mail.
11667 @kindex s (Article)
11668 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
11669 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
11670 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
11673 @kindex ? (Article)
11674 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
11675 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
11676 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
11679 @kindex TAB (Article)
11680 @findex gnus-article-next-button
11681 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
11682 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
11685 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
11686 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
11687 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
11690 @kindex R (Article)
11691 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
11692 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
11693 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
11694 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11698 @kindex F (Article)
11699 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
11700 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
11701 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
11702 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11710 @section Misc Article
11714 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
11715 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
11716 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
11717 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
11720 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
11721 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
11722 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
11723 Hook used to decode @acronym{MIME} articles. The default value is
11724 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
11726 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
11727 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
11728 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
11729 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
11730 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
11731 the contents of the article buffer.
11733 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
11734 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
11735 Hook called in article mode buffers.
11737 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11738 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11739 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
11740 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
11742 @vindex gnus-article-over-scroll
11743 @item gnus-article-over-scroll
11744 If non-@code{nil}, allow scrolling the article buffer even when there
11745 no more new text to scroll in. The default is @code{nil}.
11747 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
11748 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
11749 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
11750 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Summary Buffer Mode
11751 Line}). It accepts the same format specifications as that variable,
11752 with two extensions:
11757 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
11758 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
11759 performed. The characters and their meaning:
11764 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
11767 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
11770 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
11771 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
11772 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
11775 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
11778 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
11781 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
11786 The number of @acronym{MIME} parts in the article.
11790 @vindex gnus-break-pages
11792 @item gnus-break-pages
11793 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
11794 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
11795 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
11796 paging will not be done.
11798 @item gnus-page-delimiter
11799 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
11800 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
11804 @cindex internationalized domain names
11805 @vindex gnus-use-idna
11806 @item gnus-use-idna
11807 This variable controls whether Gnus performs IDNA decoding of
11808 internationalized domain names inside @samp{From}, @samp{To} and
11809 @samp{Cc} headers. @xref{IDNA, ,IDNA,message, The Message Manual},
11810 for how to compose such messages. This requires
11811 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU Libidn}, and this
11812 variable is only enabled if you have installed it.
11817 @node Composing Messages
11818 @chapter Composing Messages
11819 @cindex composing messages
11822 @cindex sending mail
11827 @cindex using s/mime
11828 @cindex using smime
11830 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
11831 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
11832 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
11833 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
11834 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
11835 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
11838 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
11839 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
11840 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
11841 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
11842 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
11843 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
11844 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
11845 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
11846 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
11849 Also @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
11850 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
11856 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
11859 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
11860 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
11861 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
11862 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
11863 @code{nil} include all headers.
11865 @item gnus-add-to-list
11866 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
11867 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
11868 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
11870 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11871 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11872 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you for a confirmation when you are
11873 about to reply to news articles by mail. If it is @code{nil}, nothing
11874 interferes in what you want to do. This can also be a function
11875 receiving the group name as the only parameter which should return
11876 non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is needed, or a regular expression
11877 matching group names, where confirmation should be asked for.
11879 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
11880 press @kbd{R} anyway, this variable might be for you.
11882 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11883 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11884 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
11885 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
11886 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
11891 @node Posting Server
11892 @section Posting Server
11894 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
11895 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
11897 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
11899 It can be quite complicated.
11901 @vindex gnus-post-method
11902 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
11903 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
11904 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
11905 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
11906 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
11907 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
11908 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
11909 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
11910 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
11913 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
11916 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
11917 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
11918 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
11919 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
11921 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
11922 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
11924 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
11925 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
11928 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
11929 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
11931 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
11932 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
11933 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
11934 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
11935 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @acronym{SMTP}
11936 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
11937 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
11938 package correctly. An example:
11941 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
11942 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11945 To the thing similar to this, there is
11946 @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}. It is useful if your @acronym{ISP}
11947 requires the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication.
11948 @xref{POP before SMTP}.
11950 Other possible choices for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
11951 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
11952 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
11954 @node POP before SMTP
11955 @section POP before SMTP
11956 @cindex pop before smtp
11957 @findex message-smtpmail-send-it
11958 @findex mail-source-touch-pop
11960 Does your @acronym{ISP} require the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP}
11961 authentication? It is whether you need to connect to the @acronym{POP}
11962 mail server within a certain time before sending mails. If so, there is
11963 a convenient way. To do that, put the following lines in your
11964 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
11967 (setq message-send-mail-function 'message-smtpmail-send-it)
11968 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook 'mail-source-touch-pop)
11972 It means to let Gnus connect to the @acronym{POP} mail server in advance
11973 whenever you send a mail. The @code{mail-source-touch-pop} function
11974 does only a @acronym{POP} authentication according to the value of
11975 @code{mail-sources} without fetching mails, just before sending a mail.
11976 Note that you have to use @code{message-smtpmail-send-it} which runs
11977 @code{message-send-mail-hook} rather than @code{smtpmail-send-it} and
11978 set the value of @code{mail-sources} for a @acronym{POP} connection
11979 correctly. @xref{Mail Sources}.
11981 If you have two or more @acronym{POP} mail servers set in
11982 @code{mail-sources}, you may want to specify one of them to
11983 @code{mail-source-primary-source} as the @acronym{POP} mail server to be
11984 used for the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication. If it
11985 is your primary @acronym{POP} mail server (i.e., you are fetching mails
11986 mainly from that server), you can set it permanently as follows:
11989 (setq mail-source-primary-source
11990 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11991 :password "secret"))
11995 Otherwise, bind it dynamically only when performing the
11996 @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication as follows:
11999 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook
12001 (let ((mail-source-primary-source
12002 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12003 :password "secret")))
12004 (mail-source-touch-pop))))
12007 @node Mail and Post
12008 @section Mail and Post
12010 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
12014 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
12015 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
12016 @cindex mailing lists
12018 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
12019 gatewayed to the @acronym{NNTP} server, you can read those groups without
12020 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
12021 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
12022 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
12023 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
12024 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
12025 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
12026 still a pain, though.
12028 @item gnus-user-agent
12029 @vindex gnus-user-agent
12032 This variable controls which information should be exposed in the
12033 User-Agent header. It can be a list of symbols or a string. Valid
12034 symbols are @code{gnus} (show Gnus version) and @code{emacs} (show Emacs
12035 version). In addition to the Emacs version, you can add @code{codename}
12036 (show (S)XEmacs codename) or either @code{config} (show system
12037 configuration) or @code{type} (show system type). If you set it to a
12038 string, be sure to use a valid format, see RFC 2616.
12042 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
12043 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
12044 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
12047 @findex ispell-message
12049 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
12052 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
12053 you're in, you could say something like the following:
12056 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
12060 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
12061 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
12063 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
12066 Modify to suit your needs.
12068 @vindex gnus-message-highlight-citation
12069 If @code{gnus-message-highlight-citation} is t, different levels of
12070 citations are highlighted like in Gnus article buffers also in message
12073 @node Archived Messages
12074 @section Archived Messages
12075 @cindex archived messages
12076 @cindex sent messages
12078 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
12079 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
12080 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
12081 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
12084 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
12085 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
12088 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
12089 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
12090 use to store sent messages. The default is:
12093 (nnfolder "archive"
12094 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
12095 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
12096 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
12097 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
12100 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
12101 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
12102 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
12103 directory chosen, you could say something like:
12106 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
12107 '(nnfolder "archive"
12108 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
12109 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
12110 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
12113 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
12115 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
12116 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
12117 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
12119 This variable can be used to do the following:
12123 Messages will be saved in that group.
12125 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
12126 message will not be stored in the select method given by
12127 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
12128 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
12129 has the default value shown above. Then setting
12130 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
12131 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
12132 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
12135 @item a list of strings
12136 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
12138 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
12139 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
12142 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
12147 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
12149 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
12152 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
12154 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
12157 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
12159 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
12160 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
12161 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
12162 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
12165 More complex stuff:
12167 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
12168 '((if (message-news-p)
12173 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
12174 messages in one file per month:
12177 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
12178 '((if (message-news-p)
12180 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
12183 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
12184 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
12186 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
12187 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
12188 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
12189 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
12190 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
12191 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
12192 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
12193 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
12194 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
12195 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
12197 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
12198 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
12199 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
12200 this will disable archiving.
12203 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
12204 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
12205 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
12206 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
12207 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
12210 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
12211 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
12212 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
12215 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
12216 but the latter is the preferred method.
12218 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
12219 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
12220 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
12222 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
12223 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
12224 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
12225 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
12226 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
12227 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
12228 changed in the future.
12233 @node Posting Styles
12234 @section Posting Styles
12235 @cindex posting styles
12238 All them variables, they make my head swim.
12240 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
12241 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
12242 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
12245 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
12246 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
12247 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
12248 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
12249 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
12254 (signature "Peace and happiness")
12255 (organization "What me?"))
12257 (signature "Death to everybody"))
12258 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
12259 (organization "Emacs is it")))
12262 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
12263 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
12264 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
12265 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
12266 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
12267 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
12268 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
12269 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
12271 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
12272 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
12273 If it is the form @code{(header @var{match} @var{regexp})}, then Gnus
12274 will look in the original article for a header whose name is
12275 @var{match} and compare that @var{regexp}. @var{match} and
12276 @var{regexp} are strings. (The original article is the one you are
12277 replying or following up to. If you are not composing a reply or a
12278 followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
12279 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with
12280 no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
12281 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
12282 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is
12283 said to @dfn{match}.
12285 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
12286 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. In
12287 addition, you can also use the @code{(@var{name} :file @var{value})}
12288 form or the @code{(@var{name} :value @var{value})} form. Where
12289 @code{:file} signifies @var{value} represents a file name and its
12290 contents should be used as the attribute value, @code{:value} signifies
12291 @var{value} does not represent a file name explicitly. The attribute
12292 name can be one of:
12295 @item @code{signature}
12296 @item @code{signature-file}
12297 @item @code{x-face-file}
12298 @item @code{address}, overriding @code{user-mail-address}
12299 @item @code{name}, overriding @code{(user-full-name)}
12303 Note that the @code{signature-file} attribute honors the variable
12304 @code{message-signature-directory}.
12306 The attribute name can also be a string or a symbol. In that case,
12307 this will be used as a header name, and the value will be inserted in
12308 the headers of the article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header
12309 name will be removed. If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form
12310 is evaluated, and the result is thrown away.
12312 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
12313 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
12314 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
12315 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
12316 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
12317 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
12318 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
12319 references chars lines xref extra.
12321 @vindex message-reply-headers
12323 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
12324 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
12325 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
12327 @findex message-mail-p
12328 @findex message-news-p
12330 So here's a new example:
12333 (setq gnus-posting-styles
12335 (signature-file "~/.signature")
12337 (x-face-file "~/.xface")
12338 (x-url (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
12339 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
12341 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
12342 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; @r{A form}
12343 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
12344 (message-news-p ;; @r{A function symbol}
12345 (signature my-news-signature))
12346 (window-system ;; @r{A value symbol}
12347 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
12348 ;; @r{If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.}
12349 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
12350 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
12351 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; @r{A user defined function}
12352 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
12353 (address "user@@bar.foo")
12354 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
12355 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
12357 (From (save-excursion
12358 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
12359 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
12361 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
12364 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
12365 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
12366 if you fill many roles.
12367 You may also use @code{message-alternative-emails} instead.
12368 @xref{Message Headers, ,Message Headers, message, Message Manual}.
12374 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
12375 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
12376 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
12377 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
12378 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
12380 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
12381 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
12382 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
12383 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
12384 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
12388 @vindex nndraft-directory
12389 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
12390 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
12391 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
12392 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
12393 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
12394 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
12396 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
12397 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
12398 unsubscribe it. The special properties of the draft group comes from
12399 a group property (@pxref{Group Parameters}), and if lost the group
12400 behaves like any other group. This means the commands below will not
12401 be available. To restore the special properties of the group, the
12402 simplest way is to kill the group, using @kbd{C-k}, and restart
12403 Gnus. The group is automatically created again with the
12404 correct parameters. The content of the group is not lost.
12406 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
12407 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
12408 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
12409 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
12410 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
12411 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
12412 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
12413 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
12414 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
12415 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
12416 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
12417 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
12418 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
12419 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
12421 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
12422 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
12423 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
12425 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
12426 @kindex D e (Draft)
12427 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
12428 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
12429 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
12431 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
12434 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
12435 @kindex D s (Draft)
12436 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
12437 @kindex D S (Draft)
12438 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
12439 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
12440 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
12441 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
12442 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
12445 @findex gnus-draft-toggle-sending
12446 @kindex D t (Draft)
12447 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
12448 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
12449 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
12452 @node Rejected Articles
12453 @section Rejected Articles
12454 @cindex rejected articles
12456 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
12457 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
12458 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
12459 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
12461 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
12462 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
12463 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
12464 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
12465 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
12467 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
12468 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
12469 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
12471 @node Signing and encrypting
12472 @section Signing and encrypting
12474 @cindex using s/mime
12475 @cindex using smime
12477 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla
12478 @acronym{PGP} format or @acronym{PGP/MIME} or @acronym{S/MIME}. For
12479 decoding such messages, see the @code{mm-verify-option} and
12480 @code{mm-decrypt-option} options (@pxref{Security}).
12482 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
12483 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
12484 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
12485 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
12486 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
12487 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
12488 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
12489 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
12490 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
12491 automatically encrypted messages.
12493 Instructing @acronym{MML} to perform security operations on a
12494 @acronym{MIME} part is done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for
12495 signing and the @kbd{C-c C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
12500 @kindex C-c C-m s s (Message)
12501 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
12503 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
12506 @kindex C-c C-m s o (Message)
12507 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
12509 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
12512 @kindex C-c C-m s p (Message)
12513 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
12515 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
12518 @kindex C-c C-m c s (Message)
12519 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
12521 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
12524 @kindex C-c C-m c o (Message)
12525 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
12527 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
12530 @kindex C-c C-m c p (Message)
12531 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
12533 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
12536 @kindex C-c C-m C-n (Message)
12537 @findex mml-unsecure-message
12538 Remove security related @acronym{MML} tags from message.
12542 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
12544 @node Select Methods
12545 @chapter Select Methods
12546 @cindex foreign groups
12547 @cindex select methods
12549 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
12550 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
12551 @acronym{NNTP} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
12552 personal mail group.
12554 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
12555 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
12556 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
12557 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
12558 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
12559 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
12561 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
12562 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
12564 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
12567 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @acronym{NNTP} server
12568 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
12569 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
12570 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
12571 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
12573 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
12576 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
12577 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
12578 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
12579 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
12580 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
12581 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
12582 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
12583 * Email Based Diary:: Using mails to manage diary events in Gnus.
12584 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
12588 @node Server Buffer
12589 @section Server Buffer
12591 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
12592 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
12593 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
12594 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
12595 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
12596 back end represents a virtual server.
12598 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
12599 different actual @acronym{NNTP} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
12600 on the same actual @acronym{NNTP} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
12601 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
12603 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
12604 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
12605 @acronym{NNTP} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
12606 hangs if queried for @acronym{NOV} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
12607 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
12608 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
12609 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
12611 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
12612 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
12615 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
12616 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
12617 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
12618 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
12619 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
12620 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
12621 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
12624 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
12625 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
12628 @node Server Buffer Format
12629 @subsection Server Buffer Format
12630 @cindex server buffer format
12632 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
12633 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
12634 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
12635 variable, with some simple extensions:
12640 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
12643 The name of this server.
12646 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
12649 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
12652 Whether this server is agentized.
12655 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
12656 The mode line can also be customized by using the
12657 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
12658 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
12668 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
12671 @node Server Commands
12672 @subsection Server Commands
12673 @cindex server commands
12679 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Server)
12680 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it key to some
12681 function or better use it as a prefix key.
12685 @findex gnus-server-add-server
12686 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
12690 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
12691 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
12694 @kindex SPACE (Server)
12695 @findex gnus-server-read-server
12696 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
12700 @findex gnus-server-exit
12701 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
12705 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
12706 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
12710 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
12711 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
12715 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
12716 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
12720 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
12721 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
12725 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
12726 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
12727 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
12732 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
12733 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
12734 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
12735 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
12739 @findex gnus-server-compact-server
12741 Compact all groups in the server under point
12742 (@code{gnus-server-compact-server}). Currently implemented only in
12743 nnml (@pxref{Mail Spool}). This removes gaps between article numbers,
12744 hence getting a correct total article count.
12749 @node Example Methods
12750 @subsection Example Methods
12752 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
12755 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
12758 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
12764 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
12765 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
12768 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
12769 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
12771 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
12772 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
12776 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
12779 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
12780 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
12782 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
12783 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
12784 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
12788 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
12791 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
12794 Here's the method for a public spool:
12798 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
12799 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
12805 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @acronym{NNTP}
12806 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
12807 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12808 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
12809 should probably look something like this:
12813 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
12814 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
12815 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
12816 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12819 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
12820 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
12821 configuration to the example above:
12824 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
12827 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}. Here's an example for
12828 an indirect connection:
12830 (setq gnus-select-method
12832 (nntp-address "news.server.example")
12833 (nntp-via-user-name "intermediate_user_name")
12834 (nntp-via-address "intermediate.host.example")
12835 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
12836 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
12837 (nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches ("-C" "-t" "-e" "none"))
12838 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)))
12841 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
12842 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
12843 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
12847 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12848 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
12849 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
12850 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12853 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
12854 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
12855 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
12856 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
12859 @node Creating a Virtual Server
12860 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
12862 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
12863 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
12865 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
12866 would probably be best to use @code{nnml} to read the cache. You
12867 could also use @code{nnspool} or @code{nnmh}, though.
12869 Type @kbd{a nnml RET cache RET}.
12871 You should now have a brand new @code{nnml} virtual server called
12872 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
12873 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
12874 will contain the following:
12884 (nnml-directory "~/News/cache/")
12885 (nnml-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
12888 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
12889 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
12890 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
12893 @node Server Variables
12894 @subsection Server Variables
12895 @cindex server variables
12896 @cindex server parameters
12898 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
12899 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
12900 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
12901 change the ``base'' variable after the variables have been loaded, you
12902 won't change the ``derived'' variables.
12904 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
12905 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
12906 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
12907 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
12908 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
12909 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
12910 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
12911 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
12912 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
12916 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
12917 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
12918 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
12921 Server variables are often called @dfn{server parameters}.
12923 @node Servers and Methods
12924 @subsection Servers and Methods
12926 Wherever you would normally use a select method
12927 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
12928 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
12929 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
12933 @node Unavailable Servers
12934 @subsection Unavailable Servers
12936 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
12937 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
12938 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
12939 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
12940 actually the case or not.
12942 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
12943 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
12944 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
12945 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
12946 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
12947 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
12948 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
12949 it will regard that server as ``down''.
12951 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
12952 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
12954 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
12955 with the following commands:
12961 @findex gnus-server-open-server
12962 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
12963 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
12967 @findex gnus-server-close-server
12968 Close the connection (if any) to the server
12969 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
12973 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
12974 Mark the current server as unreachable
12975 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
12978 @kindex M-o (Server)
12979 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
12980 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
12981 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
12984 @kindex M-c (Server)
12985 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
12986 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
12987 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
12991 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
12992 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
12993 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
12997 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
12998 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
13004 @section Getting News
13005 @cindex reading news
13006 @cindex news back ends
13008 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
13009 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @acronym{NNTP} server,
13010 or it can read from a local spool.
13013 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
13014 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
13022 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @acronym{NNTP} server is rather easy.
13023 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @acronym{NNTP}
13024 server as the, uhm, address.
13026 If the @acronym{NNTP} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
13027 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
13028 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
13029 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13031 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
13032 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
13033 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
13035 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
13040 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
13041 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
13042 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
13044 @cindex authentication
13045 @cindex nntp authentication
13046 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
13047 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
13048 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
13049 commands to the @acronym{NNTP} server after it has been contacted. By
13050 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
13051 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
13052 present in this hook.
13054 @item nntp-authinfo-function
13055 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
13056 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
13057 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
13058 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @acronym{NNTP}
13059 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
13060 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
13061 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
13062 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
13063 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
13064 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
13065 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
13069 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
13072 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
13074 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
13075 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
13076 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
13077 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
13078 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
13079 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
13080 @samp{force} is explained below.
13084 Here's an example file:
13087 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
13088 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
13091 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
13092 have to be first, for instance.
13094 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
13095 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
13096 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
13097 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
13098 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
13099 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
13100 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
13102 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
13103 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
13109 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
13110 previously mentioned.
13112 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
13114 @item nntp-server-action-alist
13115 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
13116 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
13117 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
13118 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
13121 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
13122 '(("innd" (ding))))
13125 You probably don't want to do that, though.
13127 The default value is
13130 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
13131 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
13132 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
13135 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
13136 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
13138 @item nntp-maximum-request
13139 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
13140 If the @acronym{NNTP} server doesn't support @acronym{NOV} headers, this back end
13141 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
13142 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
13143 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
13144 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
13145 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
13147 @item nntp-connection-timeout
13148 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
13149 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
13150 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @acronym{NNTP} servers not
13151 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
13152 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
13153 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
13154 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
13155 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
13156 no timeouts are done.
13158 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
13159 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
13160 If the @acronym{NNTP} server does not support @acronym{NOV}, you could set this
13161 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @acronym{NOV}
13164 @item nntp-xover-commands
13165 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
13166 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
13168 List of strings used as commands to fetch @acronym{NOV} lines from a
13169 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
13173 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
13174 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @acronym{NOV} lines to
13175 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
13176 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
13177 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @acronym{NOV}
13178 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
13179 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
13180 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
13181 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
13182 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
13183 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
13185 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
13186 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
13187 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @acronym{NNTP} server.
13189 @item nntp-record-commands
13190 @vindex nntp-record-commands
13191 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
13192 @acronym{NNTP} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
13193 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@acronym{NNTP} connection
13194 that doesn't seem to work.
13196 @item nntp-open-connection-function
13197 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
13198 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
13199 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
13200 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
13201 Seven pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped
13202 in two categories: direct connection functions (four pre-made), and
13203 indirect ones (three pre-made).
13205 @item nntp-never-echoes-commands
13206 @vindex nntp-never-echoes-commands
13207 Non-@code{nil} means the nntp server never echoes commands. It is
13208 reported that some nntps server doesn't echo commands. So, you may want
13209 to set this to non-@code{nil} in the method for such a server setting
13210 @code{nntp-open-connection-function} to @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream} for
13211 example. The default value is @code{nil}. Note that the
13212 @code{nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands} variable
13213 overrides the @code{nil} value of this variable.
13215 @item nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands
13216 @vindex nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands
13217 List of functions that never echo commands. Add or set a function which
13218 you set to @code{nntp-open-connection-function} to this list if it does
13219 not echo commands. Note that a non-@code{nil} value of the
13220 @code{nntp-never-echoes-commands} variable overrides this variable. The
13221 default value is @code{(nntp-open-network-stream)}.
13223 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
13224 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
13225 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
13226 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
13227 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
13228 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
13229 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
13232 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
13235 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
13236 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
13241 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
13242 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
13243 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
13244 * NNTP marks:: Storing marks for @acronym{NNTP} servers.
13248 @node Direct Functions
13249 @subsubsection Direct Functions
13250 @cindex direct connection functions
13252 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
13253 between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server. The behavior of these
13254 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
13255 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13258 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
13259 @item nntp-open-network-stream
13260 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
13263 @findex nntp-open-tls-stream
13264 @item nntp-open-tls-stream
13265 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
13266 this you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/, GNUTLS}
13267 installed. You then define a server as follows:
13270 ;; @r{"nntps" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
13271 ;; @r{however, @samp{gnutls-cli -p} doesn't like named ports.}
13273 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
13274 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-tls-stream)
13275 (nntp-port-number )
13276 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
13279 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
13280 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
13281 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
13282 this you must have @uref{http://www.openssl.org, OpenSSL} or
13283 @uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL, SSLeay} installed. You
13284 then define a server as follows:
13287 ;; @r{"snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
13288 ;; @r{however, @samp{openssl s_client -port} doesn't like named ports.}
13290 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
13291 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
13292 (nntp-port-number 563)
13293 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
13296 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
13297 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
13298 Opens a connection to an @acronym{NNTP} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
13299 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
13300 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
13301 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
13302 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
13303 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
13307 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
13308 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
13309 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
13312 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
13313 session, which is not a good idea.
13317 @node Indirect Functions
13318 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
13319 @cindex indirect connection functions
13321 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
13322 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
13323 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
13324 the ``via'' family of connection: they're all prefixed with ``via'' to make
13325 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
13326 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13329 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
13330 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
13331 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
13332 to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from there. This is useful for instance if
13333 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
13335 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
13338 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
13339 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
13340 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
13341 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
13343 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13344 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13345 List of strings to be used as the switches to
13346 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
13347 @samp{ssh} for @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}, you may set this to
13348 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
13349 this to @samp{("-t" "-e" "none")} or @samp{("-C" "-t" "-e" "none")} if
13350 the telnet command requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate
13354 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
13355 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13357 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
13358 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
13359 Does essentially the same, but uses
13360 @uref{http://netcat.sourceforge.net/, netcat} instead of @samp{telnet}
13361 to connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the intermediate host.
13363 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat}-specific variables:
13366 @item nntp-via-netcat-command
13367 @vindex nntp-via-netcat-command
13368 Command used to connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the
13369 intermediate host. The default is @samp{nc}. You can also use other
13370 programs like @uref{http://www.imasy.or.jp/~gotoh/ssh/connect.html,
13373 @item nntp-via-netcat-switches
13374 @vindex nntp-via-netcat-switches
13375 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
13376 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @code{nil}.
13378 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
13379 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
13380 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
13381 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
13383 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13384 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13385 List of strings to be used as the switches to
13386 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}.
13389 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
13390 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
13391 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
13392 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
13394 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
13397 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
13398 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
13399 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
13402 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
13403 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
13404 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
13405 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
13407 @item nntp-via-user-password
13408 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
13409 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
13411 @item nntp-via-envuser
13412 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
13413 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
13414 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
13415 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
13417 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
13418 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
13419 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
13420 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
13424 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
13425 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13429 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
13434 @item nntp-via-user-name
13435 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
13436 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
13438 @item nntp-via-address
13439 @vindex nntp-via-address
13440 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
13445 @node Common Variables
13446 @subsubsection Common Variables
13448 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
13449 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
13450 affected (the values of the following variables will be used as the
13451 default if each virtual @code{nntp} server doesn't specify those server
13452 variables individually).
13456 @item nntp-pre-command
13457 @vindex nntp-pre-command
13458 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native
13459 connection function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream},
13460 @code{nntp-open-tls-stream}, and @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}). This is
13461 where you would put a @samp{SOCKS} wrapper for instance.
13464 @vindex nntp-address
13465 The address of the @acronym{NNTP} server.
13467 @item nntp-port-number
13468 @vindex nntp-port-number
13469 Port number to connect to the @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
13470 @samp{nntp}. If you use @acronym{NNTP} over
13471 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you may want to use integer ports rather
13472 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews} or
13473 @samp{nntps}), because external @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} tools may
13474 not work with named ports.
13476 @item nntp-end-of-line
13477 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
13478 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @acronym{NNTP}
13479 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
13480 using a non native telnet connection function.
13482 @item nntp-telnet-command
13483 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
13484 Command to use when connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server through
13485 @samp{telnet}. This is @emph{not} for an intermediate host. This is
13486 just for the real @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
13489 @item nntp-telnet-switches
13490 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
13491 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
13497 @subsubsection NNTP marks
13498 @cindex storing NNTP marks
13500 Gnus stores marks (@pxref{Marking Articles}) for @acronym{NNTP}
13501 servers in marks files. A marks file records what marks you have set
13502 in a group and each file is specific to the corresponding server.
13503 Marks files are stored in @file{~/News/marks}
13504 (@code{nntp-marks-directory}) under a classic hierarchy resembling
13505 that of a news server, for example marks for the group
13506 @samp{gmane.discuss} on the news.gmane.org server will be stored in
13507 the file @file{~/News/marks/news.gmane.org/gmane/discuss/.marks}.
13509 Marks files are useful because you can copy the @file{~/News/marks}
13510 directory (using rsync, scp or whatever) to another Gnus installation,
13511 and it will realize what articles you have read and marked. The data
13512 in @file{~/News/marks} has priority over the same data in
13513 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
13515 Note that marks files are very much server-specific: Gnus remembers
13516 the article numbers so if you don't use the same servers on both
13517 installations things are most likely to break (most @acronym{NNTP}
13518 servers do not use the same article numbers as any other server).
13519 However, if you use servers A, B, C on one installation and servers A,
13520 D, E on the other, you can sync the marks files for A and then you'll
13521 get synchronization for that server between the two installations.
13523 Using @acronym{NNTP} marks can possibly incur a performance penalty so
13524 if Gnus feels sluggish, try setting the @code{nntp-marks-is-evil}
13525 variable to @code{t}. Marks will then be stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
13531 @item nntp-marks-is-evil
13532 @vindex nntp-marks-is-evil
13533 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any marks files. The
13534 default is @code{nil}.
13536 @item nntp-marks-directory
13537 @vindex nntp-marks-directory
13538 The directory where marks for nntp groups will be stored.
13544 @subsection News Spool
13548 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
13549 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
13550 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
13553 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
13554 anything else) as the address.
13556 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
13557 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
13558 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
13559 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
13563 @item nnspool-inews-program
13564 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
13565 Program used to post an article.
13567 @item nnspool-inews-switches
13568 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
13569 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
13571 @item nnspool-spool-directory
13572 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
13573 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
13574 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
13576 @item nnspool-nov-directory
13577 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
13578 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @acronym{NOV} files. This is normally@*
13579 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
13581 @item nnspool-lib-dir
13582 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
13583 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
13585 @item nnspool-active-file
13586 @vindex nnspool-active-file
13587 The name of the active file.
13589 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
13590 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
13591 The name of the group descriptions file.
13593 @item nnspool-history-file
13594 @vindex nnspool-history-file
13595 The name of the news history file.
13597 @item nnspool-active-times-file
13598 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
13599 The name of the active date file.
13601 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
13602 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
13603 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @acronym{NOV} files
13606 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
13607 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
13609 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
13610 relevant portion from the overview file. If @code{nil},
13611 @code{nnspool} will load the entire file into a buffer and process it
13618 @section Getting Mail
13619 @cindex reading mail
13622 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
13626 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
13627 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
13628 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
13629 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
13630 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
13631 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
13632 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
13633 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
13634 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
13635 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
13636 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
13637 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
13638 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
13642 @node Mail in a Newsreader
13643 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
13645 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
13646 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
13647 of a culture shock.
13649 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
13650 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
13652 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
13653 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
13654 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
13655 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
13657 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
13659 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
13660 deleted? How awful!
13662 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
13663 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
13664 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
13665 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @ref{Expiring
13668 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
13669 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
13670 they want to treat a message.
13672 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
13673 via @acronym{SMTP}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
13674 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
13675 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
13676 archived somewhere else.
13678 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
13679 These are transported via @acronym{NNTP}, and are therefore news. But we may need
13680 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
13681 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
13682 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
13684 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
13685 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
13686 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
13688 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
13689 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
13692 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
13693 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
13694 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
13695 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
13696 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
13698 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
13699 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
13700 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
13701 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
13702 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
13703 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
13707 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
13708 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
13710 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
13711 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
13712 and things will happen automatically.
13714 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a ``one file per
13715 mail'' back end), you could put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
13718 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
13721 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
13722 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
13723 directory, which is @file{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
13724 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
13725 like any other group.
13727 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
13730 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13731 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13732 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
13736 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
13737 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
13738 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
13741 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
13742 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
13743 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
13746 @node Splitting Mail
13747 @subsection Splitting Mail
13748 @cindex splitting mail
13749 @cindex mail splitting
13750 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
13752 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
13753 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
13754 to be split into groups.
13757 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13758 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13759 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
13760 ("mail.other" "")))
13763 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
13764 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
13765 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
13766 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
13767 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
13768 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
13769 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
13772 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
13776 In that case, @code{nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded} controls whether
13777 the inserted text should be made lowercase. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
13779 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
13780 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
13781 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
13782 mail belongs in that group.
13784 @cindex @samp{bogus} group
13785 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
13786 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{""} so that it matches any mails
13787 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
13788 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first rule
13789 to make a match will ``win'', unless you have crossposting enabled. In
13790 that case, all matching rules will ``win''.) If no rule matched, the mail
13791 will end up in the @samp{bogus} group. When new groups are created by
13792 splitting mail, you may want to run @code{gnus-group-find-new-groups} to
13793 see the new groups. This also applies to the @samp{bogus} group.
13795 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
13796 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
13797 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
13798 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
13799 thinks should carry this mail message.
13801 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
13802 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
13803 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
13804 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
13806 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
13807 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
13808 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
13809 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
13810 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{""}) group.
13812 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
13815 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
13816 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
13817 links. If that's the case for you, set
13818 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
13819 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
13821 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
13822 @findex nnmail-split-history
13823 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
13824 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
13825 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
13826 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
13829 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
13830 Header lines longer than the value of
13831 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
13834 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
13835 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
13836 By default, splitting @acronym{MIME}-decodes headers so you
13837 can match on non-@acronym{ASCII} strings. The
13838 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset} variable specifies the default
13839 charset for decoding. The behavior can be turned off completely by
13840 binding @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to @code{nil}, which is
13841 useful if you want to match articles based on the raw header data.
13843 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13844 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If you
13845 specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable @code{mail-sources}
13846 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}), however, then splitting does
13847 @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
13848 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-@code{nil} value to make
13849 splitting happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on
13850 other kinds of entries.)
13852 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
13853 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
13854 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
13855 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
13856 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
13857 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
13858 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
13859 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
13860 month's rent money.
13864 @subsection Mail Sources
13866 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from
13867 a @acronym{POP} mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a
13868 maildir, for instance.
13871 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
13872 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
13873 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
13877 @node Mail Source Specifiers
13878 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
13880 @cindex mail server
13883 @cindex mail source
13885 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
13886 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
13891 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
13894 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
13895 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
13896 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
13899 The following mail source types are available:
13903 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
13909 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @env{MAIL}
13910 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
13911 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
13915 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13918 An example file mail source:
13921 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
13924 Or using the default file name:
13930 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best
13931 to use @acronym{POP} or @acronym{IMAP} or the like to fetch the mail.
13932 You can not use ange-ftp file names here---it has no way to lock the
13933 mail spool while moving the mail.
13935 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
13939 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
13942 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
13946 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
13949 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
13951 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
13954 Alter this script to fit the @samp{movemail} and temporary
13955 file you want to use.
13959 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
13960 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used
13961 when you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
13962 That is, there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that
13963 directory and groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool}
13964 will be put in the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix
13965 to be used instead of @code{.spool}.) Setting
13966 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-@code{nil} forces
13967 Gnus to scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful
13968 if you want to scan mail groups at a specified level.
13970 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13971 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
13972 that to a non-@code{nil} value, then the normal splitting process is
13973 applied to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
13979 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
13983 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
13987 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
13988 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
13989 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
13990 predicate are considered.
13994 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13998 An example directory mail source:
14001 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
14006 Get mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
14012 The name of the @acronym{POP} server. The default is taken from the
14013 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
14016 The port number of the @acronym{POP} server. This can be a number (eg,
14017 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
14018 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
14019 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
14020 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
14023 The user name to give to the @acronym{POP} server. The default is the login
14027 The password to give to the @acronym{POP} server. If not specified,
14028 the user is prompted.
14031 The program to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. This
14032 should be a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
14035 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
14038 The valid format specifier characters are:
14042 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
14043 included in this string.
14046 The name of the server.
14049 The port number of the server.
14052 The user name to use.
14055 The password to use.
14058 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
14059 corresponding keywords.
14062 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
14063 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
14066 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
14067 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
14070 The function to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. The
14071 function is called with one parameter---the name of the file where the
14072 mail should be moved to.
14074 @item :authentication
14075 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
14076 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
14081 @vindex pop3-movemail
14082 @vindex pop3-leave-mail-on-server
14083 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
14084 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used. If @code{pop3-leave-mail-on-server}
14085 is non-@code{nil} the mail is to be left on the @acronym{POP} server
14086 after fetching when using @code{pop3-movemail}. Note that POP servers
14087 maintain no state information between sessions, so what the client
14088 believes is there and what is actually there may not match up. If they
14089 do not, then you may get duplicate mails or the whole thing can fall
14090 apart and leave you with a corrupt mailbox.
14092 Here are some examples for getting mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
14093 Fetch from the default @acronym{POP} server, using the default user
14094 name, and default fetcher:
14100 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
14103 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
14104 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
14107 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
14110 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
14114 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
14115 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
14116 contains exactly one mail.
14122 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
14123 taken from the @env{MAILDIR} environment variable or
14126 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
14127 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
14129 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
14130 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
14131 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
14134 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
14135 from locking problems).
14139 Two example maildir mail sources:
14142 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
14143 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
14147 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
14152 Get mail from a @acronym{IMAP} server. If you don't want to use
14153 @acronym{IMAP} as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie
14154 with nnimap), for some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar
14155 to a @acronym{POP} server and fetches articles from a given
14156 @acronym{IMAP} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for more information.
14158 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} and STARTTLS support you
14159 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
14165 The name of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is taken from the
14166 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
14169 The port number of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
14170 @samp{993} for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} connections.
14173 The user name to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is the login
14177 The password to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. If not specified, the user is
14181 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
14182 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
14183 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{tls},
14184 @samp{ssl}, @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
14186 @item :authentication
14187 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
14188 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
14189 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
14190 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
14193 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
14194 mapped into the @code{imap-shell-program} variable. This should be a
14195 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
14201 The valid format specifier characters are:
14205 The name of the server.
14208 User name from @code{imap-default-user}.
14211 The port number of the server.
14214 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
14215 corresponding keywords.
14218 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
14219 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
14222 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
14223 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
14224 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @acronym{IMAP} client and mark some
14225 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
14226 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
14227 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
14230 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
14231 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
14232 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
14233 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
14236 If non-@code{nil}, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the
14237 mailbox after finishing the fetch.
14241 An example @acronym{IMAP} mail source:
14244 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
14246 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
14250 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{http://www.hotmail.com/},
14251 @uref{http://webmail.netscape.com/}, @uref{http://www.netaddress.com/},
14252 @uref{http://mail.yahoo.com/}.
14254 NOTE: Webmail largely depends on cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
14255 required for url "4.0pre.46".
14257 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
14263 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
14264 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
14267 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
14271 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
14275 If non-@code{nil}, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to
14276 trash folder after finishing the fetch.
14280 An example webmail source:
14283 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
14285 :password "secret")
14290 @item Common Keywords
14291 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
14297 If non-@code{nil}, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you
14298 use directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this
14303 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
14308 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
14309 useful when you use local mail and news.
14314 @subsubsection Function Interface
14316 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
14317 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
14318 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
14319 consider the following mail-source setting:
14322 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
14323 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
14326 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
14327 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
14328 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
14329 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
14330 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
14332 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
14335 @node Mail Source Customization
14336 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
14338 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
14339 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
14343 @item mail-source-crash-box
14344 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
14345 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is@*
14346 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
14348 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
14349 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
14350 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them. If
14351 @code{t}, delete the files immediately, if @code{nil}, never delete any
14352 files. If a positive number, delete files older than number of days
14353 (This will only happen, when receiving new mail). You may also set
14354 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} to @code{nil} and call
14355 @code{mail-source-delete-old-incoming} from a hook or interactively.
14357 @item mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
14358 @vindex mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
14359 If non-@code{nil}, ask for for confirmation before deleting old incoming
14360 files. This variable only applies when
14361 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is a positive number.
14363 @item mail-source-ignore-errors
14364 @vindex mail-source-ignore-errors
14365 If non-@code{nil}, ignore errors when reading mail from a mail source.
14367 @item mail-source-directory
14368 @vindex mail-source-directory
14369 Directory where incoming mail source files (if any) will be stored. The
14370 default is @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for
14371 is to say where the incoming files will be stored if the variable
14372 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil} or a number.
14374 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
14375 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
14376 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
14377 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
14378 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
14379 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil} or a
14382 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
14383 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
14384 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
14386 @item mail-source-movemail-program
14387 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
14388 If non-@code{nil}, name of program for fetching new mail. If
14389 @code{nil}, @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
14394 @node Fetching Mail
14395 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
14397 @vindex mail-sources
14398 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
14399 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
14400 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
14401 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
14403 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
14404 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
14407 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a
14408 @acronym{POP} mail server, you'd say something like:
14413 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
14414 :password "secret")))
14417 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
14421 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
14422 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
14425 :password "secret")))
14429 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
14430 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
14431 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
14432 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
14433 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
14434 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
14438 @node Mail Back End Variables
14439 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
14441 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
14445 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
14446 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
14447 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
14448 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
14450 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
14451 @item nnmail-split-hook
14452 @findex gnus-article-decode-encoded-words
14453 @cindex RFC 1522 decoding
14454 @cindex RFC 2047 decoding
14455 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
14456 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
14457 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
14458 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
14459 in the buffer will show up in any files.
14460 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
14463 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
14464 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
14465 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
14466 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
14467 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
14468 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
14469 starting to handle the new mail) and
14470 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
14471 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
14472 default file modes the new mail files get:
14475 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
14476 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
14478 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
14479 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
14482 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
14483 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
14484 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
14485 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
14486 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
14487 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
14488 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
14490 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
14491 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
14492 @findex delete-file
14493 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
14495 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
14496 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
14497 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
14498 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
14499 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
14501 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
14502 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
14503 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
14504 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
14505 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
14507 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
14508 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
14509 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
14514 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
14515 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
14516 @cindex mail splitting
14517 @cindex fancy mail splitting
14519 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
14520 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
14521 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
14522 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
14523 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
14524 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
14526 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
14529 ;; @r{Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of}
14530 ;; @r{the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group}
14531 ;; @r{from real errors.}
14532 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
14534 ;; @r{Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant}
14535 ;; @r{groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the}
14536 ;; @r{(ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.}
14537 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
14538 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
14539 ;; @r{Other mailing lists@dots{}}
14540 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
14541 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
14542 ;; @r{Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent}
14543 ;; @r{cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to}
14544 ;; @r{the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the}
14545 ;; @r{message was really cross-posted.}
14546 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
14547 (any "mypackage@@somewhere" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
14548 ;; @r{People@dots{}}
14549 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
14550 ;; @r{Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.}
14554 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a
14555 (possibly) recursive structure where each split may contain other
14556 splits. Here are the possible split syntaxes:
14561 If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name. Normal
14562 regexp match expansion will be done. See below for examples.
14564 @c Don't fold this line.
14565 @item (@var{field} @var{value} [- @var{restrict} [@dots{}] ] @var{split} [@var{invert-partial}])
14566 The split can be a list containing at least three elements. If the
14567 first element @var{field} (a regexp matching a header) contains
14568 @var{value} (also a regexp) then store the message as specified by
14571 If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp) matches some string after
14572 @var{field} and before the end of the matched @var{value}, the
14573 @var{split} is ignored. If none of the @var{restrict} clauses match,
14574 @var{split} is processed.
14576 The last element @var{invert-partial} is optional. If it is
14577 non-@code{nil}, the match-partial-words behavior controlled by the
14578 variable @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} (see below) is
14579 be inverted. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
14581 @item (| @var{split} @dots{})
14582 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{|} (vertical
14583 bar), then process each @var{split} until one of them matches. A
14584 @var{split} is said to match if it will cause the mail message to be
14585 stored in one or more groups.
14587 @item (& @var{split} @dots{})
14588 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{&}, then
14589 process all @var{split}s in the list.
14592 If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save (i.e., delete)
14593 this message. Use with extreme caution.
14595 @item (: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})
14596 If the split is a list, and the first element is @samp{:}, then the
14597 second element will be called as a function with @var{args} given as
14598 arguments. The function should return a @var{split}.
14601 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
14602 body of the messages:
14605 (defun split-on-body ()
14609 (goto-char (point-min))
14610 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
14614 The buffer is narrowed to the message in question when @var{function}
14615 is run. That's why @code{(widen)} needs to be called after
14616 @code{save-excursion} and @code{save-restriction} in the example
14617 above. Also note that with the nnimap back end, message bodies will
14618 not be downloaded by default. You need to set
14619 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
14620 (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}).
14622 @item (! @var{func} @var{split})
14623 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{!}, then
14624 @var{split} will be processed, and @var{func} will be called as a
14625 function with the result of @var{split} as argument. @var{func}
14626 should return a split.
14629 If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
14633 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
14635 Normally, @var{value} in these splits must match a complete @emph{word}
14636 according to the fundamental mode syntax table. In other words, all
14637 @var{value}'s will be implicitly surrounded by @code{\<...\>} markers,
14638 which are word delimiters. Therefore, if you use the following split,
14642 (any "joe" "joemail")
14646 messages sent from @samp{joedavis@@foo.org} will normally not be filed
14647 in @samp{joemail}. If you want to alter this behavior, you can use any
14648 of the following three ways:
14652 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words
14653 You can set the @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} variable
14654 to non-@code{nil} in order to ignore word boundaries and instead the
14655 match becomes more like a grep. This variable controls whether partial
14656 words are matched during fancy splitting. The default value is
14659 Note that it influences all @var{value}'s in your split rules.
14662 @var{value} beginning with @code{.*} ignores word boundaries in front of
14663 a word. Similarly, if @var{value} ends with @code{.*}, word boundaries
14664 in the rear of a word will be ignored. For example, the @var{value}
14665 @code{"@@example\\.com"} does not match @samp{foo@@example.com} but
14666 @code{".*@@example\\.com"} does.
14669 You can set the @var{invert-partial} flag in your split rules of the
14670 @samp{(@var{field} @var{value} @dots{})} types, aforementioned in this
14671 section. If the flag is set, word boundaries on both sides of a word
14672 are ignored even if @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} is
14673 @code{nil}. Contrarily, if the flag is set, word boundaries are not
14674 ignored even if @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} is
14675 non-@code{nil}. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
14678 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
14679 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be Lisp symbols, in that case
14680 they are expanded as specified by the variable
14681 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells,
14682 where the @sc{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @sc{cdr}
14683 contains the associated value. Predefined entries in
14684 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist} include:
14688 Matches the @samp{From}, @samp{Sender} and @samp{Resent-From} fields.
14690 Matches the @samp{To}, @samp{Cc}, @samp{Apparently-To},
14691 @samp{Resent-To} and @samp{Resent-Cc} fields.
14693 Is the union of the @code{from} and @code{to} entries.
14696 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
14697 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
14698 when all this splitting is performed.
14700 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
14701 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
14702 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
14705 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
14708 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
14709 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
14711 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
14712 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
14713 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
14714 groupings 1 through 9.
14716 @vindex nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded
14717 Where @code{nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded} controls whether the
14718 lowercase of the matched string should be used for the substitution.
14719 Setting it as non-@code{nil} is useful to avoid the creation of multiple
14720 groups when users send to an address using different case
14721 (i.e. mailing-list@@domain vs Mailing-List@@Domain). The default value
14724 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
14725 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
14726 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
14727 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
14728 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
14729 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
14730 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
14731 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
14732 it once per thread.
14734 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates}
14735 and @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-@code{nil}
14736 value. And then you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}
14737 using the colon feature, like so:
14739 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; @r{or @code{delete}}
14740 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
14742 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
14743 ;; @r{other splits go here}
14747 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
14748 non-@code{nil}, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees
14749 in the file specified by the variable
14750 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, together with the group it is in
14751 (the group is omitted for non-mail messages). When mail splitting is
14752 invoked, the function @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks
14753 at the References (and In-Reply-To) header of each message to split
14754 and searches the file specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}
14755 for the message ids. When it has found a parent, it returns the
14756 corresponding group name unless the group name matches the regexp
14757 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is
14758 recommended that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a
14759 somewhat higher number than the default so that the message ids are
14760 still in the cache. (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some
14761 300 kBytes in size.)
14762 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
14763 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
14764 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
14765 messages goes into the new group.
14767 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
14768 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
14769 outgoing messages are written to an ``outgoing'' group, you could set
14770 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
14771 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
14772 ``outgoing'' group.
14775 @node Group Mail Splitting
14776 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
14777 @cindex mail splitting
14778 @cindex group mail splitting
14780 @findex gnus-group-split
14781 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
14782 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
14783 You just have to set @code{to-list} and/or @code{to-address} in group
14784 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
14785 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
14786 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
14787 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @code{to-list} or
14788 @code{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
14790 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
14791 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @code{extra-aliases} group
14792 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
14793 rather use a regular expression, set @code{split-regexp}.
14795 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
14796 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
14797 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
14798 @code{to-list}, @code{to-address}, all of @code{extra-aliases} and all
14799 matches of @code{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
14800 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
14801 @code{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
14803 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
14804 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
14805 parameter @code{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
14806 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
14807 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @code{split-spec} may be set to
14808 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
14809 @code{gnus-group-split}.
14811 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
14812 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
14813 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
14814 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
14815 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
14816 some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
14817 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
14818 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
14819 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
14820 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
14821 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
14822 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
14823 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
14825 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
14830 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
14831 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
14833 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
14834 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
14835 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
14836 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
14838 ((split-spec . catch-all))
14841 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
14842 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
14843 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
14846 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
14847 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
14848 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
14852 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
14853 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
14854 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
14858 (: gnus-group-split-fancy @var{groups} @var{no-crosspost} @var{catch-all})
14861 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
14862 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
14863 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
14864 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fall back
14865 fancy split, used like @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
14866 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @code{split-regexp} matches the
14867 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
14868 Otherwise, if some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
14869 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
14871 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
14872 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
14873 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
14874 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
14875 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
14876 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
14877 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
14878 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
14879 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
14881 @findex gnus-group-split-update
14882 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
14883 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
14884 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
14885 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
14886 you. For example, add to your @file{~/.gnus.el}:
14889 (gnus-group-split-setup @var{auto-update} @var{catch-all})
14892 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
14893 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
14894 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
14895 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
14896 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
14899 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
14900 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
14901 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
14902 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
14904 @node Incorporating Old Mail
14905 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
14906 @cindex incorporating old mail
14907 @cindex import old mail
14909 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
14910 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
14911 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
14914 Doing so can be quite easy.
14916 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
14917 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
14918 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
14919 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
14920 your @code{nnml} groups.
14926 Go to the group buffer.
14929 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
14930 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14933 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
14936 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
14937 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
14940 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
14941 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
14944 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
14945 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
14946 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
14947 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
14948 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
14950 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
14951 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
14952 using the new mail back end.
14955 @node Expiring Mail
14956 @subsection Expiring Mail
14957 @cindex article expiry
14958 @cindex expiring mail
14960 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
14961 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
14962 different approach to mail reading.
14964 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
14965 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
14966 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
14967 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
14968 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
14969 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
14972 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
14973 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default key bindings, this means
14974 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
14975 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
14976 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
14977 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
14978 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
14979 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
14980 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
14982 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
14983 two features, called ``auto-expire'' and ``total-expire'', that can help you
14984 with this. In a nutshell, ``auto-expire'' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
14985 for you when you select an article. And ``total-expire'' means that Gnus
14986 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
14987 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
14988 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
14991 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
14992 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
14993 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
14994 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
14995 into its own group.)
14997 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
14998 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
14999 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
15000 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
15001 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
15002 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
15003 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive
15004 Scoring}). Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
15007 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
15008 Groups that match the regular expression
15009 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
15010 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
15011 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
15013 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
15014 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
15015 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
15016 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
15017 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
15019 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
15021 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
15022 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
15023 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
15026 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
15027 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
15028 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
15029 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
15030 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
15032 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
15033 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
15036 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
15037 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
15040 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
15041 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
15043 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
15044 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
15045 don't really mix very well.
15047 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
15048 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
15049 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
15050 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
15053 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
15054 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
15055 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
15056 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
15059 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
15061 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
15063 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
15065 ((string= group "mail.junk")
15067 ((string= group "important")
15073 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
15074 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
15076 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
15077 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
15078 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
15081 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
15082 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
15084 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
15085 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
15086 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
15087 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
15088 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
15089 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
15090 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
15091 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
15092 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
15093 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
15094 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
15095 from as its parameter) which should return a target---either a group
15096 name or @code{delete}.
15098 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
15100 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
15103 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
15104 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
15105 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
15106 expire mail to groups according to the variable
15107 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
15110 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
15111 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
15112 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
15113 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
15114 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
15117 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
15118 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
15119 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
15120 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
15121 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
15122 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
15124 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
15125 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
15126 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
15127 easier for procmail users.
15129 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
15130 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
15131 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
15132 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
15133 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
15134 caution. Even more dangerous is the
15135 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
15136 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
15137 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
15138 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
15139 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
15140 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
15141 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
15144 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
15146 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
15147 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
15148 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
15149 auto-expire turned on.
15153 @subsection Washing Mail
15154 @cindex mail washing
15155 @cindex list server brain damage
15156 @cindex incoming mail treatment
15158 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
15159 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
15160 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
15161 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
15162 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
15163 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
15165 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
15166 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
15167 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
15170 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
15171 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
15172 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
15173 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
15176 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
15177 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
15178 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
15179 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
15180 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
15183 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
15184 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
15185 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
15186 Emacs running on MS machines.
15190 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
15191 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
15192 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
15193 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
15196 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
15197 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
15198 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
15199 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
15201 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
15202 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
15203 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
15204 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
15205 into a feature by documenting it.)
15207 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
15208 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
15209 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
15210 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
15211 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
15212 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
15213 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
15216 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
15217 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
15220 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
15221 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
15224 This can also be done non-destructively with
15225 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
15227 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
15228 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
15229 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
15231 @item nnmail-ignore-broken-references
15232 @findex nnmail-ignore-broken-references
15233 @c @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
15236 Some mail user agents (e.g. Eudora and Pegasus) produce broken
15237 @code{References} headers, but correct @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This
15238 function will get rid of the @code{References} header if the headers
15239 contain a line matching the regular expression
15240 @code{nnmail-broken-references-mailers}.
15244 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
15245 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
15246 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
15250 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
15251 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
15252 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
15259 @subsection Duplicates
15261 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
15262 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
15263 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
15264 @cindex duplicate mails
15265 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
15266 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
15267 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
15268 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
15269 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
15270 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
15271 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
15272 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
15273 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
15274 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
15275 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
15276 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
15277 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
15279 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
15280 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
15281 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
15282 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
15284 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
15287 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
15288 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
15292 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
15293 '(| ;; @r{Messages duplicates go to a separate group.}
15294 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
15295 ;; @r{Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.}
15296 (any mail "mail.misc")
15297 ;; @r{Other rules.}
15303 (setq nnmail-split-methods
15304 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
15305 ;; @r{Other rules.}
15309 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
15310 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
15311 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
15312 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
15313 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
15316 @node Not Reading Mail
15317 @subsection Not Reading Mail
15319 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
15320 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
15321 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
15323 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
15324 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
15325 mail, which should help.
15327 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
15328 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
15329 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
15330 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
15331 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
15332 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
15333 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old Rmail
15334 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
15335 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
15336 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
15337 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
15339 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
15340 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
15344 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
15345 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
15347 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
15348 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
15349 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
15351 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
15352 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
15353 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
15357 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
15358 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
15359 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
15360 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
15361 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
15362 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
15363 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
15367 @node Unix Mail Box
15368 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
15370 @cindex unix mail box
15372 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
15373 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
15374 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
15375 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
15376 which group it belongs in.
15378 Virtual server settings:
15381 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
15382 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
15383 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
15386 @item nnmbox-active-file
15387 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
15388 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
15389 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
15391 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
15392 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
15393 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
15394 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
15399 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
15403 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
15404 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
15405 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a Babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{Rmail
15406 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
15407 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
15409 Virtual server settings:
15412 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
15413 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
15414 The name of the Rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
15416 @item nnbabyl-active-file
15417 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
15418 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
15419 @file{~/.rmail-active}
15421 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
15422 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
15423 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
15429 @subsubsection Mail Spool
15431 @cindex mail @acronym{NOV} spool
15433 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
15434 format. It should be used with some caution.
15436 @vindex nnml-directory
15437 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
15438 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
15439 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
15440 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
15442 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
15445 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
15446 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
15447 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
15448 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
15449 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
15450 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
15451 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
15452 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
15454 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
15455 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
15456 @acronym{NOV} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
15457 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
15459 @cindex self contained nnml servers
15461 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
15462 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
15463 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
15464 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
15465 for a group are usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
15466 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
15467 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
15468 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
15471 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
15472 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
15473 them next time it starts.
15475 Virtual server settings:
15478 @item nnml-directory
15479 @vindex nnml-directory
15480 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory. The
15481 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default value
15484 @item nnml-active-file
15485 @vindex nnml-active-file
15486 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
15487 @file{~/Mail/active}.
15489 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
15490 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
15491 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
15492 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}.
15494 @item nnml-get-new-mail
15495 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
15496 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
15499 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
15500 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
15501 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
15502 default is @code{nil}.
15504 @item nnml-nov-file-name
15505 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
15506 The name of the @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
15508 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
15509 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
15510 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
15512 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
15513 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
15514 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
15515 default is @code{nil}.
15517 @item nnml-marks-file-name
15518 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
15519 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
15521 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
15522 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
15523 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
15524 files. This requires @code{auto-compression-mode} to be enabled
15525 (@pxref{Compressed Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
15526 If the value of @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is a string, it is used
15527 as the file extension specifying the compression program. You can set it
15528 to @samp{.bz2} if your Emacs supports it. A value of @code{t} is
15529 equivalent to @samp{.gz}.
15531 @item nnml-compressed-files-size-threshold
15532 @vindex nnml-compressed-files-size-threshold
15533 Default size threshold for compressed message files. Message files with
15534 bodies larger than that many characters will be automatically compressed
15535 if @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil}.
15539 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
15540 If your @code{nnml} groups and @acronym{NOV} files get totally out of
15541 whack, you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
15542 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
15543 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
15544 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
15545 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
15550 @subsubsection MH Spool
15552 @cindex mh-e mail spool
15554 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
15555 @acronym{NOV} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks
15556 file. This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than
15557 @code{nnml}, but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts
15560 Virtual server settings:
15563 @item nnmh-directory
15564 @vindex nnmh-directory
15565 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
15566 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
15569 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
15570 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
15571 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
15575 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
15576 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
15577 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks
15578 they are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
15579 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
15580 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not
15581 have to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
15586 @subsubsection Maildir
15590 @code{nnmaildir} stores mail in the maildir format, with each maildir
15591 corresponding to a group in Gnus. This format is documented here:
15592 @uref{http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html} and here:
15593 @uref{http://www.qmail.org/man/man5/maildir.html}. @code{nnmaildir}
15594 also stores extra information in the @file{.nnmaildir/} directory
15597 Maildir format was designed to allow concurrent deliveries and
15598 reading, without needing locks. With other back ends, you would have
15599 your mail delivered to a spool of some kind, and then you would
15600 configure Gnus to split mail from that spool into your groups. You
15601 can still do that with @code{nnmaildir}, but the more common
15602 configuration is to have your mail delivered directly to the maildirs
15603 that appear as group in Gnus.
15605 @code{nnmaildir} is designed to be perfectly reliable: @kbd{C-g} will
15606 never corrupt its data in memory, and @code{SIGKILL} will never
15607 corrupt its data in the filesystem.
15609 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks and @acronym{NOV} data in each
15610 maildir. So you can copy a whole maildir from one Gnus setup to
15611 another, and you will keep your marks.
15613 Virtual server settings:
15617 For each of your @code{nnmaildir} servers (it's very unlikely that
15618 you'd need more than one), you need to create a directory and populate
15619 it with maildirs or symlinks to maildirs (and nothing else; do not
15620 choose a directory already used for other purposes). Each maildir
15621 will be represented in Gnus as a newsgroup on that server; the
15622 filename of the symlink will be the name of the group. Any filenames
15623 in the directory starting with @samp{.} are ignored. The directory is
15624 scanned when you first start Gnus, and each time you type @kbd{g} in
15625 the group buffer; if any maildirs have been removed or added,
15626 @code{nnmaildir} notices at these times.
15628 The value of the @code{directory} parameter should be a Lisp form
15629 which is processed by @code{eval} and @code{expand-file-name} to get
15630 the path of the directory for this server. The form is @code{eval}ed
15631 only when the server is opened; the resulting string is used until the
15632 server is closed. (If you don't know about forms and @code{eval},
15633 don't worry---a simple string will work.) This parameter is not
15634 optional; you must specify it. I don't recommend using
15635 @code{"~/Mail"} or a subdirectory of it; several other parts of Gnus
15636 use that directory by default for various things, and may get confused
15637 if @code{nnmaildir} uses it too. @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} is a typical
15640 @item target-prefix
15641 This should be a Lisp form which is processed by @code{eval} and
15642 @code{expand-file-name}. The form is @code{eval}ed only when the
15643 server is opened; the resulting string is used until the server is
15646 When you create a group on an @code{nnmaildir} server, the maildir is
15647 created with @code{target-prefix} prepended to its name, and a symlink
15648 pointing to that maildir is created, named with the plain group name.
15649 So if @code{directory} is @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} and
15650 @code{target-prefix} is @code{"../maildirs/"}, then when you create
15651 the group @code{foo}, @code{nnmaildir} will create
15652 @file{~/.nnmaildir/../maildirs/foo} as a maildir, and will create
15653 @file{~/.nnmaildir/foo} as a symlink pointing to
15654 @file{../maildirs/foo}.
15656 You can set @code{target-prefix} to a string without any slashes to
15657 create both maildirs and symlinks in the same @code{directory}; in
15658 this case, any maildirs found in @code{directory} whose names start
15659 with @code{target-prefix} will not be listed as groups (but the
15660 symlinks pointing to them will be).
15662 As a special case, if @code{target-prefix} is @code{""} (the default),
15663 then when you create a group, the maildir will be created in
15664 @code{directory} without a corresponding symlink. Beware that you
15665 cannot use @code{gnus-group-delete-group} on such groups without the
15666 @code{force} argument.
15668 @item directory-files
15669 This should be a function with the same interface as
15670 @code{directory-files} (such as @code{directory-files} itself). It is
15671 used to scan the server's @code{directory} for maildirs. This
15672 parameter is optional; the default is
15673 @code{nnheader-directory-files-safe} if
15674 @code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is @code{nil}, and
15675 @code{directory-files} otherwise.
15676 (@code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is checked only once when the
15677 server is opened; if you want to check it each time the directory is
15678 scanned, you'll have to provide your own function that does that.)
15681 If non-@code{nil}, then after scanning for new mail in the group
15682 maildirs themselves as usual, this server will also incorporate mail
15683 the conventional Gnus way, from @code{mail-sources} according to
15684 @code{nnmail-split-methods} or @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. The default
15685 value is @code{nil}.
15687 Do @emph{not} use the same maildir both in @code{mail-sources} and as
15688 an @code{nnmaildir} group. The results might happen to be useful, but
15689 that would be by chance, not by design, and the results might be
15690 different in the future. If your split rules create new groups,
15691 remember to supply a @code{create-directory} server parameter.
15694 @subsubsection Group parameters
15696 @code{nnmaildir} uses several group parameters. It's safe to ignore
15697 all this; the default behavior for @code{nnmaildir} is the same as the
15698 default behavior for other mail back ends: articles are deleted after
15699 one week, etc. Except for the expiry parameters, all this
15700 functionality is unique to @code{nnmaildir}, so you can ignore it if
15701 you're just trying to duplicate the behavior you already have with
15704 If the value of any of these parameters is a vector, the first element
15705 is evaluated as a Lisp form and the result is used, rather than the
15706 original value. If the value is not a vector, the value itself is
15707 evaluated as a Lisp form. (This is why these parameters use names
15708 different from those of other, similar parameters supported by other
15709 back ends: they have different, though similar, meanings.) (For
15710 numbers, strings, @code{nil}, and @code{t}, you can ignore the
15711 @code{eval} business again; for other values, remember to use an extra
15712 quote and wrap the value in a vector when appropriate.)
15716 An integer specifying the minimum age, in seconds, of an article
15717 before it will be expired, or the symbol @code{never} to specify that
15718 articles should never be expired. If this parameter is not set,
15719 @code{nnmaildir} falls back to the usual
15720 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) variables (the
15721 @code{expiry-wait} group parameter overrides @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}
15722 and makes @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} ineffective). If you
15723 wanted a value of 3 days, you could use something like @code{[(* 3 24
15724 60 60)]}; @code{nnmaildir} will evaluate the form and use the result.
15725 An article's age is measured starting from the article file's
15726 modification time. Normally, this is the same as the article's
15727 delivery time, but editing an article makes it younger. Moving an
15728 article (other than via expiry) may also make an article younger.
15731 If this is set to a string such as a full Gnus group name, like
15733 "backend+server.address.string:group.name"
15735 and if it is not the name of the same group that the parameter belongs
15736 to, then articles will be moved to the specified group during expiry
15737 before being deleted. @emph{If this is set to an @code{nnmaildir}
15738 group, the article will be just as old in the destination group as it
15739 was in the source group.} So be careful with @code{expire-age} in the
15740 destination group. If this is set to the name of the same group that
15741 the parameter belongs to, then the article is not expired at all. If
15742 you use the vector form, the first element is evaluated once for each
15743 article. So that form can refer to
15744 @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name}, etc., to decide where to put the
15745 article. @emph{Even if this parameter is not set, @code{nnmaildir}
15746 does not fall back to the @code{expiry-target} group parameter or the
15747 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} variable.}
15750 If this is set to @code{t}, @code{nnmaildir} will treat the articles
15751 in this maildir as read-only. This means: articles are not renamed
15752 from @file{new/} into @file{cur/}; articles are only found in
15753 @file{new/}, not @file{cur/}; articles are never deleted; articles
15754 cannot be edited. @file{new/} is expected to be a symlink to the
15755 @file{new/} directory of another maildir---e.g., a system-wide mailbox
15756 containing a mailing list of common interest. Everything in the
15757 maildir outside @file{new/} is @emph{not} treated as read-only, so for
15758 a shared mailbox, you do still need to set up your own maildir (or
15759 have write permission to the shared mailbox); your maildir just won't
15760 contain extra copies of the articles.
15762 @item directory-files
15763 A function with the same interface as @code{directory-files}. It is
15764 used to scan the directories in the maildir corresponding to this
15765 group to find articles. The default is the function specified by the
15766 server's @code{directory-files} parameter.
15768 @item distrust-Lines:
15769 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmaildir} will always count the lines of an
15770 article, rather than use the @code{Lines:} header field. If
15771 @code{nil}, the header field will be used if present.
15774 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(read expire)]}. Whenever
15775 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
15776 say that all articles have these marks, regardless of whether the
15777 marks stored in the filesystem say so. This is a proof-of-concept
15778 feature that will probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done
15779 in Gnus proper, or abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
15782 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(tick expire)]}. Whenever
15783 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
15784 say that no articles have these marks, regardless of whether the marks
15785 stored in the filesystem say so. @code{never-marks} overrides
15786 @code{always-marks}. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will
15787 probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
15788 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
15790 @item nov-cache-size
15791 An integer specifying the size of the @acronym{NOV} memory cache. To
15792 speed things up, @code{nnmaildir} keeps @acronym{NOV} data in memory
15793 for a limited number of articles in each group. (This is probably not
15794 worthwhile, and will probably be removed in the future.) This
15795 parameter's value is noticed only the first time a group is seen after
15796 the server is opened---i.e., when you first start Gnus, typically.
15797 The @acronym{NOV} cache is never resized until the server is closed
15798 and reopened. The default is an estimate of the number of articles
15799 that would be displayed in the summary buffer: a count of articles
15800 that are either marked with @code{tick} or not marked with
15801 @code{read}, plus a little extra.
15804 @subsubsection Article identification
15805 Articles are stored in the @file{cur/} subdirectory of each maildir.
15806 Each article file is named like @code{uniq:info}, where @code{uniq}
15807 contains no colons. @code{nnmaildir} ignores, but preserves, the
15808 @code{:info} part. (Other maildir readers typically use this part of
15809 the filename to store marks.) The @code{uniq} part uniquely
15810 identifies the article, and is used in various places in the
15811 @file{.nnmaildir/} subdirectory of the maildir to store information
15812 about the corresponding article. The full pathname of an article is
15813 available in the variable @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name} after you
15814 request the article in the summary buffer.
15816 @subsubsection NOV data
15817 An article identified by @code{uniq} has its @acronym{NOV} data (used
15818 to generate lines in the summary buffer) stored in
15819 @code{.nnmaildir/nov/uniq}. There is no
15820 @code{nnmaildir-generate-nov-databases} function. (There isn't much
15821 need for it---an article's @acronym{NOV} data is updated automatically
15822 when the article or @code{nnmail-extra-headers} has changed.) You can
15823 force @code{nnmaildir} to regenerate the @acronym{NOV} data for a
15824 single article simply by deleting the corresponding @acronym{NOV}
15825 file, but @emph{beware}: this will also cause @code{nnmaildir} to
15826 assign a new article number for this article, which may cause trouble
15827 with @code{seen} marks, the Agent, and the cache.
15829 @subsubsection Article marks
15830 An article identified by @code{uniq} is considered to have the mark
15831 @code{flag} when the file @file{.nnmaildir/marks/flag/uniq} exists.
15832 When Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for a group's marks, @code{nnmaildir}
15833 looks for such files and reports the set of marks it finds. When Gnus
15834 asks @code{nnmaildir} to store a new set of marks, @code{nnmaildir}
15835 creates and deletes the corresponding files as needed. (Actually,
15836 rather than create a new file for each mark, it just creates hard
15837 links to @file{.nnmaildir/markfile}, to save inodes.)
15839 You can invent new marks by creating a new directory in
15840 @file{.nnmaildir/marks/}. You can tar up a maildir and remove it from
15841 your server, untar it later, and keep your marks. You can add and
15842 remove marks yourself by creating and deleting mark files. If you do
15843 this while Gnus is running and your @code{nnmaildir} server is open,
15844 it's best to exit all summary buffers for @code{nnmaildir} groups and
15845 type @kbd{s} in the group buffer first, and to type @kbd{g} or
15846 @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer afterwards. Otherwise, Gnus might not
15847 pick up the changes, and might undo them.
15851 @subsubsection Mail Folders
15853 @cindex mbox folders
15854 @cindex mail folders
15856 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a
15857 separate file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format.
15858 @code{nnfolder} will add extra headers to keep track of article
15859 numbers and arrival dates.
15861 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
15863 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
15864 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
15865 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
15866 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
15867 Marks for a group are usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
15868 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
15869 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder}
15870 directory. Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to
15871 backup, use @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup
15872 into the @code{nnfolder} directory).
15874 Virtual server settings:
15877 @item nnfolder-directory
15878 @vindex nnfolder-directory
15879 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this
15880 directory. The default is the value of @code{message-directory}
15881 (whose default is @file{~/Mail})
15883 @item nnfolder-active-file
15884 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
15885 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
15887 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
15888 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
15889 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
15890 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}
15892 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
15893 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
15894 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The
15895 default is @code{t}
15897 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15898 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15899 @cindex backup files
15900 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
15901 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If
15902 you wish to switch this off, you could say something like the
15903 following in your @file{.emacs} file:
15906 (defun turn-off-backup ()
15907 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
15909 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
15912 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15913 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15914 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
15915 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
15916 extract some information from it before removing it.
15918 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15919 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15920 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
15921 default is @code{nil}.
15923 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15924 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15925 The extension for @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
15927 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
15928 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
15929 The directory where the @acronym{NOV} files should be stored. If
15930 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15932 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15933 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15934 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
15935 default is @code{nil}.
15937 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15938 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15939 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
15941 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
15942 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
15943 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If
15944 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15949 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
15950 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
15951 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
15952 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
15953 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
15954 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
15957 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
15958 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
15960 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
15961 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
15962 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
15963 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
15964 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
15966 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
15967 typically done by @acronym{NNTP} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
15968 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
15969 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @acronym{NNTP} server), and
15970 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
15971 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
15972 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
15973 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
15976 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
15977 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
15978 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
15979 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
15984 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
15985 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
15986 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
15987 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
15988 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
15989 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
15990 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
15991 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
15992 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
15993 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
15994 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
15995 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
15996 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
16001 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
16002 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
16003 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
16004 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
16005 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
16006 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
16007 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
16008 Rmail was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
16009 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote Rmail
16010 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
16011 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
16012 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
16013 headers/status bits stuff. Rmail itself still exists as well, of
16014 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
16016 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
16017 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
16022 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
16023 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
16024 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
16025 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
16026 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
16027 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
16028 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
16029 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
16030 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
16031 @acronym{NNTP} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
16032 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
16033 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
16034 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
16035 provided by the active file and overviews.
16037 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
16038 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
16039 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
16040 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
16041 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
16044 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
16045 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
16050 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
16051 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
16052 individual files, but with little or no indexing support---@code{nnmh}
16053 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
16054 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
16055 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
16056 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
16060 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
16061 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
16062 itself puts @emph{all} one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
16063 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
16064 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
16065 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
16066 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
16067 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
16068 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
16070 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
16071 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
16072 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
16073 friendly mail back end all over.
16077 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses
16078 incompatible group parameters, slightly different from those of other
16081 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
16082 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
16083 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
16084 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
16085 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
16086 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
16087 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to
16088 @uref{http://www.namesys.com/, ReiserFS} or another non-block-structured
16091 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
16092 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
16093 This means you can skip Gnus' mail splitting if your mail is already
16094 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
16095 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
16096 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
16097 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
16098 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
16099 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
16100 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will not
16101 undergo treatment such as duplicate checking.
16103 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
16104 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
16105 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
16106 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
16107 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
16110 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
16111 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
16112 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
16113 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
16114 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
16115 would) to make it use less memory. This caching will probably be
16116 removed in the future.
16118 Startup is likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than with other
16119 back ends. Everything else is likely to be faster, depending in part
16120 on your file system.
16122 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
16123 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
16128 @node Browsing the Web
16129 @section Browsing the Web
16131 @cindex browsing the web
16135 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
16136 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
16137 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
16138 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
16139 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
16140 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
16141 even know what a news group is.
16143 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
16144 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
16145 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
16146 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
16147 you mad in the end.
16149 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
16152 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
16153 interfaces to these sources.
16157 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
16158 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
16159 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
16160 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
16161 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
16162 * Customizing W3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/W3 from Gnus.
16165 All the web sources require Emacs/W3 and the url library or those
16166 alternatives to work.
16168 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
16169 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @acronym{HTML} data
16170 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
16171 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
16172 though, you should be ok.
16174 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
16175 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
16176 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
16177 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
16178 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
16180 @node Archiving Mail
16181 @subsection Archiving Mail
16182 @cindex archiving mail
16183 @cindex backup of mail
16185 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
16186 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
16187 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
16188 marks is fairly simple.
16190 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
16191 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
16194 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
16195 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
16196 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
16197 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
16198 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
16199 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
16200 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
16201 before you restore the data.
16203 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
16204 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
16205 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
16206 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
16207 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
16208 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
16209 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
16210 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
16211 is unnecessary in that case.
16214 @subsection Web Searches
16219 @cindex Usenet searches
16220 @cindex searching the Usenet
16222 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
16223 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
16224 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
16225 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
16226 searches without having to use a browser.
16228 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
16229 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
16230 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
16231 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
16232 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
16234 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
16235 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
16236 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
16237 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
16238 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
16239 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
16240 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
16241 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
16242 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
16243 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
16246 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
16247 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
16248 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'@^etre} is to
16249 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
16250 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
16251 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
16253 You must have the @code{url} and @code{W3} package or those alternatives
16254 (try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{mm-url} variable group)
16255 installed to be able to use @code{nnweb}.
16257 Virtual server variables:
16262 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
16263 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
16264 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
16267 @vindex nnweb-search
16268 The search string to feed to the search engine.
16270 @item nnweb-max-hits
16271 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
16272 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
16275 @item nnweb-type-definition
16276 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
16277 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
16278 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
16283 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
16287 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
16290 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
16293 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
16297 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
16304 @subsection Slashdot
16308 @uref{http://slashdot.org/, Slashdot} is a popular news site, with
16309 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
16310 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
16312 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
16313 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
16316 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
16317 '((nnslashdot "")))
16320 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
16321 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
16322 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
16323 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
16324 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
16327 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
16328 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
16330 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
16331 comments), some light @acronym{HTML}izations will be performed. In
16332 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
16333 @samp{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @samp{br} added to
16334 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @acronym{HTML}
16335 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
16336 @acronym{HTML} forms.
16338 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
16341 @item nnslashdot-threaded
16342 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
16343 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
16344 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
16345 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
16346 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
16347 but much, much slower than unthreaded.
16349 @item nnslashdot-login-name
16350 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
16351 The login name to use when posting.
16353 @item nnslashdot-password
16354 @vindex nnslashdot-password
16355 The password to use when posting.
16357 @item nnslashdot-directory
16358 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
16359 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
16360 @file{~/News/slashdot/}.
16362 @item nnslashdot-active-url
16363 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
16364 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch the
16365 information on news articles and comments. The default is@*
16366 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
16368 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
16369 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
16370 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch comments.
16372 @item nnslashdot-article-url
16373 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
16374 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch the news
16375 article. The default is
16376 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
16378 @item nnslashdot-threshold
16379 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
16380 The score threshold. The default is -1.
16382 @item nnslashdot-group-number
16383 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
16384 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
16385 updated. The default is 0.
16392 @subsection Ultimate
16394 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
16396 @uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/, The Ultimate Bulletin Board} is
16397 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
16398 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
16399 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
16401 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
16402 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
16403 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @acronym{URL}
16404 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
16405 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
16406 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
16407 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
16409 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
16412 @item nnultimate-directory
16413 @vindex nnultimate-directory
16414 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is@*
16415 @file{~/News/ultimate/}.
16420 @subsection Web Archive
16422 @cindex Web Archive
16424 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
16425 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
16426 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
16427 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
16430 @findex gnus-group-make-warchive-group
16431 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
16432 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
16433 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET @var{an_egroup} RET egroups RET
16434 www.egroups.com RET @var{your@@email.address} RET}. (Substitute the
16435 @var{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
16436 @var{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
16437 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
16439 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
16442 @item nnwarchive-directory
16443 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
16444 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is@*
16445 @file{~/News/warchive/}.
16447 @item nnwarchive-login
16448 @vindex nnwarchive-login
16449 The account name on the web server.
16451 @item nnwarchive-passwd
16452 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
16453 The password for your account on the web server.
16461 Some web sites have an RDF Site Summary (@acronym{RSS}).
16462 @acronym{RSS} is a format for summarizing headlines from news related
16463 sites (such as BBC or CNN). But basically anything list-like can be
16464 presented as an @acronym{RSS} feed: weblogs, changelogs or recent
16465 changes to a wiki (e.g. @url{http://cliki.net/recent-changes.rdf}).
16467 @acronym{RSS} has a quite regular and nice interface, and it's
16468 possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
16470 Note: you had better use Emacs which supports the @code{utf-8} coding
16471 system because @acronym{RSS} uses UTF-8 for encoding non-@acronym{ASCII}
16472 text by default. It is also used by default for non-@acronym{ASCII}
16475 @kindex G R (Group)
16476 Use @kbd{G R} from the group buffer to subscribe to a feed---you will be
16477 prompted for the location, the title and the description of the feed.
16478 The title, which allows any characters, will be used for the group name
16479 and the name of the group data file. The description can be omitted.
16481 An easy way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something like
16482 the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET y}, then
16483 subscribe to groups.
16485 The @code{nnrss} back end saves the group data file in
16486 @code{nnrss-directory} (see below) for each @code{nnrss} group. File
16487 names containing non-@acronym{ASCII} characters will be encoded by the
16488 coding system specified with the @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system}
16489 variable. If it is @code{nil}, in Emacs the coding system defaults to
16490 the value of @code{default-file-name-coding-system}. If you are using
16491 XEmacs and want to use non-@acronym{ASCII} group names, you should set
16492 the value for the @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system} variable properly.
16494 The @code{nnrss} back end generates @samp{multipart/alternative}
16495 @acronym{MIME} articles in which each contains a @samp{text/plain} part
16496 and a @samp{text/html} part.
16499 You can also use the following commands to import and export your
16500 subscriptions from a file in @acronym{OPML} format (Outline Processor
16503 @defun nnrss-opml-import file
16504 Prompt for an @acronym{OPML} file, and subscribe to each feed in the
16508 @defun nnrss-opml-export
16509 Write your current @acronym{RSS} subscriptions to a buffer in
16510 @acronym{OPML} format.
16513 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
16516 @item nnrss-directory
16517 @vindex nnrss-directory
16518 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
16519 @file{~/News/rss/}.
16521 @item nnrss-file-coding-system
16522 @vindex nnrss-file-coding-system
16523 The coding system used when reading and writing the @code{nnrss} groups
16524 data files. The default is the value of
16525 @code{mm-universal-coding-system} (which defaults to @code{emacs-mule}
16526 in Emacs or @code{escape-quoted} in XEmacs).
16528 @item nnrss-use-local
16529 @vindex nnrss-use-local
16530 @findex nnrss-generate-download-script
16531 If you set @code{nnrss-use-local} to @code{t}, @code{nnrss} will read
16532 the feeds from local files in @code{nnrss-directory}. You can use
16533 the command @code{nnrss-generate-download-script} to generate a
16534 download script using @command{wget}.
16536 @item nnrss-wash-html-in-text-plain-parts
16537 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{nnrss} renders text in @samp{text/plain}
16538 parts as @acronym{HTML}. The function specified by the
16539 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} variable (@pxref{Display Customization,
16540 ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) will be used
16541 to render text. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default, text will
16542 simply be folded. Leave it @code{nil} if you prefer to see
16543 @samp{text/html} parts.
16546 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
16547 the summary buffer.
16550 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
16551 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
16553 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
16555 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
16556 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
16559 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
16563 (require 'browse-url)
16565 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
16567 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
16570 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
16571 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
16574 (browse-url (cdr url))
16575 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
16576 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
16578 (eval-after-load "gnus"
16579 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
16580 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
16581 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
16584 Even if you have added @code{"text/html"} to the
16585 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives} variable (@pxref{Display
16586 Customization, ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
16587 Manual}) since you don't want to see @acronym{HTML} parts, it might be
16588 more useful especially in @code{nnrss} groups to display
16589 @samp{text/html} parts. Here's an example of setting
16590 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives} as a group parameter (@pxref{Group
16591 Parameters}) in order to display @samp{text/html} parts only in
16592 @code{nnrss} groups:
16595 ;; @r{Set the default value of @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}.}
16596 (eval-after-load "gnus-sum"
16598 'gnus-newsgroup-variables
16599 '(mm-discouraged-alternatives
16600 . '("text/html" "image/.*"))))
16602 ;; @r{Display @samp{text/html} parts in @code{nnrss} groups.}
16605 '("\\`nnrss:" (mm-discouraged-alternatives nil)))
16609 @node Customizing W3
16610 @subsection Customizing W3
16616 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/W3 (or those
16617 alternatives) to display web pages. Emacs/W3 is documented in its own
16618 manual, but there are some things that may be more relevant for Gnus
16621 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/W3 follow links
16622 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
16623 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
16626 (eval-after-load "w3"
16628 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
16629 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
16630 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
16631 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
16633 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
16636 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in W3-rendered
16637 @acronym{HTML} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
16644 @cindex @acronym{IMAP}
16646 @acronym{IMAP} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or @dots{}),
16647 think of it as a modernized @acronym{NNTP}. Connecting to a @acronym{IMAP}
16648 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
16649 specify the network address of the server.
16651 @acronym{IMAP} has two properties. First, @acronym{IMAP} can do
16652 everything that @acronym{POP} can, it can hence be viewed as a
16653 @acronym{POP++}. Secondly, @acronym{IMAP} is a mail storage protocol,
16654 similar to @acronym{NNTP} being a news storage protocol---however,
16655 @acronym{IMAP} offers more features than @acronym{NNTP} because news
16656 is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
16658 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a @acronym{POP++}, use an imap
16659 entry in @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from
16660 the @acronym{IMAP} server and store them on the local disk. This is
16661 not the usage described in this section---@xref{Mail Sources}.
16663 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
16664 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
16665 manipulate mails stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server. This is the kind of
16666 usage explained in this section.
16668 A server configuration in @file{~/.gnus.el} with a few @acronym{IMAP}
16669 servers might look something like the following. (Note that for
16670 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you need external programs and libraries,
16674 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
16675 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; @r{no special configuration}
16676 ; @r{perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:}
16678 (nnimap-address "localhost")
16679 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
16680 ; @r{a UW server running on localhost}
16682 (nnimap-server-port 143)
16683 (nnimap-address "localhost")
16684 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
16685 ; @r{anonymous public cyrus server:}
16686 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
16687 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
16688 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
16689 (nnimap-stream network))
16690 ; @r{a ssl server on a non-standard port:}
16692 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
16693 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
16694 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
16697 After defining the new server, you can subscribe to groups on the
16698 server using normal Gnus commands such as @kbd{U} in the Group Buffer
16699 (@pxref{Subscription Commands}) or via the Server Buffer
16700 (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
16702 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
16707 @item nnimap-address
16708 @vindex nnimap-address
16710 The address of the remote @acronym{IMAP} server. Defaults to the virtual
16711 server name if not specified.
16713 @item nnimap-server-port
16714 @vindex nnimap-server-port
16715 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}.
16717 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
16720 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16721 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
16724 @item nnimap-list-pattern
16725 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
16726 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
16727 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
16728 interested in a few---some servers export your home directory via
16729 @acronym{IMAP}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
16730 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
16732 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
16733 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
16734 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
16737 Example server specification:
16740 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16741 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
16742 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
16745 @item nnimap-stream
16746 @vindex nnimap-stream
16747 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
16748 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
16749 of @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}. (@acronym{IMAP} over
16750 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can
16751 be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
16753 Example server specification:
16756 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16757 (nnimap-stream ssl))
16760 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
16764 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
16765 @samp{gsasl} or @samp{imtest} program.
16767 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
16769 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
16770 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
16773 @dfn{tls:} Connect through @acronym{TLS}. Requires GNUTLS (the program
16774 @samp{gnutls-cli}).
16776 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through @acronym{SSL}. Requires OpenSSL (the program
16777 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
16779 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @acronym{IMAP} connection.
16781 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
16784 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
16785 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
16786 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
16787 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
16788 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
16789 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
16790 restrictions on @acronym{IMAP} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
16791 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
16792 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
16795 For @acronym{TLS} connection, the @code{gnutls-cli} program from GNUTLS is
16796 needed. It is available from
16797 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/}.
16799 @vindex imap-gssapi-program
16800 This parameter specifies a list of command lines that invoke a GSSAPI
16801 authenticated @acronym{IMAP} stream in a subshell. They are tried
16802 sequentially until a connection is made, or the list has been
16803 exhausted. By default, @samp{gsasl} from GNU SASL, available from
16804 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gsasl/}, and the @samp{imtest}
16805 program from Cyrus IMAPD (see @code{imap-kerberos4-program}), are
16808 @vindex imap-ssl-program
16809 For @acronym{SSL} connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
16810 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
16811 and nnimap support it too---although the most recent versions of
16812 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
16813 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
16814 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
16817 @vindex imap-shell-program
16818 @vindex imap-shell-host
16819 For @acronym{IMAP} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
16820 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
16822 @item nnimap-authenticator
16823 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
16825 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
16826 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
16828 Example server specification:
16831 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16832 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
16835 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
16839 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
16840 external program @code{gsasl} or @code{imtest}.
16842 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
16845 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
16846 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
16848 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
16850 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
16852 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as ``anonymous'', supplying your email address as password.
16855 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
16857 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
16858 Unlike Parmenides the @acronym{IMAP} designers have decided things that
16859 don't exist actually do exist. More specifically, @acronym{IMAP} has
16860 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
16861 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
16862 nnimap does when you delete an article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
16865 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
16866 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
16867 running in circles yet?
16869 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
16870 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
16873 The possible options are:
16878 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as ``Deleted'' when
16881 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
16882 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @acronym{IMAP} clients
16883 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
16884 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
16886 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
16891 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
16892 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
16894 If non-@code{nil} (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as
16895 well), for other @acronym{IMAP} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
16896 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
16897 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @acronym{IMAP}
16898 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @acronym{IMAP}
16901 Probably the only reason for frobbing this would be if you're trying
16902 enable per-user persistent dormant flags, using something like:
16905 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
16906 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
16907 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
16908 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
16911 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
16912 as ticked for other users.
16914 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
16916 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
16917 @cindex expiring @acronym{IMAP} mail
16919 This variable contain the @acronym{IMAP} search command sent to server when
16920 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
16921 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
16922 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
16924 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
16925 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
16926 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
16927 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
16929 However, if @code{nnimap-search-uids-not-since-is-evil}
16930 is true, this variable has no effect since the search logic
16931 is reversed, as described below.
16933 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
16934 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
16936 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
16937 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
16938 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
16939 @ref{NNTP}. An example of an .authinfo line for an IMAP server, is:
16942 machine students.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis port imap
16945 Note that it should be @code{port imap}, or @code{port 143}, if you
16946 use a @code{nnimap-stream} of @code{tls} or @code{ssl}, even if the
16947 actual port number used is port 993 for secured IMAP. For
16948 convenience, Gnus will accept @code{port imaps} as a synonym of
16951 @item nnimap-need-unselect-to-notice-new-mail
16952 @vindex nnimap-need-unselect-to-notice-new-mail
16954 Unselect mailboxes before looking for new mail in them. Some servers
16955 seem to need this under some circumstances; it was reported that
16958 @item nnimap-nov-is-evil
16959 @vindex nnimap-nov-is-evil
16960 @cindex Courier @acronym{IMAP} server
16961 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
16963 Never generate or use a local @acronym{NOV} database. Defaults to the
16964 value of @code{gnus-agent}.
16966 Using a @acronym{NOV} database usually makes header fetching much
16967 faster, but it uses the @code{UID SEARCH UID} command, which is very
16968 slow on some servers (notably some versions of Courier). Since the Gnus
16969 Agent caches the information in the @acronym{NOV} database without using
16970 the slow command, this variable defaults to true if the Agent is in use,
16971 and false otherwise.
16973 @item nnimap-search-uids-not-since-is-evil
16974 @vindex nnimap-search-uids-not-since-is-evil
16975 @cindex Courier @acronym{IMAP} server
16976 @cindex expiring @acronym{IMAP} mail
16978 Avoid the @code{UID SEARCH UID @var{message numbers} NOT SINCE
16979 @var{date}} command, which is slow on some @acronym{IMAP} servers
16980 (notably, some versions of Courier). Instead, use @code{UID SEARCH SINCE
16981 @var{date}} and prune the list of expirable articles within Gnus.
16983 When Gnus expires your mail (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), it starts with a
16984 list of expirable articles and asks the IMAP server questions like ``Of
16985 these articles, which ones are older than a week?'' While this seems
16986 like a perfectly reasonable question, some IMAP servers take a long time
16987 to answer it, since they seemingly go looking into every old article to
16988 see if it is one of the expirable ones. Curiously, the question ``Of
16989 @emph{all} articles, which ones are newer than a week?'' seems to be
16990 much faster to answer, so setting this variable causes Gnus to ask this
16991 question and figure out the answer to the real question itself.
16993 This problem can really sneak up on you: when you first configure Gnus,
16994 everything works fine, but once you accumulate a couple thousand
16995 messages, you start cursing Gnus for being so slow. On the other hand,
16996 if you get a lot of email within a week, setting this variable will
16997 cause a lot of network traffic between Gnus and the IMAP server.
17002 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
17003 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
17004 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
17005 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
17006 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
17007 * Debugging IMAP:: What to do when things don't work.
17012 @node Splitting in IMAP
17013 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
17014 @cindex splitting imap mail
17016 Splitting is something Gnus users have loved and used for years, and now
17017 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
17018 @acronym{IMAP} servers have server side splitting and those that have
17019 splitting seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that
17020 @acronym{IMAP} support for Gnus has to do its own splitting.
17024 (Incidentally, people seem to have been dreaming on, and Sieve has
17025 gaining a market share and is supported by several IMAP servers.
17026 Fortunately, Gnus support it too, @xref{Sieve Commands}.)
17028 Here are the variables of interest:
17032 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
17033 @cindex splitting, crosspost
17035 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
17037 If non-@code{nil}, do crossposting if several split methods match the
17038 mail. If @code{nil}, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule}
17039 found will be used.
17041 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
17043 @item nnimap-split-inbox
17044 @cindex splitting, inbox
17046 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
17048 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @acronym{IMAP}
17049 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to @code{nil}, which means that
17050 splitting is disabled!
17053 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
17054 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
17057 No nnmail equivalent.
17059 @item nnimap-split-rule
17060 @cindex splitting, rules
17061 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
17063 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
17066 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
17067 sublist gives the name of the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox to move articles
17068 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
17069 Neither did I, we need examples.
17072 (setq nnimap-split-rule
17074 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
17075 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
17076 ("INBOX.private" "")))
17079 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
17080 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
17081 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
17083 The first string may contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by
17084 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
17088 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
17091 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
17092 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
17094 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
17095 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
17096 containing the headers of the article. It should return a
17097 non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
17099 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
17100 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
17101 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
17102 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
17103 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
17104 them every time you fetch new mail.)
17106 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
17107 end. The first rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have
17108 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.
17110 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
17111 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
17112 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
17114 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
17116 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
17117 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
17118 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
17121 (setq nnimap-split-rule
17122 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
17123 ("junk" "From:.*Simon"))))
17124 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
17125 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
17126 ("junk" my-junk-func))))))
17129 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
17130 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
17131 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
17132 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
17133 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
17134 group/function elements.
17136 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
17138 @item nnimap-split-predicate
17140 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
17142 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
17143 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
17145 This might be useful if you use another @acronym{IMAP} client to read mail in
17146 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
17147 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
17150 @item nnimap-split-fancy
17151 @cindex splitting, fancy
17152 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
17153 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
17155 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
17156 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
17157 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
17159 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
17160 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
17161 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
17162 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
17167 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
17168 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
17171 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
17173 @item nnimap-split-download-body
17174 @findex nnimap-split-download-body
17175 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
17177 Set to non-@code{nil} to download entire articles during splitting.
17178 This is generally not required, and will slow things down
17179 considerably. You may need it if you want to use an advanced
17180 splitting function that analyzes the body to split the article.
17184 @node Expiring in IMAP
17185 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
17186 @cindex expiring @acronym{IMAP} mail
17188 Even though @code{nnimap} is not a proper @code{nnmail} derived back
17189 end, it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring
17190 Mail}). Unlike splitting in @acronym{IMAP} (@pxref{Splitting in
17191 IMAP}) it does not clone the @code{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating
17192 @var{nnimap-expiry-wait}) but reuse the @code{nnmail} variables. What
17193 follows below are the variables used by the @code{nnimap} expiry
17196 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server is
17197 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
17198 @code{imap} client specific mark, @code{gnus-expire}, and stored on the
17199 message. This means that likely only Gnus will understand and treat
17200 the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may allow
17201 you to view client specific flags on the message. It also means that
17202 your server must support permanent storage of client specific flags on
17203 messages. Most do, fortunately.
17205 If expiring @acronym{IMAP} mail seems very slow, try setting the server
17206 variable @code{nnimap-search-uids-not-since-is-evil}.
17210 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
17211 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
17213 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
17214 number, the symbol @code{immediate} or @code{never}.
17216 @item nnmail-expiry-target
17218 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
17219 @code{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
17220 that if the destination is a @acronym{IMAP} group on the same server, the
17221 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
17225 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
17226 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
17227 @cindex editing imap acls
17228 @cindex Access Control Lists
17229 @cindex Editing @acronym{IMAP} ACLs
17230 @kindex G l (Group)
17231 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
17233 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @acronym{IMAP} for
17234 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
17235 @acronym{IMAP} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
17238 To edit an ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
17239 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with an ACL
17240 editing window with detailed instructions.
17242 Some possible uses:
17246 Giving ``anyone'' the ``lrs'' rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
17247 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
17248 follow the list without subscribing to it.
17250 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
17251 ``anyone'' posting ("p") capabilities to have ``plussing'' work (that is,
17252 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox
17256 @node Expunging mailboxes
17257 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
17261 @cindex manual expunging
17262 @kindex G x (Group)
17263 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
17265 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
17266 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
17267 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
17269 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
17272 @node A note on namespaces
17273 @subsection A note on namespaces
17274 @cindex IMAP namespace
17277 The @acronym{IMAP} protocol has a concept called namespaces, described
17278 by the following text in the RFC2060:
17281 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
17283 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
17284 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
17285 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
17286 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
17288 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
17289 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
17290 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
17291 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
17292 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
17293 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
17296 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the
17297 @acronym{IMAP} implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace
17298 prefixes in a way that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
17300 Specifically, University of Washington's @acronym{IMAP} server uses
17301 mailbox names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only
17302 in the @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is
17303 created (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed
17304 without the namespace prefix, i.e. @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do
17305 not make it possible for the user to guarantee that user entered
17306 mailbox names will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands,
17307 you should simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in
17310 See the UoW IMAPD documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
17311 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
17312 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
17314 @node Debugging IMAP
17315 @subsection Debugging IMAP
17316 @cindex IMAP debugging
17317 @cindex protocol dump (IMAP)
17319 @acronym{IMAP} is a complex protocol, more so than @acronym{NNTP} or
17320 @acronym{POP3}. Implementation bugs are not unlikely, and we do our
17321 best to fix them right away. If you encounter odd behavior, chances
17322 are that either the server or Gnus is buggy.
17324 If you are familiar with network protocols in general, you will
17325 probably be able to extract some clues from the protocol dump of the
17326 exchanges between Gnus and the server. Even if you are not familiar
17327 with network protocols, when you include the protocol dump in
17328 @acronym{IMAP}-related bug reports you are helping us with data
17329 critical to solving the problem. Therefore, we strongly encourage you
17330 to include the protocol dump when reporting IMAP bugs in Gnus.
17334 Because the protocol dump, when enabled, generates lots of data, it is
17335 disabled by default. You can enable it by setting @code{imap-log} as
17342 This instructs the @code{imap.el} package to log any exchanges with
17343 the server. The log is stored in the buffer @samp{*imap-log*}. Look
17344 for error messages, which sometimes are tagged with the keyword
17345 @code{BAD}---but when submitting a bug, make sure to include all the
17348 @node Other Sources
17349 @section Other Sources
17351 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
17352 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
17356 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
17357 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
17358 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
17359 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
17360 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
17364 @node Directory Groups
17365 @subsection Directory Groups
17367 @cindex directory groups
17369 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
17370 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
17373 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
17374 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
17375 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
17376 back end to read directories. Big deal.
17378 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
17379 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
17380 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
17381 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
17382 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
17384 @code{nndir} will use @acronym{NOV} files if they are present.
17386 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
17387 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
17388 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
17389 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
17392 @node Anything Groups
17393 @subsection Anything Groups
17396 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
17397 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
17398 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
17401 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
17402 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
17403 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
17404 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
17405 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
17406 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
17407 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
17408 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
17409 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
17410 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
17413 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
17414 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
17415 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
17416 in the article buffer, just as usual.
17418 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
17419 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
17420 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
17421 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
17423 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
17424 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
17425 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
17426 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
17427 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
17428 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
17429 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
17430 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
17435 @item nneething-map-file-directory
17436 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
17437 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
17438 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
17440 @item nneething-exclude-files
17441 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
17442 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
17443 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
17445 @item nneething-include-files
17446 @vindex nneething-include-files
17447 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
17448 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
17450 @item nneething-map-file
17451 @vindex nneething-map-file
17452 Name of the map files.
17456 @node Document Groups
17457 @subsection Document Groups
17459 @cindex documentation group
17462 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
17463 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
17469 The Babyl (Rmail) mail box.
17474 The standard Unix mbox file.
17476 @cindex MMDF mail box
17478 The MMDF mail box format.
17481 Several news articles appended into a file.
17483 @cindex rnews batch files
17485 The rnews batch transport format.
17488 Netscape mail boxes.
17491 @acronym{MIME} multipart messages.
17493 @item standard-digest
17494 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
17497 A @acronym{MIME} digest of messages.
17499 @item lanl-gov-announce
17500 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
17502 @cindex forwarded messages
17503 @item rfc822-forward
17504 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
17507 The Outlook mail box.
17510 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
17513 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
17516 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
17519 An RFC934-forwarded message.
17525 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
17528 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
17534 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
17535 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
17536 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
17539 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
17540 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
17541 group. And that's it.
17543 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
17544 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
17545 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
17546 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
17547 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
17548 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
17549 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
17550 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
17551 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
17552 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
17554 Virtual server variables:
17557 @item nndoc-article-type
17558 @vindex nndoc-article-type
17559 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
17560 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
17561 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
17562 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
17563 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
17565 @item nndoc-post-type
17566 @vindex nndoc-post-type
17567 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
17568 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
17573 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
17577 @node Document Server Internals
17578 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
17580 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
17581 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
17582 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
17583 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
17585 First, here's an example document type definition:
17589 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
17590 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
17593 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
17594 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
17595 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
17596 types can be defined with very few settings:
17599 @item first-article
17600 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
17601 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
17604 @item article-begin
17605 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
17606 says what the beginning of each article looks like. To do more
17607 complicated things that cannot be dealt with a simple regexp, you can
17608 use @code{article-begin-function} instead of this.
17610 @item article-begin-function
17611 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the beginning
17612 of each article. This setting overrides @code{article-begin}.
17615 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
17616 article. To do more complicated things that cannot be dealt with a
17617 simple regexp, you can use @code{head-begin-function} instead of this.
17619 @item head-begin-function
17620 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
17621 the article. This setting overrides @code{head-begin}.
17624 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
17625 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
17628 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
17629 to @samp{^\n}. To do more complicated things that cannot be dealt with
17630 a simple regexp, you can use @code{body-begin-function} instead of this.
17632 @item body-begin-function
17633 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
17634 of the article. This setting overrides @code{body-begin}.
17637 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article. To do
17638 more complicated things that cannot be dealt with a simple regexp, you
17639 can use @code{body-end-function} instead of this.
17641 @item body-end-function
17642 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
17643 the article. This setting overrides @code{body-end}.
17646 If present, this should match the beginning of the file. All text
17647 before this regexp will be totally ignored.
17650 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
17651 regexp will be totally ignored.
17655 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
17656 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
17657 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
17658 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
17659 something that's palatable for Gnus:
17662 @item prepare-body-function
17663 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
17664 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
17665 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
17667 @item article-transform-function
17668 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
17669 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
17670 body of the article.
17672 @item generate-head-function
17673 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
17674 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
17675 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
17676 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
17678 @item generate-article-function
17679 If present, this function is called to generate an entire article that
17680 Gnus can understand. It is called with the article number as a
17681 parameter when requesting all articles.
17683 @item dissection-function
17684 If present, this function is called to dissect a document by itself,
17685 overriding @code{first-article}, @code{article-begin},
17686 @code{article-begin-function}, @code{head-begin},
17687 @code{head-begin-function}, @code{head-end}, @code{body-begin},
17688 @code{body-begin-function}, @code{body-end}, @code{body-end-function},
17689 @code{file-begin}, and @code{file-end}.
17693 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
17698 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
17699 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
17700 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
17701 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
17702 (head-end . "^ ?$")
17703 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
17704 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
17705 (subtype digest guess))
17708 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
17709 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
17710 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
17711 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
17712 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
17714 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
17715 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first
17716 is the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says
17717 where in the document type definition alist to put this definition.
17718 The alist is traversed sequentially, and
17719 @code{nndoc-@var{type}-type-p} is called for a given type @var{type}.
17720 So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document is of
17721 @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
17722 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it
17723 is of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
17724 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number
17725 means low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
17733 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
17734 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
17735 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
17737 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
17738 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
17739 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
17742 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
17743 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
17744 that interested in doing things properly.
17746 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
17747 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
17750 First some terminology:
17755 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
17756 get news and/or mail from.
17759 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
17760 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
17763 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
17767 @item message packets
17768 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
17769 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
17770 default, where @var{x} is a number.
17772 @item response packets
17773 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
17774 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
17775 default, where @var{x} is a number.
17785 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
17786 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
17787 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
17788 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
17791 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
17794 You put the packet in your home directory.
17797 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
17798 the native or secondary server.
17801 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
17802 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
17805 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
17809 You transfer this packet to the server.
17812 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
17815 You then repeat until you die.
17819 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
17820 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
17823 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
17824 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
17825 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
17829 @node SOUP Commands
17830 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
17832 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
17836 @kindex G s b (Group)
17837 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
17838 Pack all unread articles in the current group
17839 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
17840 process/prefix convention.
17843 @kindex G s w (Group)
17844 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
17845 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
17848 @kindex G s s (Group)
17849 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
17850 Send all replies from the replies packet
17851 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
17854 @kindex G s p (Group)
17855 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
17856 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
17859 @kindex G s r (Group)
17860 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
17861 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
17864 @kindex O s (Summary)
17865 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
17866 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
17867 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
17868 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17873 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
17878 @item gnus-soup-directory
17879 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
17880 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
17881 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
17883 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
17884 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
17885 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
17886 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
17888 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
17889 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
17890 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
17891 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
17893 @item gnus-soup-packer
17894 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
17895 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
17896 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
17898 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
17899 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
17900 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
17901 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
17903 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
17904 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
17905 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
17907 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
17908 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
17909 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
17910 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
17916 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
17919 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
17920 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
17921 you can read them at leisure.
17923 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
17927 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
17928 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
17929 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
17930 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
17932 @item nnsoup-directory
17933 @vindex nnsoup-directory
17934 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
17935 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
17937 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
17938 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
17939 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
17940 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/}.
17942 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
17943 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
17944 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
17945 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
17946 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
17948 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
17949 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
17950 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
17951 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
17953 @item nnsoup-active-file
17954 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
17955 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
17956 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
17957 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
17958 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
17960 @item nnsoup-packer
17961 @vindex nnsoup-packer
17962 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
17963 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
17965 @item nnsoup-unpacker
17966 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
17967 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
17968 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
17970 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
17971 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
17972 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
17975 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
17976 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
17977 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
17980 @item nnsoup-always-save
17981 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
17982 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
17988 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
17990 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
17991 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
17992 more for that to happen.
17994 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
17995 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
17996 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
17999 In specific, this is what it does:
18002 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
18003 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
18006 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
18007 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
18008 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
18011 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
18012 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
18013 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
18016 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
18017 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
18018 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
18020 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
18026 @item nngateway-address
18027 @vindex nngateway-address
18028 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
18030 @item nngateway-header-transformation
18031 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
18032 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
18033 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
18034 transformation should be called, and defaults to
18035 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
18036 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
18039 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
18040 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
18041 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
18044 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
18047 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
18050 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
18053 The following pre-defined functions exist:
18055 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
18058 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
18059 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
18060 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
18062 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
18064 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
18065 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
18066 @code{nngateway-address}.
18074 (setq gnus-post-method
18076 "mail2news@@replay.com"
18077 (nngateway-header-transformation
18078 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
18081 So, to use this, simply say something like:
18084 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
18089 @node Combined Groups
18090 @section Combined Groups
18092 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
18096 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
18097 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
18101 @node Virtual Groups
18102 @subsection Virtual Groups
18104 @cindex virtual groups
18105 @cindex merging groups
18107 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
18110 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
18111 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
18112 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
18114 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
18115 regexp to match component groups.
18117 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
18118 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
18119 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
18120 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
18121 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
18122 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
18123 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
18124 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
18126 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
18127 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
18130 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
18133 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
18134 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
18136 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
18137 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
18138 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
18139 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
18142 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
18145 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
18146 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
18147 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
18149 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
18150 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
18151 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
18152 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
18153 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
18155 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
18156 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
18157 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
18159 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
18160 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} variable is non-@code{nil} (which
18161 is the default), @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread
18162 articles when entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil}
18163 and you read articles in a component group after the virtual group has
18164 been activated, the read articles from the component group will show up
18165 when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this effect if you
18166 have two virtual groups that have a component group in common. If
18167 that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}. Or you can
18168 just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before you enter
18169 it---it'll have much the same effect.
18171 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
18172 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
18173 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
18174 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
18175 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
18176 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
18177 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
18179 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
18180 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
18182 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
18183 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
18187 @node Kibozed Groups
18188 @subsection Kibozed Groups
18192 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by the @acronym{OED} as ``grepping through
18193 (parts of) the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will
18194 do this for you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @acronym{NNTP} server
18195 down to a halt with useless requests! Oh happiness!
18197 @kindex G k (Group)
18198 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
18201 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
18202 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
18203 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between
18204 @code{nnkiboze} and @code{nnvirtual} end.
18206 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an
18207 @code{nnkiboze} group must have a score file to say what articles are
18208 to be included in the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
18210 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
18211 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
18212 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
18213 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time.
18214 Lots of time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the
18215 headers from all the articles in all the component groups and run them
18216 through the scoring process to determine if there are any articles in
18217 the groups that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
18219 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
18220 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
18221 @acronym{NNTP} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
18222 Stranger things have happened.
18224 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
18225 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
18227 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
18228 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
18229 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/kiboze/} by default.
18230 One contains the @acronym{NOV} header lines for all the articles in
18231 the group, and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store
18232 information on what groups have been searched through to find
18233 component articles.
18235 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
18236 their @acronym{NOV} lines removed from the @acronym{NOV} file.
18239 @node Email Based Diary
18240 @section Email Based Diary
18242 @cindex email based diary
18245 This section describes a special mail back end called @code{nndiary},
18246 and its companion library @code{gnus-diary}. It is ``special'' in the
18247 sense that it is not meant to be one of the standard alternatives for
18248 reading mail with Gnus. See @ref{Choosing a Mail Back End} for that.
18249 Instead, it is used to treat @emph{some} of your mails in a special way,
18250 namely, as event reminders.
18252 Here is a typical scenario:
18256 You've got a date with Andy Mc Dowell or Bruce Willis (select according
18257 to your sexual preference) in one month. You don't want to forget it.
18259 So you send a ``reminder'' message (actually, a diary one) to yourself.
18261 You forget all about it and keep on getting and reading new mail, as usual.
18263 From time to time, as you type `g' in the group buffer and as the date
18264 is getting closer, the message will pop up again to remind you of your
18265 appointment, just as if it were new and unread.
18267 Read your ``new'' messages, this one included, and start dreaming again
18268 of the night you're gonna have.
18270 Once the date is over (you actually fell asleep just after dinner), the
18271 message will be automatically deleted if it is marked as expirable.
18274 The Gnus Diary back end has the ability to handle regular appointments
18275 (that wouldn't ever be deleted) as well as punctual ones, operates as a
18276 real mail back end and is configurable in many ways. All of this is
18277 explained in the sections below.
18280 * The NNDiary Back End:: Basic setup and usage.
18281 * The Gnus Diary Library:: Utility toolkit on top of nndiary.
18282 * Sending or Not Sending:: A final note on sending diary messages.
18286 @node The NNDiary Back End
18287 @subsection The NNDiary Back End
18289 @cindex the nndiary back end
18291 @code{nndiary} is a back end very similar to @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
18292 Spool}). Actually, it could appear as a mix of @code{nnml} and
18293 @code{nndraft}. If you know @code{nnml}, you're already familiar with
18294 the message storing scheme of @code{nndiary}: one file per message, one
18295 directory per group.
18297 Before anything, there is one requirement to be able to run
18298 @code{nndiary} properly: you @emph{must} use the group timestamp feature
18299 of Gnus. This adds a timestamp to each group's parameters. @ref{Group
18300 Timestamp} to see how it's done.
18303 * Diary Messages:: What makes a message valid for nndiary.
18304 * Running NNDiary:: NNDiary has two modes of operation.
18305 * Customizing NNDiary:: Bells and whistles.
18308 @node Diary Messages
18309 @subsubsection Diary Messages
18310 @cindex nndiary messages
18311 @cindex nndiary mails
18313 @code{nndiary} messages are just normal ones, except for the mandatory
18314 presence of 7 special headers. These headers are of the form
18315 @code{X-Diary-<something>}, @code{<something>} being one of
18316 @code{Minute}, @code{Hour}, @code{Dom}, @code{Month}, @code{Year},
18317 @code{Time-Zone} and @code{Dow}. @code{Dom} means ``Day of Month'', and
18318 @code{dow} means ``Day of Week''. These headers actually behave like
18319 crontab specifications and define the event date(s):
18323 For all headers except the @code{Time-Zone} one, a header value is
18324 either a star (meaning all possible values), or a list of fields
18325 (separated by a comma).
18327 A field is either an integer, or a range.
18329 A range is two integers separated by a dash.
18331 Possible integer values are 0--59 for @code{Minute}, 0--23 for
18332 @code{Hour}, 1--31 for @code{Dom}, 1--12 for @code{Month}, above 1971
18333 for @code{Year} and 0--6 for @code{Dow} (0 meaning Sunday).
18335 As a special case, a star in either @code{Dom} or @code{Dow} doesn't
18336 mean ``all possible values'', but ``use only the other field''. Note
18337 that if both are star'ed, the use of either one gives the same result.
18339 The @code{Time-Zone} header is special in that it can only have one
18340 value (@code{GMT}, for instance). A star doesn't mean ``all possible
18341 values'' (because it makes no sense), but ``the current local time
18342 zone''. Most of the time, you'll be using a star here. However, for a
18343 list of available time zone values, see the variable
18344 @code{nndiary-headers}.
18347 As a concrete example, here are the diary headers to add to your message
18348 for specifying ``Each Monday and each 1st of month, at 12:00, 20:00,
18349 21:00, 22:00, 23:00 and 24:00, from 1999 to 2010'' (I'll let you find
18354 X-Diary-Hour: 12, 20-24
18357 X-Diary-Year: 1999-2010
18359 X-Diary-Time-Zone: *
18362 @node Running NNDiary
18363 @subsubsection Running NNDiary
18364 @cindex running nndiary
18365 @cindex nndiary operation modes
18367 @code{nndiary} has two modes of operation: ``traditional'' (the default)
18368 and ``autonomous''. In traditional mode, @code{nndiary} does not get new
18369 mail by itself. You have to move (@kbd{B m}) or copy (@kbd{B c}) mails
18370 from your primary mail back end to nndiary groups in order to handle them
18371 as diary messages. In autonomous mode, @code{nndiary} retrieves its own
18372 mail and handles it independently from your primary mail back end.
18374 One should note that Gnus is not inherently designed to allow several
18375 ``master'' mail back ends at the same time. However, this does make
18376 sense with @code{nndiary}: you really want to send and receive diary
18377 messages to your diary groups directly. So, @code{nndiary} supports
18378 being sort of a ``second primary mail back end'' (to my knowledge, it is
18379 the only back end offering this feature). However, there is a limitation
18380 (which I hope to fix some day): respooling doesn't work in autonomous
18383 In order to use @code{nndiary} in autonomous mode, you have several
18388 Allow @code{nndiary} to retrieve new mail by itself. Put the following
18389 line in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
18392 (setq nndiary-get-new-mail t)
18395 You must arrange for diary messages (those containing @code{X-Diary-*}
18396 headers) to be split in a private folder @emph{before} Gnus treat them.
18397 Again, this is needed because Gnus cannot (yet ?) properly handle
18398 multiple primary mail back ends. Getting those messages from a separate
18399 source will compensate this misfeature to some extent.
18401 As an example, here's my procmailrc entry to store diary files in
18402 @file{~/.nndiary} (the default @code{nndiary} mail source file):
18411 Once this is done, you might want to customize the following two options
18412 that affect the diary mail retrieval and splitting processes:
18414 @defvar nndiary-mail-sources
18415 This is the diary-specific replacement for the standard
18416 @code{mail-sources} variable. It obeys the same syntax, and defaults to
18417 @code{(file :path "~/.nndiary")}.
18420 @defvar nndiary-split-methods
18421 This is the diary-specific replacement for the standard
18422 @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable. It obeys the same syntax.
18425 Finally, you may add a permanent @code{nndiary} virtual server
18426 (something like @code{(nndiary "diary")} should do) to your
18427 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}.
18429 Hopefully, almost everything (see the TODO section in
18430 @file{nndiary.el}) will work as expected when you restart Gnus: in
18431 autonomous mode, typing @kbd{g} and @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer, will
18432 also get your new diary mails and split them according to your
18433 diary-specific rules, @kbd{F} will find your new diary groups etc.
18435 @node Customizing NNDiary
18436 @subsubsection Customizing NNDiary
18437 @cindex customizing nndiary
18438 @cindex nndiary customization
18440 Now that @code{nndiary} is up and running, it's time to customize it.
18441 The custom group is called @code{nndiary} (no, really ?!). You should
18442 browse it to figure out which options you'd like to tweak. The following
18443 two variables are probably the only ones you will want to change:
18445 @defvar nndiary-reminders
18446 This is the list of times when you want to be reminded of your
18447 appointements (e.g. 3 weeks before, then 2 days before, then 1 hour
18448 before and that's it). Remember that ``being reminded'' means that the
18449 diary message will pop up as brand new and unread again when you get new
18453 @defvar nndiary-week-starts-on-monday
18454 Rather self-explanatory. Otherwise, Sunday is assumed (this is the
18459 @node The Gnus Diary Library
18460 @subsection The Gnus Diary Library
18462 @cindex the gnus diary library
18464 Using @code{nndiary} manually (I mean, writing the headers by hand and
18465 so on) would be rather boring. Fortunately, there is a library called
18466 @code{gnus-diary} written on top of @code{nndiary}, that does many
18467 useful things for you.
18469 In order to use it, add the following line to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
18472 (require 'gnus-diary)
18475 Also, you shouldn't use any @code{gnus-user-format-function-[d|D]}
18476 (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}). @code{gnus-diary} provides both of these
18477 (sorry if you used them before).
18481 * Diary Summary Line Format:: A nicer summary buffer line format.
18482 * Diary Articles Sorting:: A nicer way to sort messages.
18483 * Diary Headers Generation:: Not doing it manually.
18484 * Diary Group Parameters:: Not handling them manually.
18487 @node Diary Summary Line Format
18488 @subsubsection Diary Summary Line Format
18489 @cindex diary summary buffer line
18490 @cindex diary summary line format
18492 Displaying diary messages in standard summary line format (usually
18493 something like @samp{From Joe: Subject}) is pretty useless. Most of
18494 the time, you're the one who wrote the message, and you mostly want to
18495 see the event's date.
18497 @code{gnus-diary} provides two supplemental user formats to be used in
18498 summary line formats. @code{D} corresponds to a formatted time string
18499 for the next occurrence of the event (e.g. ``Sat, Sep 22 01, 12:00''),
18500 while @code{d} corresponds to an approximative remaining time until the
18501 next occurrence of the event (e.g. ``in 6 months, 1 week'').
18503 For example, here's how Joe's birthday is displayed in my
18504 @code{nndiary+diary:birthdays} summary buffer (note that the message is
18505 expirable, but will never be deleted, as it specifies a periodic event):
18508 E Sat, Sep 22 01, 12:00: Joe's birthday (in 6 months, 1 week)
18511 In order to get something like the above, you would normally add the
18512 following line to your diary groups'parameters:
18515 (gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z %uD: %(%s%) (%ud)\n")
18518 However, @code{gnus-diary} does it automatically (@pxref{Diary Group
18519 Parameters}). You can however customize the provided summary line format
18520 with the following user options:
18522 @defvar gnus-diary-summary-line-format
18523 Defines the summary line format used for diary groups (@pxref{Summary
18524 Buffer Lines}). @code{gnus-diary} uses it to automatically update the
18525 diary groups'parameters.
18528 @defvar gnus-diary-time-format
18529 Defines the format to display dates in diary summary buffers. This is
18530 used by the @code{D} user format. See the docstring for details.
18533 @defvar gnus-diary-delay-format-function
18534 Defines the format function to use for displaying delays (remaining
18535 times) in diary summary buffers. This is used by the @code{d} user
18536 format. There are currently built-in functions for English and French;
18537 you can also define your own. See the docstring for details.
18540 @node Diary Articles Sorting
18541 @subsubsection Diary Articles Sorting
18542 @cindex diary articles sorting
18543 @cindex diary summary lines sorting
18544 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule
18545 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-schedule
18546 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-schedule
18548 @code{gnus-diary} provides new sorting functions (@pxref{Sorting the
18549 Summary Buffer} ) called @code{gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule},
18550 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-schedule} and
18551 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-schedule}. These functions let you organize
18552 your diary summary buffers from the closest event to the farthest one.
18554 @code{gnus-diary} automatically installs
18555 @code{gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule} as a menu item in the summary
18556 buffer's ``sort'' menu, and the two others as the primary (hence
18557 default) sorting functions in the group parameters (@pxref{Diary Group
18560 @node Diary Headers Generation
18561 @subsubsection Diary Headers Generation
18562 @cindex diary headers generation
18563 @findex gnus-diary-check-message
18565 @code{gnus-diary} provides a function called
18566 @code{gnus-diary-check-message} to help you handle the @code{X-Diary-*}
18567 headers. This function ensures that the current message contains all the
18568 required diary headers, and prompts you for values or corrections if
18571 This function is hooked into the @code{nndiary} back end, so that
18572 moving or copying an article to a diary group will trigger it
18573 automatically. It is also bound to @kbd{C-c D c} in @code{message-mode}
18574 and @code{article-edit-mode} in order to ease the process of converting
18575 a usual mail to a diary one.
18577 This function takes a prefix argument which will force prompting of
18578 all diary headers, regardless of their presence or validity. That way,
18579 you can very easily reschedule an already valid diary message, for
18582 @node Diary Group Parameters
18583 @subsubsection Diary Group Parameters
18584 @cindex diary group parameters
18586 When you create a new diary group, or visit one, @code{gnus-diary}
18587 automatically checks your group parameters and if needed, sets the
18588 summary line format to the diary-specific value, installs the
18589 diary-specific sorting functions, and also adds the different
18590 @code{X-Diary-*} headers to the group's posting-style. It is then easier
18591 to send a diary message, because if you use @kbd{C-u a} or @kbd{C-u m}
18592 on a diary group to prepare a message, these headers will be inserted
18593 automatically (although not filled with proper values yet).
18595 @node Sending or Not Sending
18596 @subsection Sending or Not Sending
18598 Well, assuming you've read of of the above, here are two final notes on
18599 mail sending with @code{nndiary}:
18603 @code{nndiary} is a @emph{real} mail back end. You really send real diary
18604 messsages for real. This means for instance that you can give
18605 appointements to anybody (provided they use Gnus and @code{nndiary}) by
18606 sending the diary message to them as well.
18608 However, since @code{nndiary} also has a @code{request-post} method, you
18609 can also use @kbd{C-u a} instead of @kbd{C-u m} on a diary group and the
18610 message won't actually be sent; just stored locally in the group. This
18611 comes in very handy for private appointments.
18614 @node Gnus Unplugged
18615 @section Gnus Unplugged
18620 @cindex Gnus unplugged
18622 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
18623 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
18624 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
18625 read news. Believe it or not.
18627 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
18628 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
18629 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
18630 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
18631 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
18633 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
18634 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
18635 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
18636 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
18637 reading news on a machine.
18639 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
18640 fact, you don't have to configure anything as the agent is now enabled
18641 by default (@pxref{Agent Variables, gnus-agent}).
18643 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
18646 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
18647 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
18648 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
18649 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
18650 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
18651 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
18652 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
18653 * Agent and flags:: How the Agent maintains flags.
18654 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
18655 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
18656 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
18657 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
18658 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
18659 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
18664 @subsection Agent Basics
18666 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
18668 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
18669 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
18670 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
18671 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
18673 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
18674 connected to the net continuously.
18676 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
18677 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
18679 You know that Gnus gives you all the opportunity you'd ever want for
18680 shooting yourself in the foot. Some people call it flexibility. Gnus
18681 is also customizable to a great extent, which means that the user has a
18682 say on how Gnus behaves. Other newsreaders might unconditionally shoot
18683 you in your foot, but with Gnus, you have a choice!
18685 Gnus is never really in plugged or unplugged state. Rather, it applies
18686 that state to each server individually. This means that some servers
18687 can be plugged while others can be unplugged. Additionally, some
18688 servers can be ignored by the Agent altogether (which means that
18689 they're kinda like plugged always).
18691 So when you unplug the Agent and then wonder why is Gnus opening a
18692 connection to the Net, the next step to do is to look whether all
18693 servers are agentized. If there is an unagentized server, you found
18696 Another thing is the @dfn{offline} state. Sometimes, servers aren't
18697 reachable. When Gnus notices this, it asks you whether you want the
18698 server to be switched to offline state. If you say yes, then the
18699 server will behave somewhat as if it was unplugged, except that Gnus
18700 will ask you whether you want to switch it back online again.
18702 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
18707 @findex gnus-unplugged
18708 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
18709 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
18710 already fetched while in this mode.
18713 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
18714 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
18715 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
18716 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode (@pxref{Mail
18717 Source Specifiers}).
18720 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the
18721 news onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press
18722 @kbd{g} to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J s} to fetch
18723 all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus know which
18724 articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}).
18727 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
18728 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
18729 then you read the news offline.
18732 And then you go to step 2.
18735 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
18741 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
18742 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
18743 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
18744 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
18745 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
18746 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
18747 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} servers in @code{gnus-select-method} and
18748 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
18751 Decide on download policy. It's fairly simple once you decide whether
18752 you are going to use agent categories, topic parameters, and/or group
18753 parameters to implement your policy. If you're new to gnus, it
18754 is probably best to start with a category, @xref{Agent Categories}.
18756 Both topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) and agent categories
18757 (@pxref{Agent Categories}) provide for setting a policy that applies
18758 to multiple groups. Which you use is entirely up to you. Topic
18759 parameters do override categories so, if you mix the two, you'll have
18760 to take that into account. If you have a few groups that deviate from
18761 your policy, you can use group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to
18765 Uhm@dots{} that's it.
18769 @node Agent Categories
18770 @subsection Agent Categories
18772 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
18773 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
18774 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
18775 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
18776 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
18777 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
18778 you're interested in the articles anyway.
18780 One of the more effective methods for controlling what is to be
18781 downloaded is to create a @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all)
18782 groups to this category. Groups that do not belong in any other
18783 category belong to the @code{default} category. Gnus has its own
18784 buffer for creating and managing categories.
18786 If you prefer, you can also use group parameters (@pxref{Group
18787 Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) for an
18788 alternative approach to controlling the agent. The only real
18789 difference is that categories are specific to the agent (so there is
18790 less to learn) while group and topic parameters include the kitchen
18793 Since you can set agent parameters in several different places we have
18794 a rule to decide which source to believe. This rule specifies that
18795 the parameter sources are checked in the following order: group
18796 parameters, topic parameters, agent category, and finally customizable
18797 variables. So you can mix all of these sources to produce a wide range
18798 of behavior, just don't blame me if you don't remember where you put
18802 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
18803 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
18804 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
18808 @node Category Syntax
18809 @subsubsection Category Syntax
18811 A category consists of a name, the list of groups belonging to the
18812 category, and a number of optional parameters that override the
18813 customizable variables. The complete list of agent parameters are
18816 @cindex Agent Parameters
18819 The list of groups that are in this category.
18821 @item agent-predicate
18822 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
18823 are eligible for downloading; and
18826 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
18827 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
18828 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
18830 @item agent-enable-expiration
18831 a boolean indicating whether the agent should expire old articles in
18832 this group. Most groups should be expired to conserve disk space. In
18833 fact, its probably safe to say that the gnus.* hierarchy contains the
18834 only groups that should not be expired.
18836 @item agent-days-until-old
18837 an integer indicating the number of days that the agent should wait
18838 before deciding that a read article is safe to expire.
18840 @item agent-low-score
18841 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-low-score}.
18843 @item agent-high-score
18844 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-high-score}.
18846 @item agent-short-article
18847 an integer that overrides the value of
18848 @code{gnus-agent-short-article}.
18850 @item agent-long-article
18851 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-long-article}.
18853 @item agent-enable-undownloaded-faces
18854 a symbol indicating whether the summary buffer should display
18855 undownloaded articles using the @code{gnus-summary-*-undownloaded-face}
18856 faces. Any symbol other than @code{nil} will enable the use of
18857 undownloaded faces.
18860 The name of a category can not be changed once the category has been
18863 Each category maintains a list of groups that are exclusive members of
18864 that category. The exclusivity rule is automatically enforced, add a
18865 group to a new category and it is automatically removed from its old
18868 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
18869 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
18870 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
18871 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
18873 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
18874 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
18875 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
18877 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
18878 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
18879 operators sprinkled in between.
18881 Perhaps some examples are in order.
18883 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
18884 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
18890 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
18891 short (for some value of ``short'').
18893 Here's a more complex predicate:
18902 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
18903 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
18906 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
18907 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
18908 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
18910 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
18911 you want to do, you can write your own.
18913 When evaluating each of these predicates, the named constant will be
18914 bound to the value determined by calling
18915 @code{gnus-agent-find-parameter} on the appropriate parameter. For
18916 example, gnus-agent-short-article will be bound to
18917 @code{(gnus-agent-find-parameter group 'agent-short-article)}. This
18918 means that you can specify a predicate in your category then tune that
18919 predicate to individual groups.
18923 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
18924 lines; default 100.
18927 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
18928 lines; default 200.
18931 True iff the article has a download score less than
18932 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
18935 True iff the article has a download score greater than
18936 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
18939 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
18940 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
18941 checksum and sees whether articles match.
18950 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
18951 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
18952 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
18955 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
18956 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
18957 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
18958 something along the lines of the following:
18961 (defun my-article-old-p ()
18962 "Say whether an article is old."
18963 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
18964 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
18967 with the predicate then defined as:
18970 (not my-article-old-p)
18973 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
18974 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
18978 (require 'gnus-agent)
18979 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
18980 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
18981 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
18984 and simply specify your predicate as:
18990 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
18991 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
18992 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
18993 just don't give a damn.
18995 The above predicates apply to @emph{all} the groups which belong to the
18996 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
18997 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
18998 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in its group
18999 parameters like so:
19002 (agent-predicate . short)
19005 This is the group/topic parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
19006 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
19007 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
19009 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
19012 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
19015 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
19016 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
19017 predicate is assumed to be a list.
19020 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
19021 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
19022 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
19023 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
19024 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
19025 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
19027 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
19028 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
19029 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
19030 if it's to be specific to that group.
19032 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
19039 This has the same syntax as a normal Gnus score file except only a
19040 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
19046 Category specification
19050 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
19056 Group/Topic Parameter specification
19059 (agent-score ("from"
19060 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
19065 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
19071 These score files must @emph{only} contain the permitted scoring
19072 keywords stated above.
19078 Category specification
19081 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
19087 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
19091 Group Parameter specification
19094 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
19097 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
19102 Use @code{normal} score files
19104 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
19105 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
19106 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
19107 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
19109 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
19110 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
19111 files for a group, @emph{filtering out} those sections that do not
19112 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
19116 Category Specification
19123 Group Parameter specification
19126 (agent-score . file)
19131 @node Category Buffer
19132 @subsubsection Category Buffer
19134 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
19135 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
19136 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
19138 The following commands are available in this buffer:
19142 @kindex q (Category)
19143 @findex gnus-category-exit
19144 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
19147 @kindex e (Category)
19148 @findex gnus-category-customize-category
19149 Use a customization buffer to set all of the selected category's
19150 parameters at one time (@code{gnus-category-customize-category}).
19153 @kindex k (Category)
19154 @findex gnus-category-kill
19155 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
19158 @kindex c (Category)
19159 @findex gnus-category-copy
19160 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
19163 @kindex a (Category)
19164 @findex gnus-category-add
19165 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
19168 @kindex p (Category)
19169 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
19170 Edit the predicate of the current category
19171 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
19174 @kindex g (Category)
19175 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
19176 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
19177 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
19180 @kindex s (Category)
19181 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
19182 Edit the download score rule of the current category
19183 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
19186 @kindex l (Category)
19187 @findex gnus-category-list
19188 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
19192 @node Category Variables
19193 @subsubsection Category Variables
19196 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
19197 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
19198 Hook run in category buffers.
19200 @item gnus-category-line-format
19201 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
19202 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
19203 Variables}). Valid elements are:
19207 The name of the category.
19210 The number of groups in the category.
19213 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
19214 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
19215 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
19217 @item gnus-agent-short-article
19218 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
19219 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
19221 @item gnus-agent-long-article
19222 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
19223 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
19225 @item gnus-agent-low-score
19226 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
19227 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
19230 @item gnus-agent-high-score
19231 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
19232 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
19235 @item gnus-agent-expire-days
19236 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
19237 The number of days that a @samp{read} article must stay in the agent's
19238 local disk before becoming eligible for expiration (While the name is
19239 the same, this doesn't mean expiring the article on the server. It
19240 just means deleting the local copy of the article). What is also
19241 important to understand is that the counter starts with the time the
19242 article was written to the local disk and not the time the article was
19246 @item gnus-agent-enable-expiration
19247 @vindex gnus-agent-enable-expiration
19248 Determines whether articles in a group are, by default, expired or
19249 retained indefinitely. The default is @code{ENABLE} which means that
19250 you'll have to disable expiration when desired. On the other hand,
19251 you could set this to @code{DISABLE}. In that case, you would then
19252 have to enable expiration in selected groups.
19257 @node Agent Commands
19258 @subsection Agent Commands
19259 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-plugged
19260 @kindex J j (Agent)
19262 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
19263 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
19264 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
19268 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
19269 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
19270 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
19276 @node Group Agent Commands
19277 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
19281 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
19282 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
19283 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
19284 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
19287 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
19288 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
19289 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
19292 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
19293 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
19294 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
19295 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
19298 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
19299 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
19300 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
19301 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
19304 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
19305 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
19306 Add the current group to an Agent category
19307 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
19308 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
19311 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
19312 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
19313 Remove the current group from its category, if any
19314 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
19315 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
19318 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
19319 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19320 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
19326 @node Summary Agent Commands
19327 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
19331 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
19332 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
19333 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
19336 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
19337 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
19338 Remove the downloading mark from the article
19339 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
19343 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
19344 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
19345 Toggle whether to download the article
19346 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The download mark is @samp{%} by
19350 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
19351 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
19352 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
19355 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
19356 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
19357 Download all eligible (@pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
19358 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
19361 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
19362 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-series
19363 Download all processable articles in this group.
19364 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-series}).
19367 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
19368 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
19369 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
19370 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
19375 @node Server Agent Commands
19376 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
19380 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
19381 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
19382 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
19383 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
19386 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
19387 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
19388 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
19389 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
19394 @node Agent Visuals
19395 @subsection Agent Visuals
19397 If you open a summary while unplugged and, Gnus knows from the group's
19398 active range that there are more articles than the headers currently
19399 stored in the Agent, you may see some articles whose subject looks
19400 something like @samp{[Undownloaded article #####]}. These are
19401 placeholders for the missing headers. Aside from setting a mark,
19402 there is not much that can be done with one of these placeholders.
19403 When Gnus finally gets a chance to fetch the group's headers, the
19404 placeholders will automatically be replaced by the actual headers.
19405 You can configure the summary buffer's maneuvering to skip over the
19406 placeholders if you care (See @code{gnus-auto-goto-ignores}).
19408 While it may be obvious to all, the only headers and articles
19409 available while unplugged are those headers and articles that were
19410 fetched into the Agent while previously plugged. To put it another
19411 way, ``If you forget to fetch something while plugged, you might have a
19412 less than satisfying unplugged session''. For this reason, the Agent
19413 adds two visual effects to your summary buffer. These effects display
19414 the download status of each article so that you always know which
19415 articles will be available when unplugged.
19417 The first visual effect is the @samp{%O} spec. If you customize
19418 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} to include this specifier, you will add
19419 a single character field that indicates an article's download status.
19420 Articles that have been fetched into either the Agent or the Cache,
19421 will display @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} (defaults to @samp{+}). All
19422 other articles will display @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} (defaults to
19423 @samp{-}). If you open a group that has not been agentized, a space
19424 (@samp{ }) will be displayed.
19426 The second visual effect are the undownloaded faces. The faces, there
19427 are three indicating the article's score (low, normal, high), seem to
19428 result in a love/hate response from many Gnus users. The problem is
19429 that the face selection is controlled by a list of condition tests and
19430 face names (See @code{gnus-summary-highlight}). Each condition is
19431 tested in the order in which it appears in the list so early
19432 conditions have precedence over later conditions. All of this means
19433 that, if you tick an undownloaded article, the article will continue
19434 to be displayed in the undownloaded face rather than the ticked face.
19436 If you use the Agent as a cache (to avoid downloading the same article
19437 each time you visit it or to minimize your connection time), the
19438 undownloaded face will probably seem like a good idea. The reason
19439 being that you do all of our work (marking, reading, deleting) with
19440 downloaded articles so the normal faces always appear. For those
19441 users using the agent to improve online performance by caching the NOV
19442 database (most users since 5.10.2), the undownloaded faces may appear
19443 to be an absolutely horrible idea. The issue being that, since none
19444 of their articles have been fetched into the Agent, all of the
19445 normal faces will be obscured by the undownloaded faces.
19447 If you would like to use the undownloaded faces, you must enable the
19448 undownloaded faces by setting the @code{agent-enable-undownloaded-faces}
19449 group parameter to @code{t}. This parameter, like all other agent
19450 parameters, may be set on an Agent Category (@pxref{Agent Categories}),
19451 a Group Topic (@pxref{Topic Parameters}), or an individual group
19452 (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
19454 The one problem common to all users using the agent is how quickly it
19455 can consume disk space. If you using the agent on many groups, it is
19456 even more difficult to effectively recover disk space. One solution
19457 is the @samp{%F} format available in @code{gnus-group-line-format}.
19458 This format will display the actual disk space used by articles
19459 fetched into both the agent and cache. By knowing which groups use
19460 the most space, users know where to focus their efforts when ``agent
19461 expiring'' articles.
19463 @node Agent as Cache
19464 @subsection Agent as Cache
19466 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
19467 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
19468 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
19469 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
19470 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
19471 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
19472 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
19473 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
19474 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
19476 If you so desire, you can configure the agent (see @code{gnus-agent-cache}
19477 @pxref{Agent Variables}) to always download headers and articles while
19478 plugged. Gnus will almost certainly be slower, but it will be kept
19479 synchronized with the server. That last point probably won't make any
19480 sense if you are using a nntp or nnimap back end.
19483 @subsection Agent Expiry
19485 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
19486 @findex gnus-agent-expire
19487 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
19488 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire-group
19489 @findex gnus-agent-expire-group
19490 @cindex agent expiry
19491 @cindex Gnus agent expiry
19492 @cindex expiry, in Gnus agent
19494 The Agent back end, @code{nnagent}, doesn't handle expiry. Well, at
19495 least it doesn't handle it like other back ends. Instead, there are
19496 special @code{gnus-agent-expire} and @code{gnus-agent-expire-group}
19497 commands that will expire all read articles that are older than
19498 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. They can be run whenever you feel
19499 that you're running out of space. Neither are particularly fast or
19500 efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to interrupt them (with
19501 @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started one of them.
19503 Note that other functions, e.g. @code{gnus-request-expire-articles},
19504 might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you to keep the agent
19505 synchronized with the group.
19507 The agent parameter @code{agent-enable-expiration} may be used to
19508 prevent expiration in selected groups.
19510 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
19511 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, the agent
19512 expiration commands will expire all articles---unread, read, ticked
19513 and dormant. If @code{nil} (which is the default), only read articles
19514 are eligible for expiry, and unread, ticked and dormant articles will
19515 be kept indefinitely.
19517 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
19518 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's are special
19519 commands, @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} and
19520 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group}, to fix possible problems.
19522 @node Agent Regeneration
19523 @subsection Agent Regeneration
19525 @cindex agent regeneration
19526 @cindex Gnus agent regeneration
19527 @cindex regeneration
19529 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
19530 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
19531 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
19532 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
19533 internal inconsistencies.
19535 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
19536 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
19537 know about articles successfully downloaded prior to the connection
19538 failure. Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
19539 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
19540 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
19542 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
19543 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
19544 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
19545 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
19546 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
19547 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
19549 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
19550 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
19551 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
19552 of individual articles to repair the local @acronym{NOV}(header) database. It
19553 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
19554 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
19557 @node Agent and flags
19558 @subsection Agent and flags
19560 The Agent works with any Gnus back end including those, such as
19561 nnimap, that store flags (read, ticked, etc) on the server. Sadly,
19562 the Agent does not actually know which backends keep their flags in
19563 the backend server rather than in @file{.newsrc}. This means that the
19564 Agent, while unplugged or disconnected, will always record all changes
19565 to the flags in its own files.
19567 When you plug back in, Gnus will then check to see if you have any
19568 changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the
19569 server. This behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
19571 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19572 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
19573 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
19574 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
19575 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
19576 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
19578 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
19579 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
19580 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
19581 in the group buffer.
19583 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by ``pushing''
19584 all local flags to the server, but rather by incrementally updated the
19585 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
19586 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on an article, quit the group then
19587 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
19588 removed from the server when you ``synchronize''. The queued flag
19589 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
19590 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
19592 @node Agent and IMAP
19593 @subsection Agent and IMAP
19595 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
19596 since there are some conceptual differences between @acronym{NNTP} and
19597 @acronym{IMAP}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
19598 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @acronym{IMAP} Disconnected Mode client.
19600 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
19601 expect from a disconnected @acronym{IMAP} client, including:
19606 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
19609 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
19613 @node Outgoing Messages
19614 @subsection Outgoing Messages
19616 By default, when Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail
19617 and news) are stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}).
19618 You can view them there after posting, and edit them at will.
19620 You can control the circumstances under which outgoing mail is queued
19621 (see @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail}, @pxref{Agent Variables}). Outgoing
19622 news is always queued when Gnus is unplugged, and never otherwise.
19624 You can send the messages either from the draft group with the special
19625 commands available there, or you can use the @kbd{J S} command in the
19626 group buffer to send all the sendable messages in the draft group.
19627 Posting news will only work when Gnus is plugged, but you can send
19630 If sending mail while unplugged does not work for you and you worry
19631 about hitting @kbd{J S} by accident when unplugged, you can have Gnus
19632 ask you to confirm your action (see
19633 @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue}, @pxref{Agent Variables}).
19635 @node Agent Variables
19636 @subsection Agent Variables
19641 Is the agent enabled? The default is @code{t}. When first enabled,
19642 the agent will use @code{gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods} to
19643 automatically mark some back ends as agentized. You may change which
19644 back ends are agentized using the agent commands in the server buffer.
19646 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
19647 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
19650 @item gnus-agent-directory
19651 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
19652 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
19653 @file{~/News/agent/}.
19655 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
19656 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
19657 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
19658 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
19659 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
19662 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
19663 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
19664 Hook run when connecting to the network.
19666 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
19667 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
19668 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
19670 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
19671 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
19672 Hook run when finished fetching articles.
19674 @item gnus-agent-cache
19675 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
19676 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @acronym{NOV} and
19677 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
19678 The default is non-@code{nil}, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
19680 @item gnus-agent-go-online
19681 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
19682 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
19683 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
19684 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
19685 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
19686 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
19689 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
19690 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
19691 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
19692 mark articles as unread after downloading. This is usually a safe
19693 thing to do as the newly downloaded article has obviously not been
19694 read. The default is @code{t}.
19696 @item gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19697 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19698 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
19699 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
19700 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
19701 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
19702 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
19704 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
19705 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
19706 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
19707 agent will let the agent predicate decide whether articles need to be
19708 downloaded or not, for all articles. When @code{nil}, the default,
19709 the agent will only let the predicate decide whether unread articles
19710 are downloaded or not. If you enable this, you may also want to look
19711 into the agent expiry settings (@pxref{Category Variables}), so that
19712 the agent doesn't download articles which the agent will later expire,
19713 over and over again.
19715 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
19716 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
19717 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
19718 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
19719 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
19720 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
19721 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
19722 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
19723 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
19724 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
19725 However, all articles parsed prior to loosing the connection will be
19726 available while unplugged). The default is 10M so it is unusual to
19729 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
19730 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
19731 Perhaps not an Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
19732 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
19733 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
19734 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
19735 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
19736 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
19737 is only valid if the Agent is used.
19739 @item gnus-auto-goto-ignores
19740 @vindex gnus-auto-goto-ignores
19741 Another variable that isn't an Agent variable, yet so closely related
19742 that most will look for it here, this variable tells the summary
19743 buffer how to maneuver around undownloaded (only headers stored in the
19744 agent) and unfetched (neither article nor headers stored) articles.
19746 The valid values are @code{nil} (maneuver to any article),
19747 @code{undownloaded} (maneuvering while unplugged ignores articles that
19748 have not been fetched), @code{always-undownloaded} (maneuvering always
19749 ignores articles that have not been fetched), @code{unfetched}
19750 (maneuvering ignores articles whose headers have not been fetched).
19752 @item gnus-agent-queue-mail
19753 @vindex gnus-agent-queue-mail
19754 When @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail} is @code{always}, Gnus will always
19755 queue mail rather than sending it straight away. When @code{t}, Gnus
19756 will queue mail when unplugged only. When @code{nil}, never queue
19757 mail. The default is @code{t}.
19759 @item gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
19760 @vindex gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
19761 When @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue} is non-@code{nil} Gnus will
19762 prompt you to confirm that you really wish to proceed if you hit
19763 @kbd{J S} while unplugged. The default is @code{nil}.
19765 @item gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
19766 @vindex gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
19767 If you have never used the Agent before (or more technically, if
19768 @file{~/News/agent/lib/servers} does not exist), Gnus will
19769 automatically agentize a few servers for you. This variable control
19770 which back ends should be auto-agentized. It is typically only useful
19771 to agentize remote back ends. The auto-agentizing has the same effect
19772 as running @kbd{J a} on the servers (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}).
19773 If the file exist, you must manage the servers manually by adding or
19774 removing them, this variable is only applicable the first time you
19775 start Gnus. The default is @samp{(nntp nnimap)}.
19780 @node Example Setup
19781 @subsection Example Setup
19783 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
19784 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
19785 @file{~/.gnus.el} file to get started.
19788 ;; @r{Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @acronym{NNTP}}
19789 ;; @r{from your ISP's server.}
19790 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
19792 ;; @r{Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from}
19793 ;; @r{your ISP's @acronym{POP} server.}
19794 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
19796 ;; @r{Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.}
19797 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
19799 ;; @r{Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.}
19800 ;; (gnus-agentize) ; @r{The obsolete setting.}
19801 ;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; @r{Now the default.}
19804 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
19805 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
19808 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
19809 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
19810 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
19811 @acronym{NNTP} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
19812 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
19815 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
19816 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
19817 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
19818 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
19819 back all the killed groups.)
19821 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
19822 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
19823 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
19826 @node Batching Agents
19827 @subsection Batching Agents
19828 @findex gnus-agent-batch
19830 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
19831 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
19832 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
19834 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
19835 following incantation:
19839 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
19843 @node Agent Caveats
19844 @subsection Agent Caveats
19846 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
19847 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
19851 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
19853 @strong{No}. If you want this behavior, add
19854 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
19855 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
19857 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in
19858 the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
19860 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is @code{nil}.
19864 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
19865 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
19866 locally stored articles.
19873 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
19874 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
19875 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
19878 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
19879 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
19880 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
19881 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
19882 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
19884 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
19885 before generating the summary buffer.
19887 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
19888 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
19889 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
19891 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
19892 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
19893 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
19894 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
19897 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
19898 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
19899 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
19900 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
19901 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
19902 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
19903 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
19904 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
19905 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
19906 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
19907 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
19908 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
19909 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
19910 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
19911 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
19912 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
19916 @node Summary Score Commands
19917 @section Summary Score Commands
19918 @cindex score commands
19920 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
19921 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
19922 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
19923 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
19924 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
19926 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
19927 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
19928 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
19929 score file the current one.
19931 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
19936 @kindex V s (Summary)
19937 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
19938 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
19941 @kindex V S (Summary)
19942 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
19943 Display the score of the current article
19944 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
19947 @kindex V t (Summary)
19948 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
19949 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
19950 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}). In the @code{*Score Trace*} buffer, you
19951 may type @kbd{e} to edit score file corresponding to the score rule on
19952 current line and @kbd{f} to format (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) the
19953 score file and edit it.
19956 @kindex V w (Summary)
19957 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
19958 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
19961 @kindex V R (Summary)
19962 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
19963 Run the current summary through the scoring process
19964 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
19965 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
19966 effect you're having.
19969 @kindex V c (Summary)
19970 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
19971 Make a different score file the current
19972 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
19975 @kindex V e (Summary)
19976 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
19977 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
19978 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
19982 @kindex V f (Summary)
19983 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
19984 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
19985 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
19988 @kindex V F (Summary)
19989 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
19990 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
19991 after editing score files.
19994 @kindex V C (Summary)
19995 @findex gnus-score-customize
19996 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
19997 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
20001 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
20006 @kindex V m (Summary)
20007 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
20008 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
20009 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
20012 @kindex V x (Summary)
20013 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
20014 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
20015 expunge all articles below this score
20016 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
20019 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
20020 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
20023 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
20024 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
20028 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
20029 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
20031 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
20032 keys are available:
20036 Score on the author name.
20039 Score on the subject line.
20042 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
20045 Score on the @code{References} line.
20051 Score on the number of lines.
20054 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
20057 Score on an ``extra'' header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
20058 if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
20061 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
20062 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
20063 @file{ADAPT} files.)
20072 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
20078 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
20079 what headers you are scoring on.
20091 Substring matching.
20094 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
20123 Greater than number.
20128 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
20129 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
20130 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
20135 Temporary score entry.
20138 Permanent score entry.
20141 Immediately scoring.
20145 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
20146 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
20147 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
20151 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
20152 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
20153 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
20154 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
20156 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
20157 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
20158 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
20159 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
20160 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
20162 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
20163 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
20164 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
20165 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
20166 current score file.
20168 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
20169 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
20170 pretend they are keymaps or not.
20173 @node Group Score Commands
20174 @section Group Score Commands
20175 @cindex group score commands
20177 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
20182 @kindex W e (Group)
20183 @findex gnus-score-edit-all-score
20184 Edit the apply-to-all-groups all.SCORE file. You will be popped into
20185 a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score File Editing}).
20188 @kindex W f (Group)
20189 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
20190 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
20191 all the time. This command will flush the cache
20192 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
20196 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
20198 @findex gnus-batch-score
20199 @cindex batch scoring
20201 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
20205 @node Score Variables
20206 @section Score Variables
20207 @cindex score variables
20211 @item gnus-use-scoring
20212 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
20213 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
20214 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
20216 @item gnus-kill-killed
20217 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
20218 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
20219 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
20220 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
20221 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
20222 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
20223 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
20225 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
20226 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
20227 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
20228 initialized from the @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
20229 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
20231 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
20232 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
20233 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
20234 (@file{SCORE} by default.)
20236 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
20237 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
20238 @cindex score cache
20239 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
20240 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
20241 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely
20242 to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
20243 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
20244 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
20245 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
20248 @item gnus-save-score
20249 @vindex gnus-save-score
20250 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
20251 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
20252 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
20254 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
20255 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
20256 across group visits.
20258 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
20259 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
20260 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
20261 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
20262 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
20263 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
20264 manually entered data.
20266 @item gnus-summary-default-score
20267 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
20268 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
20270 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
20271 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
20272 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
20273 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
20274 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
20275 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
20277 @item gnus-score-over-mark
20278 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
20279 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
20280 default. Default is @samp{+}.
20282 @item gnus-score-below-mark
20283 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
20284 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
20285 default. Default is @samp{-}.
20287 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
20288 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
20289 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
20290 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
20292 Predefined functions available are:
20295 @item gnus-score-find-single
20296 @findex gnus-score-find-single
20297 Only apply the group's own score file.
20299 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
20300 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
20301 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
20302 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
20303 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
20304 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
20305 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
20306 then a regexp match is done.
20308 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
20309 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
20311 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
20312 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
20313 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
20314 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
20316 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
20317 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
20318 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
20319 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
20320 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
20324 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
20325 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
20326 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
20327 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
20328 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
20329 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
20330 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
20333 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
20334 overall score file, you could use the value
20336 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
20337 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
20340 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
20341 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
20342 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
20343 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
20344 are expired. It's 7 by default.
20346 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
20347 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
20348 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
20349 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
20350 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
20351 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
20352 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
20353 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
20355 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
20356 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
20357 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
20359 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
20360 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
20361 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be
20362 simplified for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
20363 threading---according to the current value of
20364 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions}. If the scoring entry uses
20365 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
20366 simplified in this manner.
20371 @node Score File Format
20372 @section Score File Format
20373 @cindex score file format
20375 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
20376 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
20377 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
20379 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
20383 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
20385 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
20387 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
20389 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
20394 (mark-and-expunge -10)
20398 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
20399 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
20400 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
20401 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
20405 This example demonstrates most score file elements. @xref{Advanced
20406 Scoring}, for a different approach.
20408 Even though this looks much like Lisp code, nothing here is actually
20409 @code{eval}ed. The Lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
20410 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
20412 Six keys are supported by this alist:
20417 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
20418 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
20419 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
20420 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
20421 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
20422 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
20423 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
20424 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
20425 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
20426 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
20427 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
20428 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
20429 to articles that matches these score entries.
20431 Following this key is an arbitrary number of score entries, where each
20432 score entry has one to four elements.
20436 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
20437 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
20441 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
20442 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
20443 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
20444 is successful. If this element is not present, the
20445 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
20446 instead. This is 1000 by default.
20449 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
20450 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
20451 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
20452 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
20453 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
20456 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
20457 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
20458 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
20459 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
20462 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
20463 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
20464 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
20465 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
20466 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
20467 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
20468 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
20469 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
20470 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
20471 instead, if you feel like.
20474 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
20475 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
20476 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
20477 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
20478 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin
20479 host, if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks @samp{NNTP-Posting-Host} in
20483 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s
20484 "NNTP-Posting-Host")
20488 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
20489 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
20491 These predicates are true if
20494 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
20497 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
20498 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
20505 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
20506 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
20507 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
20508 it's not. I think.)
20510 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
20511 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
20512 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
20513 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
20516 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
20517 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
20518 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
20519 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
20520 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
20521 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
20522 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
20526 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
20527 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
20528 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
20529 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
20530 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
20531 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
20532 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
20533 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
20536 @item Head, Body, All
20537 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
20541 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
20542 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
20543 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
20544 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
20545 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
20546 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
20547 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
20551 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
20552 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
20553 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
20554 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
20555 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
20556 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
20557 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
20558 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
20559 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
20560 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
20561 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
20565 @cindex score file atoms
20567 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20568 lower than this number will be marked as read.
20571 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20572 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
20574 @item mark-and-expunge
20575 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20576 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
20579 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
20580 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
20581 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
20582 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
20583 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
20586 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
20587 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
20590 @item exclude-files
20591 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
20592 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
20596 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
20597 ignored when handling global score files.
20600 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
20601 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
20602 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
20603 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
20606 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
20607 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
20608 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
20609 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
20611 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
20615 (mark-and-expunge -100)
20618 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
20619 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
20620 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
20621 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
20622 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
20624 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
20625 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
20626 scoring rules exist.
20629 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
20630 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
20631 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
20632 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
20633 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
20634 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
20635 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
20636 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
20637 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
20638 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
20639 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
20643 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
20644 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
20645 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
20646 file for a number of groups.
20649 @cindex local variables
20650 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(@var{var}
20651 @var{value})} pairs. Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the
20652 current summary buffer, and set to the value specified. This is a
20653 convenient, if somewhat strange, way of setting variables in some
20654 groups if you don't like hooks much. Note that the @var{value} won't
20659 @node Score File Editing
20660 @section Score File Editing
20662 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
20663 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
20664 with a mode for that.
20666 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
20667 additional commands:
20672 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
20673 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
20674 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
20675 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
20678 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
20679 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
20680 Insert the current date in numerical format
20681 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
20682 you were wondering.
20685 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
20686 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
20687 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
20688 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
20689 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
20694 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
20696 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
20697 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
20699 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f}, @kbd{V e} and
20700 @kbd{V t} to begin editing score files.
20703 @node Adaptive Scoring
20704 @section Adaptive Scoring
20705 @cindex adaptive scoring
20707 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
20708 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
20709 stupidity, to be precise.
20711 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
20712 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
20713 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
20714 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
20715 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
20716 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
20717 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
20718 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
20719 variable to @code{(word line)}.
20721 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
20722 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
20723 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
20724 might look something like this:
20727 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
20728 '((gnus-unread-mark)
20729 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
20730 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
20731 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
20732 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
20733 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
20734 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
20735 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
20736 (gnus-ancient-mark)
20737 (gnus-low-score-mark)
20738 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
20741 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
20742 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
20743 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
20744 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
20745 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
20746 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
20749 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
20750 will be applied to each article.
20752 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
20753 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{e}) will have a
20754 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
20755 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
20757 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
20758 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
20759 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
20760 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
20762 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
20763 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
20764 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
20765 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
20767 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
20768 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
20769 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
20770 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
20771 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
20772 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
20774 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
20775 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
20776 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
20778 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
20779 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
20780 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
20782 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
20783 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
20784 let you use different rules in different groups.
20786 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
20787 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
20788 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
20791 @vindex gnus-adaptive-pretty-print
20792 Adaptive score files can get huge and are not meant to be edited by
20793 human hands. If @code{gnus-adaptive-pretty-print} is @code{nil} (the
20794 deafult) those files will not be written in a human readable way.
20796 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
20797 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
20798 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
20799 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
20800 the length of the match is less than
20801 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
20802 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
20805 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
20806 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
20807 headers. If you adapt on words, the
20808 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
20809 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
20812 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
20813 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
20814 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
20815 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
20816 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
20819 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
20820 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
20821 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
20822 score with 30 points.
20824 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
20825 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
20826 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
20827 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
20828 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
20830 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
20831 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
20832 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
20833 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
20834 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
20836 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
20837 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
20838 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
20839 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
20841 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
20842 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
20843 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
20844 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
20846 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
20847 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
20848 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
20849 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
20850 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
20852 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
20853 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
20854 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
20856 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
20857 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
20858 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
20859 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
20862 @node Home Score File
20863 @section Home Score File
20865 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
20866 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
20867 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
20868 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
20870 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
20871 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
20872 could perhaps use the same home score file.
20874 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
20875 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
20880 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
20884 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
20885 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
20889 A list. The elements in this list can be:
20893 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
20894 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
20897 A function. If the function returns non-@code{nil}, the result will
20898 be used as the home score file. The function will be called with the
20899 name of the group as the parameter.
20902 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
20905 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
20910 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
20913 (setq gnus-home-score-file
20914 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
20917 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
20918 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
20920 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
20922 (setq gnus-home-score-file
20923 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
20926 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
20927 Other functions include
20930 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
20931 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
20932 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
20933 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
20937 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
20938 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
20939 their own home score files:
20942 (setq gnus-home-score-file
20943 ;; @r{All groups that match the regexp @code{"\\.emacs"}}
20944 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
20945 ;; @r{All the comp groups in one score file}
20946 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
20949 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
20950 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
20951 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
20952 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
20953 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
20955 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
20956 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
20957 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
20958 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
20959 precedence over this variable.
20962 @node Followups To Yourself
20963 @section Followups To Yourself
20965 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
20966 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
20967 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
20968 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
20969 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
20970 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
20974 @item gnus-score-followup-article
20975 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
20976 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
20979 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
20980 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
20981 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
20985 @vindex message-sent-hook
20986 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
20987 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
20989 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
20993 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
20994 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
20998 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
20999 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
21002 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
21003 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
21008 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
21012 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
21013 is system-dependent.
21016 @node Scoring On Other Headers
21017 @section Scoring On Other Headers
21018 @cindex scoring on other headers
21020 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
21021 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
21022 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
21023 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
21024 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
21026 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
21027 mail groups, you have greater control. In @ref{To From Newsgroups},
21028 it's explained in greater detail what this mechanism does, but here's
21029 a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on how to allow scoring on the
21030 @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
21032 Put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
21035 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
21036 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
21039 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
21040 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
21041 time if you have much mail.
21043 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
21044 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
21048 @vindex gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring
21049 You can inhibit scoring the slow scoring on headers or body by setting
21050 the variable @code{gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring}. If
21051 @code{gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring} is regexp, slow scoring is inhibited if
21052 the group matches the regexp. If it is t, slow scoring on it is
21053 inhibited for all groups.
21057 @section Scoring Tips
21058 @cindex scoring tips
21064 @cindex scoring crossposts
21065 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
21066 the @code{Xref} header.
21068 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
21071 @item Multiple crossposts
21072 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
21073 more than, say, 3 groups:
21076 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
21080 @item Matching on the body
21081 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
21082 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
21083 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
21084 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
21085 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
21086 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
21087 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
21090 @item Marking as read
21091 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
21092 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
21093 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
21097 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
21099 @item Negated character classes
21100 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
21101 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
21102 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
21106 @node Reverse Scoring
21107 @section Reverse Scoring
21108 @cindex reverse scoring
21110 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
21111 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
21112 like this in your score file:
21116 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
21121 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
21122 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
21125 @node Global Score Files
21126 @section Global Score Files
21127 @cindex global score files
21129 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
21130 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
21131 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
21133 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
21134 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
21135 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
21137 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
21138 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
21139 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
21140 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
21141 files are applicable to which group.
21143 To use the score file
21144 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
21145 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
21149 (setq gnus-global-score-files
21150 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
21151 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
21154 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
21156 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
21157 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
21158 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
21159 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
21161 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
21162 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
21164 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
21165 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
21166 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
21167 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
21168 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
21169 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
21171 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
21177 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
21179 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
21181 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
21183 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
21184 lowered out of existence.
21186 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
21187 articles completely.
21190 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
21191 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
21192 old articles for a long time.
21195 @dots{} I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
21196 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
21197 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
21198 holding our breath yet?
21202 @section Kill Files
21205 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
21206 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
21207 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
21209 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
21210 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
21211 files into score files.
21213 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
21214 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
21215 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
21216 that isn't a very good idea.
21218 Normal kill files look like this:
21221 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
21222 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
21226 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
21227 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
21229 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
21230 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
21233 Two summary functions for editing a @sc{gnus} kill file:
21238 @kindex M-k (Summary)
21239 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
21240 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
21243 @kindex M-K (Summary)
21244 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
21245 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
21248 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
21253 @kindex M-k (Group)
21254 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
21255 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
21258 @kindex M-K (Group)
21259 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
21260 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
21263 Kill file variables:
21266 @item gnus-kill-file-name
21267 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
21268 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
21269 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
21270 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
21271 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
21272 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
21274 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
21275 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
21276 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
21277 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
21280 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
21281 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
21282 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
21283 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
21284 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
21285 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
21286 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
21287 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
21288 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
21290 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
21291 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
21292 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
21297 @node Converting Kill Files
21298 @section Converting Kill Files
21300 @cindex converting kill files
21302 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
21303 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
21304 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
21307 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
21308 You can fetch it from
21309 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
21311 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
21312 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
21313 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
21317 @node Advanced Scoring
21318 @section Advanced Scoring
21320 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
21321 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
21322 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
21323 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
21324 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
21326 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
21330 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
21331 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
21332 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
21336 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
21337 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
21339 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
21340 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
21341 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
21342 non-@code{nil} value.
21344 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
21345 operator, and various match operators.
21352 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
21353 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
21354 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
21359 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
21360 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
21361 then this operator will return @code{false}.
21366 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
21367 logical negation of the value of its argument.
21371 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
21372 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
21373 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
21374 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
21375 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
21376 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
21377 the ancestry you want to go.
21379 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
21380 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
21381 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
21382 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
21383 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
21386 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
21387 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
21389 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
21390 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
21393 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
21394 when he's talking about Gnus:
21399 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
21400 ("subject" "Gnus"))
21407 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
21411 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
21418 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
21419 really don't want to read what he's written:
21423 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
21424 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigil Logge")))
21428 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
21429 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
21430 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
21437 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
21438 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
21439 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
21440 ("body" "white.*socks"))
21444 Suppose you're reading a high volume group and you're only interested
21445 in replies. The plan is to score down all articles that don't have
21446 subject that begin with "Re:", "Fw:" or "Fwd:" and then score up all
21447 parents of articles that have subjects that begin with reply marks.
21450 ((! ("subject" "re:\\|fwd?:" r))
21452 ((1- ("subject" "re:\\|fwd?:" r))
21456 The possibilities are endless.
21458 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
21459 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
21461 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
21462 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
21463 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
21464 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
21465 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
21466 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
21467 @samp{subject}) first.
21469 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
21470 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
21481 Then that means ``score on the from header of the grandparent of the
21482 current article''. An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
21488 ("subject" "Gnus")))
21495 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
21496 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
21501 @section Score Decays
21502 @cindex score decays
21505 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
21506 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
21507 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
21508 use them in any sensible way.
21510 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
21511 @findex gnus-decay-score
21512 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
21513 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
21514 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
21515 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
21516 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
21517 If @code{gnus-decay-scores} is a regexp, only score files matching this
21518 regexp are treated. E.g. you may set it to @samp{\\.ADAPT\\'} if only
21519 @emph{adaptive} score files should be decayed. The decay itself if
21520 performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function} function, which is
21521 @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the definition of that
21525 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
21526 "Decay SCORE according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
21527 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
21529 (* (if (< score 0) -1 1)
21531 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
21533 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
21534 (if (and (featurep 'xemacs)
21535 ;; XEmacs' floor can handle only the floating point
21536 ;; number below the half of the maximum integer.
21537 (> (abs n) (lsh -1 -2)))
21539 (car (split-string (number-to-string n) "\\.")))
21543 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
21544 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
21545 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
21546 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
21550 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
21553 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
21556 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
21560 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
21561 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
21562 the new score, which should be an integer.
21564 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
21565 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
21570 @include message.texi
21571 @chapter Emacs MIME
21572 @include emacs-mime.texi
21574 @include sieve.texi
21586 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
21587 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
21588 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
21589 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
21590 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
21591 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
21592 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
21593 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
21594 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
21595 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
21596 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
21597 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
21598 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
21599 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
21600 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
21601 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
21602 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
21603 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
21604 * Thwarting Email Spam:: Simple ways to avoid unsolicited commercial email.
21605 * Spam Package:: A package for filtering and processing spam.
21606 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
21607 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
21611 @node Process/Prefix
21612 @section Process/Prefix
21613 @cindex process/prefix convention
21615 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
21616 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
21618 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
21619 command to be performed on.
21623 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
21624 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
21625 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
21626 with the current one.
21628 @vindex transient-mark-mode
21629 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
21630 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
21632 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
21633 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
21636 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
21637 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
21639 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
21642 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
21643 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
21644 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
21645 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
21647 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
21648 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
21649 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
21650 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
21651 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
21652 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
21653 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
21654 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
21656 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
21657 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
21658 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
21659 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
21660 expirable, you could say @kbd{M P b M-& E}.
21664 @section Interactive
21665 @cindex interaction
21669 @item gnus-novice-user
21670 @vindex gnus-novice-user
21671 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
21672 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
21673 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
21674 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
21677 @item gnus-expert-user
21678 @vindex gnus-expert-user
21679 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
21680 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
21681 matter how strange.
21683 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
21684 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
21685 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
21686 is @code{t} by default.
21688 @item gnus-interactive-exit
21689 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
21690 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21695 @node Symbolic Prefixes
21696 @section Symbolic Prefixes
21697 @cindex symbolic prefixes
21699 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
21700 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
21701 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
21702 rule of 900 to the current article.
21704 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
21705 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
21706 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
21707 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
21708 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
21709 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
21710 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
21712 @kindex M-i (Summary)
21713 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
21714 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
21715 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
21716 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
21717 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
21718 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
21719 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
21720 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
21722 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
21723 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
21724 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
21726 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
21730 @node Formatting Variables
21731 @section Formatting Variables
21732 @cindex formatting variables
21734 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
21735 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
21736 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
21737 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
21738 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
21741 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
21742 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
21743 lots of percentages everywhere.
21746 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
21747 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
21748 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
21749 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
21750 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
21751 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
21752 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
21753 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
21756 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
21757 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
21758 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
21759 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
21760 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
21761 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
21762 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
21763 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
21765 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
21766 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
21768 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
21769 @findex gnus-update-format
21770 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
21771 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
21772 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
21773 examine the resulting Lisp code to be run to generate the line.
21777 @node Formatting Basics
21778 @subsection Formatting Basics
21780 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
21781 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
21782 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
21784 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
21785 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
21786 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
21787 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
21788 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
21791 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
21792 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
21793 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
21794 less than 4 characters wide.
21796 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
21797 @samp{%&user-date;}.
21800 @node Mode Line Formatting
21801 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
21803 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
21804 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
21805 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
21806 with the following two differences:
21811 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
21814 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
21815 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
21816 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
21817 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
21818 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
21819 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
21820 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
21825 @node Advanced Formatting
21826 @subsection Advanced Formatting
21828 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
21829 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
21830 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
21831 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
21833 These are the valid modifiers:
21838 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
21842 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
21847 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
21850 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
21855 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
21858 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
21861 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
21864 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
21870 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
21875 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
21876 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
21877 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
21878 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
21879 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
21880 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
21881 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
21883 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
21884 last operation, padding.
21886 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
21887 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
21888 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
21889 @xref{Compilation}.
21892 @node User-Defined Specs
21893 @subsection User-Defined Specs
21895 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
21896 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
21897 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
21898 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
21899 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
21900 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
21901 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
21902 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
21903 should protect against that.
21905 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
21906 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
21908 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
21909 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
21910 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
21911 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
21915 @node Formatting Fonts
21916 @subsection Formatting Fonts
21918 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
21919 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
21920 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
21921 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
21924 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
21925 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
21926 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
21927 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
21928 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
21929 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
21931 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
21932 special @code{balloon-help} property set to
21933 @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get
21934 @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*}
21935 variables should be either strings or symbols naming functions that
21936 return a string. When the mouse passes over text with this property
21937 set, a balloon window will appear and display the string. Please
21938 refer to @ref{Tooltips, ,Tooltips, emacs, The Emacs Manual},
21939 (in GNU Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in
21940 XEmacs) for more information on this. (For technical reasons, the
21941 guillemets have been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this
21944 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
21947 ;; @r{Create three face types.}
21948 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
21949 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
21951 ;; @r{We want the article count to be in}
21952 ;; @r{a bold and green face. So we create}
21953 ;; @r{a new face called @code{my-green-bold}.}
21954 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
21955 ;; @r{Set the color.}
21956 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
21957 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
21959 ;; @r{Set the new & fancy format.}
21960 (setq gnus-group-line-format
21961 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
21964 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
21965 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
21967 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
21968 mode-line variables.
21970 @node Positioning Point
21971 @subsection Positioning Point
21973 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
21974 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
21975 line. You can customize this behavior in three different ways.
21977 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
21979 @findex gnus-goto-colon
21980 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
21981 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
21983 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
21984 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
21985 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
21990 @subsection Tabulation
21992 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
21993 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
21994 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
21995 about lining up the following text afterwards.
21997 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs---@samp{%=}. There are two
21998 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
22000 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
22001 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
22002 This is the soft tabulator.
22004 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
22005 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
22006 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
22009 @node Wide Characters
22010 @subsection Wide Characters
22012 Fixed width fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
22013 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
22014 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
22016 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
22017 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
22018 these countries, that's not true.
22020 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
22021 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
22022 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
22023 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
22027 @node Window Layout
22028 @section Window Layout
22029 @cindex window layout
22031 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
22033 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
22034 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
22035 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
22036 @code{t} by default.
22038 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
22039 glitches. Use at your own peril.
22041 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
22042 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
22043 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
22046 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
22047 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
22048 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
22052 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
22053 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
22054 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
22055 possible names is listed below.
22057 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
22058 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
22061 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
22065 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
22066 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
22067 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
22068 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
22069 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
22070 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
22071 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
22072 size spec per split.
22074 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
22075 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
22076 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
22077 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
22078 present) gets focus.
22080 Here's a more complicated example:
22083 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
22084 (summary 0.25 point)
22085 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
22089 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
22090 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
22091 occupy, not a percentage.
22093 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
22094 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
22095 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
22096 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
22097 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
22100 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
22103 (article (horizontal 1.0
22108 (summary 0.25 point)
22113 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
22114 @code{horizontal} thingie?
22116 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
22117 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
22118 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
22119 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
22120 the screen is to be given to this strip.
22122 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
22123 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
22124 lines from the splits.
22126 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
22131 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
22132 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
22133 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
22134 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
22135 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
22136 size = number | frame-params
22137 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
22141 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
22142 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
22143 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
22144 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
22146 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
22147 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
22148 @cindex window height
22149 @cindex window width
22150 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
22151 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
22152 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
22153 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
22154 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
22155 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
22157 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
22158 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
22159 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
22160 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
22162 @findex gnus-configure-frame
22163 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
22164 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
22165 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
22166 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
22167 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
22168 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
22169 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
22170 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
22171 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
22172 configuration list.
22175 (gnus-configure-frame
22179 (article 0.3 point))
22187 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
22188 @code{frame} split:
22191 (gnus-configure-frame
22194 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
22196 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
22197 (user-position . t)
22198 (left . -1) (top . 1))
22203 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
22204 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
22205 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
22206 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
22207 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
22208 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
22209 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
22210 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
22212 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
22213 be found in its default value.
22215 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
22216 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
22217 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
22221 (message (horizontal 1.0
22222 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
22224 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
22229 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
22230 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
22231 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
22236 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
22237 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
22238 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
22239 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
22240 (name . "Message"))
22241 (message 1.0 point))))
22244 @findex gnus-add-configuration
22245 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
22246 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
22247 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
22248 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
22251 (gnus-add-configuration
22252 '(article (vertical 1.0
22254 (summary .25 point)
22258 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
22259 @file{~/.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
22260 Gnus has been loaded.
22262 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
22263 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
22264 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
22265 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
22266 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
22268 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
22269 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
22270 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
22273 @subsection Example Window Configurations
22277 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
22278 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
22293 (gnus-add-configuration
22296 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
22298 (summary 0.16 point)
22301 (gnus-add-configuration
22304 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
22305 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
22311 @node Faces and Fonts
22312 @section Faces and Fonts
22317 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
22318 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
22319 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
22324 @section Compilation
22325 @cindex compilation
22326 @cindex byte-compilation
22328 @findex gnus-compile
22330 Remember all those line format specification variables?
22331 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
22332 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
22333 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
22334 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
22335 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
22338 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
22339 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
22340 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
22341 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
22342 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
22343 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
22344 them into the @file{~/.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
22348 @section Mode Lines
22351 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
22352 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
22353 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
22354 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
22355 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
22356 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
22357 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
22360 @cindex display-time
22362 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
22363 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
22364 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
22365 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
22366 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
22367 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
22368 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
22369 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
22372 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
22374 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
22375 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
22377 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
22378 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
22379 (length display-time-string)))))
22382 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
22383 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
22384 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
22385 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
22386 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
22389 @node Highlighting and Menus
22390 @section Highlighting and Menus
22392 @cindex highlighting
22395 @vindex gnus-visual
22396 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
22397 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
22398 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
22401 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
22402 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
22405 @item group-highlight
22406 Do highlights in the group buffer.
22407 @item summary-highlight
22408 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
22409 @item article-highlight
22410 Do highlights in the article buffer.
22412 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
22414 Create menus in the group buffer.
22416 Create menus in the summary buffers.
22418 Create menus in the article buffer.
22420 Create menus in the browse buffer.
22422 Create menus in the server buffer.
22424 Create menus in the score buffers.
22426 Create menus in all buffers.
22429 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
22430 buffers, you could say something like:
22433 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
22436 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
22439 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
22442 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
22443 in all Gnus buffers.
22445 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
22448 @item gnus-mouse-face
22449 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
22450 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
22451 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
22455 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
22459 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
22460 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
22461 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
22463 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
22464 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
22465 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
22467 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
22468 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
22469 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
22471 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
22472 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
22473 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
22475 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
22476 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
22477 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
22479 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
22480 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
22481 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
22492 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
22493 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
22494 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
22495 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
22496 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
22500 @vindex gnus-carpal
22501 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
22502 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
22503 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
22508 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
22509 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
22510 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
22512 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
22513 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
22514 Face used on buttons.
22516 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
22517 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
22518 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
22520 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
22521 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
22522 Buttons in the group buffer.
22524 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
22525 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
22526 Buttons in the summary buffer.
22528 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
22529 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
22530 Buttons in the server buffer.
22532 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
22533 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
22534 Buttons in the browse buffer.
22537 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
22538 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
22539 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
22547 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
22548 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
22549 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
22550 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
22551 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
22553 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
22554 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
22555 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
22557 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
22558 been idle for thirty minutes:
22561 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
22564 Here's a handler that scans for @acronym{PGP} headers every hour when
22568 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
22571 This @var{time} parameter and that @var{idle} parameter work together
22572 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
22573 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
22575 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
22576 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
22577 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
22578 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
22580 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
22581 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
22582 @var{idle} minutes.
22584 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
22585 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
22588 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
22589 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
22590 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
22592 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
22593 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
22594 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
22595 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
22597 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
22598 your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
22600 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
22602 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
22605 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
22606 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
22607 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
22608 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
22609 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
22610 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
22611 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
22612 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
22613 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
22614 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
22615 @file{~/.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
22617 @findex gnus-demon-init
22618 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
22619 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
22620 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
22621 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
22622 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
22624 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
22625 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
22626 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
22635 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
22636 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
22638 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
22639 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
22640 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
22641 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
22644 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
22645 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
22646 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
22647 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
22649 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
22650 this will make spam disappear.
22652 There are some variables to customize, of course:
22655 @item gnus-use-nocem
22656 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
22657 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
22660 You can also set this variable to a positive number as a group level.
22661 In that case, Gnus scans NoCeM messages when checking new news if this
22662 value is not exceeding a group level that you specify as the prefix
22663 argument to some commands, e.g. @code{gnus},
22664 @code{gnus-group-get-new-news}, etc. Otherwise, Gnus does not scan
22665 NoCeM messages if you specify a group level to those commands. For
22666 example, if you use 1 or 2 on the mail groups and the levels on the news
22667 groups remain the default, 3 is the best choice.
22669 @item gnus-nocem-groups
22670 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
22671 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
22674 ("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
22675 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")
22678 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
22679 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
22680 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
22681 people you want to listen to. The default is
22683 ("Automoose-1" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
22684 "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo" "hweede@@snafu.de")
22686 fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
22688 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at@*
22689 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
22691 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
22692 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
22693 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
22694 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
22695 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
22696 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
22697 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
22698 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
22699 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
22700 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
22702 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
22703 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
22706 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
22709 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
22710 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
22713 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
22716 The specs are applied left-to-right.
22719 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
22720 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
22722 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
22723 says she is. The default is @code{pgg-verify}, which returns
22724 non-@code{nil} if the verification is successful, otherwise (including
22725 the case the NoCeM message was not signed) returns @code{nil}. If this
22726 is too slow and you don't care for verification (which may be dangerous),
22727 you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
22729 Formerly the default was @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
22730 function. While you can still use it, you can change it into
22731 @code{pgg-verify} running with GnuPG if you are willing to add the
22732 @acronym{PGP} public keys to GnuPG's keyring.
22734 @item gnus-nocem-directory
22735 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
22736 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is@*
22737 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
22739 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
22740 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
22741 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
22742 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
22743 might then see old spam.
22745 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
22746 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
22747 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
22748 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
22749 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
22752 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
22753 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
22754 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
22755 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
22759 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
22760 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
22761 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
22762 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
22769 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
22770 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
22771 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
22773 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
22774 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
22775 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
22776 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
22777 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
22778 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
22779 @code{undo} function.
22781 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
22782 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
22783 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
22784 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
22785 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
22786 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
22787 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
22788 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
22789 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
22790 never be totally undoable.
22792 @findex gnus-undo-mode
22793 @vindex gnus-use-undo
22795 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
22796 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
22797 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
22798 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
22802 @node Predicate Specifiers
22803 @section Predicate Specifiers
22804 @cindex predicate specifiers
22806 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
22807 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
22808 to type all that much.
22810 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
22815 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
22816 gnus-article-unread-p)
22819 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
22820 functions all take one parameter.
22822 @findex gnus-make-predicate
22823 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
22824 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
22825 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
22830 @section Moderation
22833 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
22834 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
22835 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
22838 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
22842 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
22845 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
22847 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
22852 You split your incoming mail by matching on
22853 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
22854 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
22857 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
22858 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
22861 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
22862 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
22866 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
22869 (setq gnus-moderated-list
22870 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
22874 @node Fetching a Group
22875 @section Fetching a Group
22876 @cindex fetching a group
22878 @findex gnus-fetch-group
22879 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
22880 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
22881 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
22882 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
22883 It takes the group name as a parameter.
22886 @node Image Enhancements
22887 @section Image Enhancements
22889 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21@footnote{Emacs 21 on MS Windows doesn't
22890 support images, Emacs 22 does.} and up, are able to display pictures and
22891 stuff, so Gnus has taken advantage of that.
22894 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
22895 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
22896 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
22897 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
22898 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
22906 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
22907 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
22908 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
22912 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
22913 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
22914 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
22922 Viewing an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
22923 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
22924 have suitable conversion or display programs installed. If your Emacs
22925 has image support the default action is to display the face before the
22926 @code{From} header. If there's no native @code{X-Face} support, Gnus
22927 will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using external programs
22928 from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends, see below. For XEmacs it's
22929 faster if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support. The
22930 default action under Emacs without image support is to fork off the
22931 @code{display} program.
22933 On a GNU/Linux system, the @code{display} program is included in the
22934 ImageMagick package. For external conversion programs look for packages
22935 with names like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.
22936 On Windows, you may use the packages @code{netpbm} and @code{compface}
22937 from @url{http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net}. You need to add the
22938 @code{bin} directory to your @code{PATH} environment variable.
22939 @c In fact only the following DLLs and binaries seem to be required:
22940 @c compface1.dll uncompface.exe libnetpbm10.dll icontopbm.exe
22942 The variable @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} controls which programs
22943 are used to display the @code{X-Face} header. If this variable is a
22944 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
22945 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
22946 If @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches the
22947 @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
22949 (Note: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
22957 @vindex gnus-x-face
22958 Face to show X-Face. The colors from this face are used as the
22959 foreground and background colors of the displayed X-Faces. The
22960 default colors are black and white.
22962 @item gnus-face-properties-alist
22963 @vindex gnus-face-properties-alist
22964 Alist of image types and properties applied to Face (@pxref{Face}) and
22965 X-Face images. The default value is @code{((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face))
22966 (png . nil))} for Emacs or @code{((xface . (:face gnus-x-face)))} for
22967 XEmacs. Here are examples:
22970 ;; Specify the altitude of Face and X-Face images in the From header.
22971 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
22972 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :ascent 80))
22973 (png . (:ascent 80))))
22975 ;; Show Face and X-Face images as pressed buttons.
22976 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
22977 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :relief -2))
22978 (png . (:relief -2))))
22981 @pxref{Image Descriptors, ,Image Descriptors, elisp, The Emacs Lisp
22982 Reference Manual} for the valid properties for various image types.
22983 Currently, @code{pbm} is used for X-Face images and @code{png} is used
22984 for Face images in Emacs. Only the @code{:face} property is effective
22985 on the @code{xface} image type in XEmacs if it is built with the
22986 @samp{libcompface} library.
22989 If you use posting styles, you can use an @code{x-face-file} entry in
22990 @code{gnus-posting-styles}, @xref{Posting Styles}. If you don't, Gnus
22991 provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow easier
22992 insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages. You also need the
22993 above mentioned ImageMagick, netpbm or other image conversion packages
22994 (depending the values of the variables below) for these functions.
22996 @findex gnus-random-x-face
22997 @vindex gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command
22998 @vindex gnus-x-face-directory
22999 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
23000 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
23001 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
23002 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
23003 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
23004 header data as a string.
23006 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
23007 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
23008 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
23009 randomly generated data.
23011 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
23012 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command
23013 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
23014 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
23015 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
23017 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
23018 like the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23021 (setq message-required-news-headers
23022 (nconc message-required-news-headers
23023 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
23026 Using the last function would be something like this:
23029 (setq message-required-news-headers
23030 (nconc message-required-news-headers
23031 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
23032 (gnus-x-face-from-file
23033 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
23041 @c #### FIXME: faces and x-faces' implementations should really be harmonized.
23043 @code{Face} headers are essentially a funkier version of @code{X-Face}
23044 ones. They describe a 48x48 pixel colored image that's supposed to
23045 represent the author of the message.
23048 @findex gnus-article-display-face
23049 The contents of a @code{Face} header must be a base64 encoded PNG image.
23050 See @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/circus/face/} for the precise
23053 The @code{gnus-face-properties-alist} variable affects the appearance of
23054 displayed Face images. @xref{X-Face}.
23056 Viewing an @code{Face} header requires an Emacs that is able to display
23059 @c (if (featurep 'xemacs)
23061 @c (image-type-available-p 'png))
23063 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
23064 easier insertion of Face headers in outgoing messages.
23066 @findex gnus-convert-png-to-face
23067 @code{gnus-convert-png-to-face} takes a 48x48 PNG image, no longer than
23068 726 bytes long, and converts it to a face.
23070 @findex gnus-face-from-file
23071 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-face-command
23072 @code{gnus-face-from-file} takes a JPEG file as the parameter, and then
23073 converts the file to Face format by using the
23074 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-face-command} shell command.
23076 Here's how you would typically use this function. Put something like the
23077 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23080 (setq message-required-news-headers
23081 (nconc message-required-news-headers
23082 (list '(Face . (lambda ()
23083 (gnus-face-from-file "~/face.jpg"))))))
23088 @subsection Smileys
23093 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
23098 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
23099 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
23101 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
23102 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23105 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
23108 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
23109 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
23110 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
23111 text and maps that to file names.
23113 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
23114 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
23115 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
23116 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
23117 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
23120 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
23125 @item smiley-data-directory
23126 @vindex smiley-data-directory
23127 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
23129 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
23130 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
23131 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
23145 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
23146 good way to do so. It's also a great way to impress people staring
23147 over your shoulder as you read news.
23149 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
23158 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
23159 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
23160 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
23161 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
23162 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
23163 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
23164 @code{GIF} formats.
23167 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
23168 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
23169 point your Web browser at
23170 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
23172 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
23173 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
23175 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
23176 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
23179 @vindex gnus-picon-style
23180 The variable @code{gnus-picon-style} controls how picons are displayed.
23181 If @code{inline}, the textual representation is replaced. If
23182 @code{right}, picons are added right to the textual representation.
23184 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
23188 @item gnus-picon-databases
23189 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
23190 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
23191 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
23192 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
23193 "/usr/local/faces")}.
23195 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
23196 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
23197 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
23198 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
23200 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
23201 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
23202 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
23203 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
23205 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
23206 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
23207 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
23208 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
23209 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
23211 @item gnus-picon-file-types
23212 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
23213 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
23214 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not built-in your Emacs.
23220 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
23223 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
23224 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
23225 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
23226 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
23227 unusual directory structure.
23229 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
23230 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
23231 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
23236 @subsubsection Toolbar
23240 @item gnus-use-toolbar
23241 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
23242 This variable specifies the position to display the toolbar. If
23243 @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If it is non-@code{nil}, it should
23244 be one of the symbols @code{default}, @code{top}, @code{bottom},
23245 @code{right}, and @code{left}. @code{default} means to use the default
23246 toolbar, the rest mean to display the toolbar on the place which those
23247 names show. The default is @code{default}.
23249 @item gnus-toolbar-thickness
23250 @vindex gnus-toolbar-thickness
23251 Cons of the height and the width specifying the thickness of a toolbar.
23252 The height is used for the toolbar displayed on the top or the bottom,
23253 the width is used for the toolbar displayed on the right or the left.
23254 The default is that of the default toolbar.
23256 @item gnus-group-toolbar
23257 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
23258 The toolbar in the group buffer.
23260 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
23261 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
23262 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
23264 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
23265 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
23266 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
23277 @node Fuzzy Matching
23278 @section Fuzzy Matching
23279 @cindex fuzzy matching
23281 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
23282 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
23284 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
23285 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
23286 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
23288 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
23289 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
23290 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
23291 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
23292 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
23295 @node Thwarting Email Spam
23296 @section Thwarting Email Spam
23300 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23302 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
23303 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
23304 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
23305 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
23306 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
23307 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
23308 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
23309 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
23312 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
23313 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
23314 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
23315 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
23316 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
23317 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
23319 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
23322 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
23323 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
23324 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
23325 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
23328 @node The problem of spam
23329 @subsection The problem of spam
23331 @cindex spam filtering approaches
23332 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
23334 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23336 First, some background on spam.
23338 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
23339 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it
23340 exists because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail,
23341 so only a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to
23342 make it worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most
23343 common spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for
23344 further spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers},
23345 but terms like @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, @emph{sociopaths}, and
23346 @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
23348 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
23349 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
23350 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
23351 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
23352 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
23353 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
23354 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
23355 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
23356 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
23359 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering, at the mail
23360 server or when you sort through incoming mail. If you get 200 spam
23361 messages per day from @samp{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you block
23362 @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about @samp{VIAGRA}, you
23363 discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the message. If you get
23364 lots of spam from Bulgaria, for example, you try to filter all mail
23365 from Bulgarian IPs.
23367 This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate e-mail. The
23368 risks of blocking a whole country (Bulgaria, Norway, Nigeria, China,
23369 etc.) or even a continent (Asia, Africa, Europe, etc.) from contacting
23370 you should be obvious, so don't do it if you have the choice.
23372 In another instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest has
23373 been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it @strong{contained}
23374 words that were common in spam messages. Nevertheless, in isolated
23375 cases, with great care, direct filtering of mail can be useful.
23377 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
23378 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
23379 @var{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @var{X} in
23380 Ghana, Estonia, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
23381 @var{N} systems enter @var{X} or the spam e-mail from @var{X} into a
23382 database. The criteria for spam detection vary---it may be the number
23383 of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When a user
23384 of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a message is
23385 spam, he consults one of those @var{N} systems.
23387 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
23388 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
23389 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
23390 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
23391 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
23392 sending spam, and their web sites and mailing lists have been shut
23393 down for some time because of the incident.
23395 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
23396 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
23397 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
23398 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
23399 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
23400 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
23401 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
23402 to store the database of spam analysis. Statistical analysis on the
23403 server is gaining popularity. This has the advantage of letting the
23404 user Just Read Mail, but has the disadvantage that it's harder to tell
23405 the server that it has misclassified mail.
23407 Fighting spam is not easy, no matter what anyone says. There is no
23408 magic switch that will distinguish Viagra ads from Mom's e-mails.
23409 Even people are having a hard time telling spam apart from non-spam,
23410 because spammers are actively looking to fool us into thinking they
23411 are Mom, essentially. Spamming is irritating, irresponsible, and
23412 idiotic behavior from a bunch of people who think the world owes them
23413 a favor. We hope the following sections will help you in fighting the
23416 @node Anti-Spam Basics
23417 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
23421 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23423 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
23424 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
23426 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
23427 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
23428 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
23429 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
23430 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
23431 part of the mail address.)
23434 (setq message-default-news-headers
23435 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
23438 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
23439 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
23443 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
23444 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
23445 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
23450 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
23451 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
23452 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
23453 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
23455 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @acronym{SMTP} server
23456 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
23457 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
23458 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
23459 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
23460 your fancy split rule in this way:
23465 (to "larsi" "misc")
23469 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
23470 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
23471 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
23472 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
23473 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
23475 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
23476 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
23477 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
23478 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
23480 Be careful with this approach. Spammers are wise to it.
23484 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
23485 @cindex SpamAssassin
23486 @cindex Vipul's Razor
23489 The days where the hints in the previous section were sufficient in
23490 avoiding spam are coming to an end. There are many tools out there
23491 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
23492 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
23493 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
23494 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
23495 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
23497 Note that this section does not involve the @code{spam.el} package,
23498 which is discussed in the next section. If you don't care for all
23499 the features of @code{spam.el}, you can make do with these simple
23502 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
23503 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
23504 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
23505 Specifiers}) follow.
23509 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
23513 "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
23516 Once you manage to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
23517 the mail contain e.g.@: a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
23518 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
23521 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
23525 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
23528 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
23529 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
23533 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
23534 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
23535 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
23536 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
23539 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
23541 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
23545 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
23546 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
23550 Note that with the nnimap back end, message bodies will not be
23551 downloaded by default. You need to set
23552 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
23553 (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}).
23555 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
23556 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
23557 spam. And here is the nifty function:
23560 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
23561 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
23563 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
23564 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
23565 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
23569 @subsection Hashcash
23572 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
23573 costly and demonstrably unique for each message they send. This has
23574 the obvious drawback that you cannot rely on everyone in the world
23575 using this technique, since it is not part of the Internet standards,
23576 but it may be useful in smaller communities.
23578 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
23579 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
23580 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
23581 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
23582 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
23583 instead prefers that everyone you contact through e-mail supports the
23584 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
23585 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
23586 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
23587 one of them separately.
23590 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
23591 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
23592 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:} header.
23593 For more details, and for the external application @code{hashcash} you
23594 need to install to use this feature, see
23595 @uref{http://www.hashcash.org/}. Even more information can be found
23596 at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
23598 If you wish to generate hashcash for each message you send, you can
23599 customize @code{message-generate-hashcash} (@pxref{Mail Headers, ,Mail
23600 Headers,message, The Message Manual}), as in:
23603 (setq message-generate-hashcash t)
23606 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
23610 @item hashcash-default-payment
23611 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
23612 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
23613 should consist of. By default this is 20. Suggested useful values
23616 @item hashcash-payment-alist
23617 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
23618 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
23619 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(@var{addr}
23620 @var{amount})} cells, where @var{addr} is the receiver (email address
23621 or newsgroup) and @var{amount} is the number of bits in the collision
23622 that is needed. It can also contain @samp{(@var{addr} @var{string}
23623 @var{amount})} cells, where the @var{string} is the string to use
23624 (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
23626 @item hashcash-path
23627 @vindex hashcash-path
23628 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed. This variable should
23629 be automatically set by @code{executable-find}, but if it's @code{nil}
23630 (usually because the @code{hashcash} binary is not in your path)
23631 you'll get a warning when you check hashcash payments and an error
23632 when you generate hashcash payments.
23636 Gnus can verify hashcash cookies, although this can also be done by
23637 hand customized mail filtering scripts. To verify a hashcash cookie
23638 in a message, use the @code{mail-check-payment} function in the
23639 @code{hashcash.el} library. You can also use the @code{spam.el}
23640 package with the @code{spam-use-hashcash} back end to validate hashcash
23641 cookies in incoming mail and filter mail accordingly (@pxref{Anti-spam
23642 Hashcash Payments}).
23645 @section Spam Package
23646 @cindex spam filtering
23649 The Spam package provides Gnus with a centralized mechanism for
23650 detecting and filtering spam. It filters new mail, and processes
23651 messages according to whether they are spam or ham. (@dfn{Ham} is the
23652 name used throughout this manual to indicate non-spam messages.)
23655 * Spam Package Introduction::
23656 * Filtering Incoming Mail::
23657 * Detecting Spam in Groups::
23658 * Spam and Ham Processors::
23659 * Spam Package Configuration Examples::
23661 * Extending the Spam package::
23662 * Spam Statistics Package::
23665 @node Spam Package Introduction
23666 @subsection Spam Package Introduction
23667 @cindex spam filtering
23668 @cindex spam filtering sequence of events
23671 You must read this section to understand how the Spam package works.
23672 Do not skip, speed-read, or glance through this section.
23674 Make sure you read the section on the @code{spam.el} sequence of
23675 events. See @xref{Extending the Spam package}.
23677 @cindex spam-initialize
23678 @vindex spam-use-stat
23679 To use the Spam package, you @strong{must} first run the function
23680 @code{spam-initialize}:
23686 This autoloads @code{spam.el} and installs the various hooks necessary
23687 to let the Spam package do its job. In order to make use of the Spam
23688 package, you have to set up certain group parameters and variables,
23689 which we will describe below. All of the variables controlling the
23690 Spam package can be found in the @samp{spam} customization group.
23692 There are two ``contact points'' between the Spam package and the rest
23693 of Gnus: checking new mail for spam, and leaving a group.
23695 Checking new mail for spam is done in one of two ways: while splitting
23696 incoming mail, or when you enter a group.
23698 The first way, checking for spam while splitting incoming mail, is
23699 suited to mail back ends such as @code{nnml} or @code{nnimap}, where
23700 new mail appears in a single spool file. The Spam package processes
23701 incoming mail, and sends mail considered to be spam to a designated
23702 ``spam'' group. @xref{Filtering Incoming Mail}.
23704 The second way is suited to back ends such as @code{nntp}, which have
23705 no incoming mail spool, or back ends where the server is in charge of
23706 splitting incoming mail. In this case, when you enter a Gnus group,
23707 the unseen or unread messages in that group are checked for spam.
23708 Detected spam messages are marked as spam. @xref{Detecting Spam in
23711 @cindex spam back ends
23712 In either case, you have to tell the Spam package what method to use
23713 to detect spam messages. There are several methods, or @dfn{spam back
23714 ends} (not to be confused with Gnus back ends!) to choose from: spam
23715 ``blacklists'' and ``whitelists'', dictionary-based filters, and so
23716 forth. @xref{Spam Back Ends}.
23718 In the Gnus summary buffer, messages that have been identified as spam
23719 always appear with a @samp{$} symbol.
23721 The Spam package divides Gnus groups into three categories: ham
23722 groups, spam groups, and unclassified groups. You should mark each of
23723 the groups you subscribe to as either a ham group or a spam group,
23724 using the @code{spam-contents} group parameter (@pxref{Group
23725 Parameters}). Spam groups have a special property: when you enter a
23726 spam group, all unseen articles are marked as spam. Thus, mail split
23727 into a spam group is automatically marked as spam.
23729 Identifying spam messages is only half of the Spam package's job. The
23730 second half comes into play whenever you exit a group buffer. At this
23731 point, the Spam package does several things:
23733 First, it calls @dfn{spam and ham processors} to process the articles
23734 according to whether they are spam or ham. There is a pair of spam
23735 and ham processors associated with each spam back end, and what the
23736 processors do depends on the back end. At present, the main role of
23737 spam and ham processors is for dictionary-based spam filters: they add
23738 the contents of the messages in the group to the filter's dictionary,
23739 to improve its ability to detect future spam. The @code{spam-process}
23740 group parameter specifies what spam processors to use. @xref{Spam and
23743 If the spam filter failed to mark a spam message, you can mark it
23744 yourself, so that the message is processed as spam when you exit the
23754 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
23755 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
23756 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{$} mark
23757 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}).
23761 Similarly, you can unmark an article if it has been erroneously marked
23762 as spam. @xref{Setting Marks}.
23764 Normally, a ham message found in a non-ham group is not processed as
23765 ham---the rationale is that it should be moved into a ham group for
23766 further processing (see below). However, you can force these articles
23767 to be processed as ham by setting
23768 @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} and
23769 @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups}.
23771 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
23772 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
23773 The second thing that the Spam package does when you exit a group is
23774 to move ham articles out of spam groups, and spam articles out of ham
23775 groups. Ham in a spam group is moved to the group specified by the
23776 variable @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}, or the group parameter
23777 @code{ham-process-destination}. Spam in a ham group is moved to the
23778 group specified by the variable @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations},
23779 or the group parameter @code{spam-process-destination}. If these
23780 variables are not set, the articles are left in their current group.
23781 If an article cannot be moved (e.g., with a read-only backend such
23782 as @acronym{NNTP}), it is copied.
23784 If an article is moved to another group, it is processed again when
23785 you visit the new group. Normally, this is not a problem, but if you
23786 want each article to be processed only once, load the
23787 @code{gnus-registry.el} package and set the variable
23788 @code{spam-log-to-registry} to @code{t}. @xref{Spam Package
23789 Configuration Examples}.
23791 Normally, spam groups ignore @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations}.
23792 However, if you set @code{spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only} to
23793 @code{nil}, spam will also be moved out of spam groups, depending on
23794 the @code{spam-process-destination} parameter.
23796 The final thing the Spam package does is to mark spam articles as
23797 expired, which is usually the right thing to do.
23799 If all this seems confusing, don't worry. Soon it will be as natural
23800 as typing Lisp one-liners on a neural interface@dots{} err, sorry, that's
23801 50 years in the future yet. Just trust us, it's not so bad.
23803 @node Filtering Incoming Mail
23804 @subsection Filtering Incoming Mail
23805 @cindex spam filtering
23806 @cindex spam filtering incoming mail
23809 To use the Spam package to filter incoming mail, you must first set up
23810 fancy mail splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}. The Spam package
23811 defines a special splitting function that you can add to your fancy
23812 split variable (either @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
23813 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on your mail back end):
23819 @vindex spam-split-group
23821 The @code{spam-split} function scans incoming mail according to your
23822 chosen spam back end(s), and sends messages identified as spam to a
23823 spam group. By default, the spam group is a group named @samp{spam},
23824 but you can change this by customizing @code{spam-split-group}. Make
23825 sure the contents of @code{spam-split-group} are an unqualified group
23826 name. For instance, in an @code{nnimap} server @samp{your-server},
23827 the value @samp{spam} means @samp{nnimap+your-server:spam}. The value
23828 @samp{nnimap+server:spam} is therefore wrong---it gives the group
23829 @samp{nnimap+your-server:nnimap+server:spam}.
23831 @code{spam-split} does not modify the contents of messages in any way.
23833 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
23834 Note for IMAP users: if you use the @code{spam-check-bogofilter},
23835 @code{spam-check-ifile}, and @code{spam-check-stat} spam back ends,
23836 you should also set set the variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body}
23837 to @code{t}. These spam back ends are most useful when they can
23838 ``scan'' the full message body. By default, the nnimap back end only
23839 retrieves the message headers; @code{nnimap-split-download-body} tells
23840 it to retrieve the message bodies as well. We don't set this by
23841 default because it will slow @acronym{IMAP} down, and that is not an
23842 appropriate decision to make on behalf of the user. @xref{Splitting
23845 You have to specify one or more spam back ends for @code{spam-split}
23846 to use, by setting the @code{spam-use-*} variables. @xref{Spam Back
23847 Ends}. Normally, @code{spam-split} simply uses all the spam back ends
23848 you enabled in this way. However, you can tell @code{spam-split} to
23849 use only some of them. Why this is useful? Suppose you are using the
23850 @code{spam-use-regex-headers} and @code{spam-use-blackholes} spam back
23851 ends, and the following split rule:
23854 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
23855 (any "ding" "ding")
23857 ;; @r{default mailbox}
23862 The problem is that you want all ding messages to make it to the ding
23863 folder. But that will let obvious spam (for example, spam detected by
23864 SpamAssassin, and @code{spam-use-regex-headers}) through, when it's
23865 sent to the ding list. On the other hand, some messages to the ding
23866 list are from a mail server in the blackhole list, so the invocation
23867 of @code{spam-split} can't be before the ding rule.
23869 The solution is to let SpamAssassin headers supersede ding rules, and
23870 perform the other @code{spam-split} rules (including a second
23871 invocation of the regex-headers check) after the ding rule. This is
23872 done by passing a parameter to @code{spam-split}:
23877 ;; @r{spam detected by @code{spam-use-regex-headers} goes to @samp{regex-spam}}
23878 (: spam-split "regex-spam" 'spam-use-regex-headers)
23879 (any "ding" "ding")
23880 ;; @r{all other spam detected by spam-split goes to @code{spam-split-group}}
23882 ;; @r{default mailbox}
23887 This lets you invoke specific @code{spam-split} checks depending on
23888 your particular needs, and target the results of those checks to a
23889 particular spam group. You don't have to throw all mail into all the
23890 spam tests. Another reason why this is nice is that messages to
23891 mailing lists you have rules for don't have to have resource-intensive
23892 blackhole checks performed on them. You could also specify different
23893 spam checks for your nnmail split vs. your nnimap split. Go crazy.
23895 You should set the @code{spam-use-*} variables for whatever spam back
23896 ends you intend to use. The reason is that when loading
23897 @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done depending on what
23898 @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set. @xref{Spam Back Ends}.
23900 @c @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
23901 @c statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
23904 @node Detecting Spam in Groups
23905 @subsection Detecting Spam in Groups
23907 To detect spam when visiting a group, set the group's
23908 @code{spam-autodetect} and @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group
23909 parameters. These are accessible with @kbd{G c} or @kbd{G p}, as
23910 usual (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
23912 You should set the @code{spam-use-*} variables for whatever spam back
23913 ends you intend to use. The reason is that when loading
23914 @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done depending on what
23915 @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set.
23917 By default, only unseen articles are processed for spam. You can
23918 force Gnus to recheck all messages in the group by setting the
23919 variable @code{spam-autodetect-recheck-messages} to @code{t}.
23921 If you use the @code{spam-autodetect} method of checking for spam, you
23922 can specify different spam detection methods for different groups.
23923 For instance, the @samp{ding} group may have @code{spam-use-BBDB} as
23924 the autodetection method, while the @samp{suspect} group may have the
23925 @code{spam-use-blacklist} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter} methods
23926 enabled. Unlike with @code{spam-split}, you don't have any control
23927 over the @emph{sequence} of checks, but this is probably unimportant.
23929 @node Spam and Ham Processors
23930 @subsection Spam and Ham Processors
23931 @cindex spam filtering
23932 @cindex spam filtering variables
23933 @cindex spam variables
23936 @vindex gnus-spam-process-newsgroups
23937 Spam and ham processors specify special actions to take when you exit
23938 a group buffer. Spam processors act on spam messages, and ham
23939 processors on ham messages. At present, the main role of these
23940 processors is to update the dictionaries of dictionary-based spam back
23941 ends such as Bogofilter (@pxref{Bogofilter}) and the Spam Statistics
23942 package (@pxref{Spam Statistics Filtering}).
23944 The spam and ham processors that apply to each group are determined by
23945 the group's@code{spam-process} group parameter. If this group
23946 parameter is not defined, they are determined by the variable
23947 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups}.
23949 @vindex gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
23950 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
23951 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
23952 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
23953 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
23954 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
23955 by customizing the corresponding variable
23956 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
23957 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
23958 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
23959 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
23960 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
23961 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
23962 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
23965 @vindex gnus-spam-mark
23967 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
23968 they get the @samp{$} mark (@code{gnus-spam-mark}) when you enter the
23969 group. If you have seen a message, had it marked as spam, then
23970 unmarked it, it won't be marked as spam when you enter the group
23971 thereafter. You can disable that behavior, so all unread messages
23972 will get the @samp{$} mark, if you set the
23973 @code{spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam} parameter to @code{nil}. You
23974 should remove the @samp{$} mark when you are in the group summary
23975 buffer for every message that is not spam after all. To remove the
23976 @samp{$} mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to ``unread'' the article, or
23977 @kbd{d} for declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a
23978 group, all spam-marked (@samp{$}) articles are sent to a spam
23979 processor which will study them as spam samples.
23981 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
23982 @code{ham-marks} group parameter gets overridden below, marks @samp{R}
23983 and @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
23984 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
23985 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
23986 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
23987 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
23988 should then adjust the @code{ham-marks} group parameter.
23991 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
23992 marks you want to consider ham. By default, the list contains the
23993 deleted, read, killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks (the idea is
23994 that these articles have been read, but are not spam). It can be
23995 useful to also include the tick mark in the ham marks. It is not
23996 recommended to make the unread mark a ham mark, because it normally
23997 indicates a lack of classification. But you can do it, and we'll be
24002 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
24003 marks you want to consider spam. By default, the list contains only
24004 the spam mark. It is not recommended to change that, but you can if
24005 you really want to.
24008 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
24009 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
24010 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
24011 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
24012 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
24013 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{$},
24016 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
24017 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
24018 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
24019 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
24020 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
24021 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
24022 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
24023 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
24024 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with @kbd{M-x
24025 customize-variable @key{RET} gnus-ham-process-destinations}). Each
24026 group name list is a standard Lisp list, if you prefer to customize
24027 the variable manually. If the @code{ham-process-destination}
24028 parameter is not set, ham articles are left in place. If the
24029 @code{spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group} parameter is
24030 set, the ham articles are marked as unread before being moved.
24032 If ham can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
24033 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
24035 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
24036 expression! This enables you to send your ham to a regular mail
24037 group and to a @emph{ham training} group.
24039 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
24040 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
24042 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups
24043 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} is
24044 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in spam groups
24045 to be processed. Normally this is not done, you are expected instead
24046 to send your ham to a ham group and process it there.
24048 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups
24049 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups} is
24050 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in non-ham (spam
24051 or unclassified) groups to be processed. Normally this is not done,
24052 you are expected instead to send your ham to a ham group and process
24055 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
24056 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
24057 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
24058 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
24059 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
24060 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
24061 customize this variable with @kbd{M-x customize-variable @key{RET}
24062 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). Each group name list is a standard
24063 Lisp list, if you prefer to customize the variable manually. If the
24064 @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set, the spam
24065 articles are only expired. The group name is fully qualified, meaning
24066 that if you see @samp{nntp:servername} before the group name in the
24067 group buffer then you need it here as well.
24069 If spam can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
24070 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
24072 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
24073 expression! This enables you to send your spam to multiple @emph{spam
24076 @vindex spam-log-to-registry
24077 The problem with processing ham and spam is that Gnus doesn't track
24078 this processing by default. Enable the @code{spam-log-to-registry}
24079 variable so @code{spam.el} will use @code{gnus-registry.el} to track
24080 what articles have been processed, and avoid processing articles
24081 multiple times. Keep in mind that if you limit the number of registry
24082 entries, this won't work as well as it does without a limit.
24084 @vindex spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam
24085 Set this variable if you want only unseen articles in spam groups to
24086 be marked as spam. By default, it is set. If you set it to
24087 @code{nil}, unread articles will also be marked as spam.
24089 @vindex spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group
24090 Set this variable if you want ham to be unmarked before it is moved
24091 out of the spam group. This is very useful when you use something
24092 like the tick mark @samp{!} to mark ham---the article will be placed
24093 in your @code{ham-process-destination}, unmarked as if it came fresh
24094 from the mail server.
24096 @vindex spam-autodetect-recheck-messages
24097 When autodetecting spam, this variable tells @code{spam.el} whether
24098 only unseen articles or all unread articles should be checked for
24099 spam. It is recommended that you leave it off.
24101 @node Spam Package Configuration Examples
24102 @subsection Spam Package Configuration Examples
24103 @cindex spam filtering
24104 @cindex spam filtering configuration examples
24105 @cindex spam configuration examples
24108 @subsubheading Ted's setup
24110 From Ted Zlatanov <tzz@@lifelogs.com>.
24112 ;; @r{for @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent} and spam autodetection}
24113 ;; @r{see @file{gnus-registry.el} for more information}
24114 (gnus-registry-initialize)
24118 spam-log-to-registry t ; @r{for spam autodetection}
24120 spam-use-regex-headers t ; @r{catch X-Spam-Flag (SpamAssassin)}
24121 ;; @r{all groups with @samp{spam} in the name contain spam}
24122 gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
24123 '(("spam" gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
24124 ;; @r{see documentation for these}
24125 spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only nil
24126 spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam t
24127 spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group t
24128 nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
24129 ;; @r{understand what this does before you copy it to your own setup!}
24130 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
24131 ;; @r{trace references to parents and put in their group}
24132 (: gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent)
24133 ;; @r{this will catch server-side SpamAssassin tags}
24134 (: spam-split 'spam-use-regex-headers)
24135 (any "ding" "ding")
24136 ;; @r{note that spam by default will go to @samp{spam}}
24138 ;; @r{default mailbox}
24141 ;; @r{my parameters, set with @kbd{G p}}
24143 ;; @r{all nnml groups, and all nnimap groups except}
24144 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} and}
24145 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam}: any spam goes to nnimap training,}
24146 ;; @r{because it must have been detected manually}
24148 ((spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
24150 ;; @r{all @acronym{NNTP} groups}
24151 ;; @r{autodetect spam with the blacklist and ham with the BBDB}
24152 ((spam-autodetect-methods spam-use-blacklist spam-use-BBDB)
24153 ;; @r{send all spam to the training group}
24154 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
24156 ;; @r{only some @acronym{NNTP} groups, where I want to autodetect spam}
24157 ((spam-autodetect . t))
24159 ;; @r{my nnimap @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam} group}
24161 ;; @r{this is a spam group}
24162 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam)
24164 ;; @r{any spam (which happens when I enter for all unseen messages,}
24165 ;; @r{because of the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} setting above), goes to}
24166 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} unless I mark it as ham}
24168 (spam-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train")
24170 ;; @r{any ham goes to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail} folder, but}
24171 ;; @r{also to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham} folder for training}
24173 (ham-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail"
24174 "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham")
24175 ;; @r{in this group, only @samp{!} marks are ham}
24177 (gnus-ticked-mark))
24178 ;; @r{remembers senders in the blacklist on the way out---this is}
24179 ;; @r{definitely not needed, it just makes me feel better}
24180 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist)))
24182 ;; @r{Later, on the @acronym{IMAP} server I use the @samp{train} group for training}
24183 ;; @r{SpamAssassin to recognize spam, and the @samp{trainham} group fora}
24184 ;; @r{recognizing ham---but Gnus has nothing to do with it.}
24188 @subsubheading Using @code{spam.el} on an IMAP server with a statistical filter on the server
24189 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
24191 My provider has set up bogofilter (in combination with @acronym{DCC}) on
24192 the mail server (@acronym{IMAP}). Recognized spam goes to
24193 @samp{spam.detected}, the rest goes through the normal filter rules,
24194 i.e. to @samp{some.folder} or to @samp{INBOX}. Training on false
24195 positives or negatives is done by copying or moving the article to
24196 @samp{training.ham} or @samp{training.spam} respectively. A cron job on
24197 the server feeds those to bogofilter with the suitable ham or spam
24198 options and deletes them from the @samp{training.ham} and
24199 @samp{training.spam} folders.
24201 With the following entries in @code{gnus-parameters}, @code{spam.el}
24202 does most of the job for me:
24205 ("nnimap:spam\\.detected"
24206 (gnus-article-sort-functions '(gnus-article-sort-by-chars))
24207 (ham-process-destination "nnimap:INBOX" "nnimap:training.ham")
24208 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
24209 ("nnimap:\\(INBOX\\|other-folders\\)"
24210 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap:training.spam")
24211 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham))
24216 @item @b{The Spam folder:}
24218 In the folder @samp{spam.detected}, I have to check for false positives
24219 (i.e. legitimate mails, that were wrongly judged as spam by
24220 bogofilter or DCC).
24222 Because of the @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam} entry, all
24223 messages are marked as spam (with @code{$}). When I find a false
24224 positive, I mark the message with some other ham mark
24225 (@code{ham-marks}, @ref{Spam and Ham Processors}). On group exit,
24226 those messages are copied to both groups, @samp{INBOX} (where I want
24227 to have the article) and @samp{training.ham} (for training bogofilter)
24228 and deleted from the @samp{spam.detected} folder.
24230 The @code{gnus-article-sort-by-chars} entry simplifies detection of
24231 false positives for me. I receive lots of worms (sweN, @dots{}), that all
24232 have a similar size. Grouping them by size (i.e. chars) makes finding
24233 other false positives easier. (Of course worms aren't @i{spam}
24234 (@acronym{UCE}, @acronym{UBE}) strictly speaking. Anyhow, bogofilter is
24235 an excellent tool for filtering those unwanted mails for me.)
24237 @item @b{Ham folders:}
24239 In my ham folders, I just hit @kbd{S x}
24240 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) whenever I see an unrecognized spam
24241 mail (false negative). On group exit, those messages are moved to
24242 @samp{training.spam}.
24245 @subsubheading Reporting spam articles in Gmane groups with @code{spam-report.el}
24247 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
24249 With following entry in @code{gnus-parameters}, @kbd{S x}
24250 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) marks articles in @code{gmane.*}
24251 groups as spam and reports the to Gmane at group exit:
24255 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane)))
24258 Additionally, I use @code{(setq spam-report-gmane-use-article-number nil)}
24259 because I don't read the groups directly from news.gmane.org, but
24260 through my local news server (leafnode). I.e. the article numbers are
24261 not the same as on news.gmane.org, thus @code{spam-report.el} has to check
24262 the @code{X-Report-Spam} header to find the correct number.
24264 @node Spam Back Ends
24265 @subsection Spam Back Ends
24266 @cindex spam back ends
24268 The spam package offers a variety of back ends for detecting spam.
24269 Each back end defines a set of methods for detecting spam
24270 (@pxref{Filtering Incoming Mail}, @pxref{Detecting Spam in Groups}),
24271 and a pair of spam and ham processors (@pxref{Spam and Ham
24275 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
24276 * BBDB Whitelists::
24277 * Gmane Spam Reporting::
24278 * Anti-spam Hashcash Payments::
24280 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
24282 * SpamAssassin back end::
24283 * ifile spam filtering::
24284 * Spam Statistics Filtering::
24288 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
24289 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
24290 @cindex spam filtering
24291 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
24292 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
24295 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
24297 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
24298 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
24299 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
24300 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
24305 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
24307 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
24308 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
24309 whitelist will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
24310 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the whitelist, their
24311 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24315 @defvar spam-use-whitelist-exclusive
24317 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists as an
24318 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
24319 unless the sender is in the whitelist. Use with care.
24323 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
24325 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24326 customizing the group parameters or the
24327 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24328 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24329 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
24333 Instead of the obsolete
24334 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist}, it is recommended
24335 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-blacklist)}. Everything will work
24336 the same way, we promise.
24340 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
24342 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24343 customizing the group parameters or the
24344 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24345 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24346 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
24351 Instead of the obsolete
24352 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist}, it is recommended
24353 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-whitelist)}. Everything will work
24354 the same way, we promise.
24358 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
24359 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
24360 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
24361 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
24362 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
24364 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
24365 legitimate. All messages from whitelisted addresses are considered
24366 non-spam. Also see @ref{BBDB Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the
24367 Emacs regular expression syntax.
24369 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
24370 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
24371 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
24372 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
24373 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
24374 @file{blacklist} respectively.
24376 @node BBDB Whitelists
24377 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
24378 @cindex spam filtering
24379 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
24380 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
24383 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
24385 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
24386 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted
24387 addresses, without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded
24388 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Messages whose senders are
24389 not in the BBDB will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
24390 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the BBDB, their
24391 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24395 @defvar spam-use-BBDB-exclusive
24397 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use the BBDB as an
24398 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
24399 unless the sender is in the BBDB. Use with care. Only sender
24400 addresses in the BBDB will be allowed through; all others will be
24401 classified as spammers.
24403 While @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} @emph{can} be used as an alias
24404 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} as far as @code{spam.el} is concerned, it is
24405 @emph{not} a separate back end. If you set
24406 @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} to t, @emph{all} your BBDB splitting
24411 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
24413 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24414 customizing the group parameters or the
24415 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24416 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24417 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
24422 Instead of the obsolete
24423 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB}, it is recommended
24424 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-BBDB)}. Everything will work
24425 the same way, we promise.
24429 @node Gmane Spam Reporting
24430 @subsubsection Gmane Spam Reporting
24431 @cindex spam reporting
24432 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
24433 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
24436 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane
24438 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24439 customizing the group parameters or the
24440 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24441 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
24442 articles groups will be reported to the Gmane administrators via a
24445 Gmane can be found at @uref{http://gmane.org}.
24449 Instead of the obsolete
24450 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane}, it is recommended
24451 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-gmane)}. Everything will work the
24452 same way, we promise.
24456 @defvar spam-report-gmane-use-article-number
24458 This variable is @code{t} by default. Set it to @code{nil} if you are
24459 running your own news server, for instance, and the local article
24460 numbers don't correspond to the Gmane article numbers. When
24461 @code{spam-report-gmane-use-article-number} is @code{nil},
24462 @code{spam-report.el} will fetch the number from the article headers.
24466 @defvar spam-report-user-mail-address
24468 Mail address exposed in the User-Agent spam reports to Gmane. It allows
24469 the Gmane administrators to contact you in case of misreports. The
24470 default is @code{user-mail-address}.
24474 @node Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
24475 @subsubsection Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
24476 @cindex spam filtering
24477 @cindex hashcash, spam filtering
24480 @defvar spam-use-hashcash
24482 Similar to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
24483 Whitelists}), but uses hashcash tokens for whitelisting messages
24484 instead of the sender address. Messages without a hashcash payment
24485 token will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an explicit
24486 filter, meaning that unless a hashcash token is found, the messages
24487 are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24492 @subsubsection Blackholes
24493 @cindex spam filtering
24494 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
24497 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
24499 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
24500 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
24501 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
24502 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
24503 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
24504 contains outdated servers.
24506 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
24507 @code{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
24508 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil}. It is not recommended at
24509 this time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil} despite the
24510 possible performance improvements, because some users may be unable to
24511 use it, but you can try it and see if it works for you.
24515 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
24517 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
24521 @defvar spam-blackhole-good-server-regex
24523 A regular expression for IPs that should not be checked against the
24524 blackhole server list. When set to @code{nil}, it has no effect.
24528 @defvar spam-use-dig
24530 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
24531 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
24535 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
24536 ham processor for blackholes.
24538 @node Regular Expressions Header Matching
24539 @subsubsection Regular Expressions Header Matching
24540 @cindex spam filtering
24541 @cindex regular expressions header matching, spam filtering
24544 @defvar spam-use-regex-headers
24546 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus check the
24547 message headers against lists of regular expressions when you set this
24548 option. The variables @code{spam-regex-headers-spam} and
24549 @code{spam-regex-headers-ham} hold the list of regular expressions.
24550 Gnus will check against the message headers to determine if the
24551 message is spam or ham, respectively.
24555 @defvar spam-regex-headers-spam
24557 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
24558 the message, positively identify it as spam.
24562 @defvar spam-regex-headers-ham
24564 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
24565 the message, positively identify it as ham.
24569 Regular expression header checks are done only on incoming mail.
24570 There is no specific spam or ham processor for regular expressions.
24573 @subsubsection Bogofilter
24574 @cindex spam filtering
24575 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
24578 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
24580 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
24583 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{$} mark for spam
24584 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
24585 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
24586 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
24587 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
24588 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
24590 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on a specific
24591 threshold. That threshold can be customized, consult the Bogofilter
24594 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
24595 processing will be turned off.
24597 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
24606 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
24607 Get the Bogofilter spamicity score (@code{spam-bogofilter-score}).
24610 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
24612 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
24613 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
24614 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
24615 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
24616 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
24617 installation documents for details.
24619 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
24623 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
24624 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24625 customizing the group parameters or the
24626 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24627 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
24628 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
24632 Instead of the obsolete
24633 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
24634 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
24635 the same way, we promise.
24638 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
24639 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24640 customizing the group parameters or the
24641 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24642 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
24643 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
24644 of non-spam messages.
24648 Instead of the obsolete
24649 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
24650 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
24651 the same way, we promise.
24654 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
24656 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
24657 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
24658 database directory.
24662 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to @command{ifile} in intent and
24663 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
24664 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
24665 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
24666 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
24667 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
24669 @node SpamAssassin back end
24670 @subsubsection SpamAssassin back end
24671 @cindex spam filtering
24672 @cindex spamassassin, spam filtering
24675 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin
24677 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use SpamAssassin.
24679 SpamAssassin assigns a score to each article based on a set of rules
24680 and tests, including a Bayesian filter. The Bayesian filter can be
24681 trained by associating the @samp{$} mark for spam articles. The
24682 spam score can be viewed by using the command @kbd{S t} in summary
24685 If you set this variable, each article will be processed by
24686 SpamAssassin when @code{spam-split} is called. If your mail is
24687 preprocessed by SpamAssassin, and you want to just use the
24688 SpamAssassin headers, set @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}
24691 You should not enable this if you use
24692 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}.
24696 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin-headers
24698 Set this variable if your mail is preprocessed by SpamAssassin and
24699 want @code{spam-split} to split based on the SpamAssassin headers.
24701 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-spamassassin}.
24705 @defvar spam-spamassassin-program
24707 This variable points to the SpamAssassin executable. If you have
24708 @code{spamd} running, you can set this variable to the @code{spamc}
24709 executable for faster processing. See the SpamAssassin documentation
24710 for more information on @code{spamd}/@code{spamc}.
24714 SpamAssassin is a powerful and flexible spam filter that uses a wide
24715 variety of tests to identify spam. A ham and a spam processors are
24716 provided, plus the @code{spam-use-spamassassin} and
24717 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers} variables to indicate to
24718 spam-split that SpamAssassin should be either used, or has already
24719 been used on the article. The 2.63 version of SpamAssassin was used
24720 to test this functionality.
24722 @node ifile spam filtering
24723 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
24724 @cindex spam filtering
24725 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
24728 @defvar spam-use-ifile
24730 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use @command{ifile}, a
24731 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
24735 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
24737 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
24738 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
24739 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
24743 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
24745 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
24746 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
24747 the default value of @samp{spam}.
24750 @defvar spam-ifile-database
24752 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
24753 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
24757 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
24758 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
24759 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
24760 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
24763 @node Spam Statistics Filtering
24764 @subsubsection Spam Statistics Filtering
24765 @cindex spam filtering
24766 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
24770 This back end uses the Spam Statistics Emacs Lisp package to perform
24771 statistics-based filtering (@pxref{Spam Statistics Package}). Before
24772 using this, you may want to perform some additional steps to
24773 initialize your Spam Statistics dictionary. @xref{Creating a
24774 spam-stat dictionary}.
24776 @defvar spam-use-stat
24780 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
24781 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24782 customizing the group parameters or the
24783 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24784 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
24785 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
24789 Instead of the obsolete
24790 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
24791 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
24792 the same way, we promise.
24795 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
24796 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24797 customizing the group parameters or the
24798 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24799 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
24800 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
24801 of non-spam messages.
24805 Instead of the obsolete
24806 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
24807 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
24808 the same way, we promise.
24811 This enables @code{spam.el} to cooperate with @file{spam-stat.el}.
24812 @file{spam-stat.el} provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database,
24813 which unlike ifile or Bogofilter does not require external programs.
24814 A spam and a ham processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for
24815 @code{spam-split} are provided.
24818 @subsubsection Using SpamOracle with Gnus
24819 @cindex spam filtering
24823 An easy way to filter out spam is to use SpamOracle. SpamOracle is an
24824 statistical mail filtering tool written by Xavier Leroy and needs to be
24825 installed separately.
24827 There are several ways to use SpamOracle with Gnus. In all cases, your
24828 mail is piped through SpamOracle in its @emph{mark} mode. SpamOracle will
24829 then enter an @samp{X-Spam} header indicating whether it regards the
24830 mail as a spam mail or not.
24832 One possibility is to run SpamOracle as a @code{:prescript} from the
24833 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}, (@pxref{SpamAssassin}). This method has
24834 the advantage that the user can see the @emph{X-Spam} headers.
24836 The easiest method is to make @file{spam.el} (@pxref{Spam Package})
24839 @vindex spam-use-spamoracle
24840 To enable SpamOracle usage by @code{spam.el}, set the variable
24841 @code{spam-use-spamoracle} to @code{t} and configure the
24842 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}. @xref{Spam
24843 Package}. In this example the @samp{INBOX} of an nnimap server is
24844 filtered using SpamOracle. Mails recognized as spam mails will be
24845 moved to @code{spam-split-group}, @samp{Junk} in this case. Ham
24846 messages stay in @samp{INBOX}:
24849 (setq spam-use-spamoracle t
24850 spam-split-group "Junk"
24851 nnimap-split-inbox '("INBOX")
24852 nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
24853 nnimap-split-fancy '(| (: spam-split) "INBOX"))
24856 @defvar spam-use-spamoracle
24857 Set to @code{t} if you want Gnus to enable spam filtering using
24861 @defvar spam-spamoracle-binary
24862 Gnus uses the SpamOracle binary called @file{spamoracle} found in the
24863 user's PATH. Using the variable @code{spam-spamoracle-binary}, this
24867 @defvar spam-spamoracle-database
24868 By default, SpamOracle uses the file @file{~/.spamoracle.db} as a database to
24869 store its analysis. This is controlled by the variable
24870 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} which defaults to @code{nil}. That means
24871 the default SpamOracle database will be used. In case you want your
24872 database to live somewhere special, set
24873 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} to this path.
24876 SpamOracle employs a statistical algorithm to determine whether a
24877 message is spam or ham. In order to get good results, meaning few
24878 false hits or misses, SpamOracle needs training. SpamOracle learns
24879 the characteristics of your spam mails. Using the @emph{add} mode
24880 (training mode) one has to feed good (ham) and spam mails to
24881 SpamOracle. This can be done by pressing @kbd{|} in the Summary
24882 buffer and pipe the mail to a SpamOracle process or using
24883 @file{spam.el}'s spam- and ham-processors, which is much more
24884 convenient. For a detailed description of spam- and ham-processors,
24885 @xref{Spam Package}.
24887 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle
24888 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24889 customizing the group parameter or the
24890 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
24891 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles will be
24892 sent to SpamOracle as spam samples.
24896 Instead of the obsolete
24897 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
24898 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
24899 the same way, we promise.
24902 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle
24903 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24904 customizing the group parameter or the
24905 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
24906 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked articles in
24907 @emph{ham} groups will be sent to the SpamOracle as samples of ham
24912 Instead of the obsolete
24913 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
24914 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
24915 the same way, we promise.
24918 @emph{Example:} These are the Group Parameters of a group that has been
24919 classified as a ham group, meaning that it should only contain ham
24922 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham)
24923 (spam-process ((ham spam-use-spamoracle)
24924 (spam spam-use-spamoracle))))
24926 For this group the @code{spam-use-spamoracle} is installed for both
24927 ham and spam processing. If the group contains spam message
24928 (e.g. because SpamOracle has not had enough sample messages yet) and
24929 the user marks some messages as spam messages, these messages will be
24930 processed by SpamOracle. The processor sends the messages to
24931 SpamOracle as new samples for spam.
24933 @node Extending the Spam package
24934 @subsection Extending the Spam package
24935 @cindex spam filtering
24936 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
24937 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
24939 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
24940 incoming mail, provide the following:
24948 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
24949 "True if blackbox should be used.")
24952 Write @code{spam-check-blackbox} if Blackbox can check incoming mail.
24954 Write @code{spam-blackbox-register-routine} and
24955 @code{spam-blackbox-unregister-routine} using the bogofilter
24956 register/unregister routines as a start, or other restister/unregister
24957 routines more appropriate to Blackbox, if Blackbox can
24958 register/unregister spam and ham.
24963 The @code{spam-check-blackbox} function should return @samp{nil} or
24964 @code{spam-split-group}, observing the other conventions. See the
24965 existing @code{spam-check-*} functions for examples of what you can
24966 do, and stick to the template unless you fully understand the reasons
24971 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
24978 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
24979 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
24981 Also, ham and spam processors are being phased out as single
24982 variables. Instead the form @code{(spam spam-use-blackbox)} or
24983 @code{(ham spam-use-blackbox)} is favored. For now, spam/ham
24984 processor variables are still around but they won't be for long.
24987 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-spam"
24988 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
24989 Only applicable to spam groups.")
24991 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-ham"
24992 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
24993 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
25002 (const :tag "Spam: Blackbox" (spam spam-use-blackbox))
25003 (const :tag "Ham: Blackbox" (ham spam-use-blackbox))
25005 to the @code{spam-process} group parameter in @code{gnus.el}. Make
25006 sure you do it twice, once for the parameter and once for the
25007 variable customization.
25011 (variable-item spam-use-blackbox)
25013 to the @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group parameter in
25014 @code{gnus.el} if Blackbox can check incoming mail for spam contents.
25016 Finally, use the appropriate @code{spam-install-*-backend} function in
25017 @code{spam.el}. Here are the available functions.
25023 @code{spam-install-backend-alias}
25025 This function will simply install an alias for a back end that does
25026 everything like the original back end. It is currently only used to
25027 make @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} act like @code{spam-use-BBDB}.
25030 @code{spam-install-nocheck-backend}
25032 This function installs a back end that has no check function, but can
25033 register/unregister ham or spam. The @code{spam-use-gmane} back end is
25037 @code{spam-install-checkonly-backend}
25039 This function will install a back end that can only check incoming mail
25040 for spam contents. It can't register or unregister messages.
25041 @code{spam-use-blackholes} and @code{spam-use-hashcash} are such
25045 @code{spam-install-statistical-checkonly-backend}
25047 This function installs a statistical back end (one which requires the
25048 full body of a message to check it) that can only check incoming mail
25049 for contents. @code{spam-use-regex-body} is such a filter.
25052 @code{spam-install-statistical-backend}
25054 This function install a statistical back end with incoming checks and
25055 registration/unregistration routines. @code{spam-use-bogofilter} is
25059 @code{spam-install-backend}
25061 This is the most normal back end installation, where a back end that can
25062 check and register/unregister messages is set up without statistical
25063 abilities. The @code{spam-use-BBDB} is such a back end.
25066 @code{spam-install-mover-backend}
25068 Mover back ends are internal to @code{spam.el} and specifically move
25069 articles around when the summary is exited. You will very probably
25070 never install such a back end.
25075 @node Spam Statistics Package
25076 @subsection Spam Statistics Package
25077 @cindex Paul Graham
25078 @cindex Graham, Paul
25079 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
25080 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
25081 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
25083 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
25084 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
25085 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
25086 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
25087 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
25088 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
25089 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
25090 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
25091 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
25094 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
25095 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
25096 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
25097 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
25098 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
25099 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
25100 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
25101 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
25103 The Spam Statistics package adds support to Gnus for this kind of
25104 filtering. It can be used as one of the back ends of the Spam package
25105 (@pxref{Spam Package}), or by itself.
25107 Before using the Spam Statistics package, you need to set it up.
25108 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
25109 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
25110 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
25111 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
25114 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
25115 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
25116 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
25119 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
25120 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
25122 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
25123 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
25124 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
25125 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
25126 need several hundred emails in both collections.
25128 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
25129 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
25130 per mail. Use the following:
25132 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
25133 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
25134 is treated as one spam mail.
25137 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
25138 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
25139 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
25142 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
25143 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds to
25144 the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
25145 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
25146 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds to the group
25147 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
25149 When you are using @acronym{IMAP}, you won't have the mails available
25150 locally, so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent
25151 to cache the articles. Then you can use directories such as
25152 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
25153 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
25156 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics---the
25157 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
25158 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
25159 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
25162 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
25163 reset the dictionary.
25165 @defun spam-stat-reset
25166 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
25169 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
25170 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
25171 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
25172 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
25173 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
25174 only non-spam mails.
25176 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
25177 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
25178 to update the dictionary incrementally.
25181 @defun spam-stat-save
25182 Save the dictionary.
25185 @defvar spam-stat-file
25186 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
25187 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
25190 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
25191 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
25193 This section describes how to use the Spam statistics
25194 @emph{independently} of the @xref{Spam Package}.
25196 First, add the following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
25199 (require 'spam-stat)
25203 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
25206 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
25207 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
25208 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
25209 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
25211 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
25212 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
25213 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
25214 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
25217 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25218 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25222 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
25223 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
25226 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
25227 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
25228 expression are considered potential spam.
25231 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25232 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25233 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25237 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
25238 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
25239 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
25240 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
25241 mails, when creating the dictionary!
25244 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25245 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25246 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25250 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
25251 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
25252 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
25253 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
25254 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
25258 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25259 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
25260 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25261 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25266 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
25267 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
25269 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
25271 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
25272 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
25273 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
25276 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
25277 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
25278 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
25281 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
25282 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
25283 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
25284 already been processed as non-spam.
25287 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
25288 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
25289 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
25290 been processed as spam.
25293 @defun spam-stat-save
25294 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
25295 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
25298 @defun spam-stat-load
25299 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
25300 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
25303 @defun spam-stat-score-word
25304 Return the spam score for a word.
25307 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
25308 Return the spam score for a buffer.
25311 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
25312 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
25313 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
25316 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
25317 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
25320 (require 'spam-stat)
25324 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
25327 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
25328 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25329 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25330 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25331 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
25332 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
25333 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25334 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25335 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
25336 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25337 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
25338 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
25339 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25340 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25343 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
25346 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
25347 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25348 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25349 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
25350 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
25351 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25355 @section Interaction with other modes
25360 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} provides some useful functions for dired
25361 buffers. It is enabled with
25363 (add-hook 'dired-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-dired-mode)
25368 @findex gnus-dired-attach
25369 @cindex attachments, selection via dired
25370 Send dired's marked files as an attachment (@code{gnus-dired-attach}).
25371 You will be prompted for a message buffer.
25374 @findex gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap
25375 Visit a file according to the appropriate mailcap entry
25376 (@code{gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap}). With prefix, open file in a new
25380 @findex gnus-dired-print
25381 Print file according to the mailcap entry (@code{gnus-dired-print}). If
25382 there is no print command, print in a PostScript image.
25385 @node Various Various
25386 @section Various Various
25392 @item gnus-home-directory
25393 @vindex gnus-home-directory
25394 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
25395 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
25397 @item gnus-directory
25398 @vindex gnus-directory
25399 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
25400 this variable, which defaults to the @env{SAVEDIR} environment
25401 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
25403 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{~/.gnus.el} file is read.
25404 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
25405 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
25406 @file{~/.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
25408 @item gnus-default-directory
25409 @vindex gnus-default-directory
25410 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
25411 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
25412 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
25413 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
25414 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
25415 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
25418 @vindex gnus-verbose
25419 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
25420 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
25421 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
25422 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
25423 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
25425 @item gnus-verbose-backends
25426 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
25427 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
25428 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
25430 @item nnheader-max-head-length
25431 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
25432 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
25433 as little as possible. This variable (default 8192) specifies
25434 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
25435 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
25436 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
25437 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
25438 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
25439 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
25441 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
25442 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
25443 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
25444 read when doing the operation described above.
25446 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
25447 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
25449 @cindex invalid characters in file names
25450 @cindex characters in file names
25451 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
25452 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
25453 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
25457 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
25462 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
25463 Windows (phooey) systems.
25465 @item gnus-hidden-properties
25466 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
25467 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
25468 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
25469 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
25471 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
25472 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
25473 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
25474 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
25475 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
25477 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
25478 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
25479 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
25481 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
25482 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
25484 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
25485 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
25486 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
25487 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
25490 @acronym{IMAP} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
25498 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
25499 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
25501 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
25503 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
25509 Not because of victories @*
25512 but for the common sunshine,@*
25514 the largess of the spring.
25518 but for the day's work done@*
25519 as well as I was able;@*
25520 not for a seat upon the dais@*
25521 but at the common table.@*
25526 @chapter Appendices
25529 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
25530 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
25531 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
25532 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
25533 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
25534 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
25535 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
25536 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
25537 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
25544 @cindex installing under XEmacs
25546 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
25547 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
25548 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{mail-lib}, @samp{xemacs-base},
25549 @samp{eterm}, @samp{sh-script}, @samp{net-utils}, @samp{os-utils},
25550 @samp{dired}, @samp{mh-e}, @samp{sieve}, @samp{ps-print}, @samp{W3},
25551 @samp{pgg}, @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{ecrypto}, and @samp{sasl}.
25558 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
25559 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
25561 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
25562 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
25563 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
25564 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
25565 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
25567 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
25568 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
25569 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
25570 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
25571 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
25572 appropriate name, don't you think?)
25574 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
25575 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
25576 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
25577 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
25580 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
25581 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
25582 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
25583 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
25584 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
25585 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
25586 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
25587 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
25588 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
25592 @node Gnus Versions
25593 @subsection Gnus Versions
25595 @cindex September Gnus
25597 @cindex Quassia Gnus
25598 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
25601 @cindex Gnus versions
25603 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
25604 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
25605 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
25607 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
25608 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
25610 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
25611 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
25613 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
25614 It was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
25616 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
25617 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
25620 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun and was released as
25621 Gnus 5.10 on May 1st 2003 (24 releases).
25623 On the January 4th 2004, No Gnus was begun.
25625 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
25626 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
25627 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'', ``No Gnus'' -- don't panic.
25628 Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever
25629 you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach.
25630 Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
25633 @node Other Gnus Versions
25634 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
25637 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
25638 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
25639 Japan. It's based on a library called @acronym{SEMI}, which provides
25640 @acronym{MIME} capabilities.
25642 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
25643 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
25644 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
25645 @acronym{MIME} and multilingualization things, especially important for
25652 What's the point of Gnus?
25654 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
25655 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
25656 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
25657 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
25658 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
25659 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
25660 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
25661 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
25662 keep track of millions of people who post?
25664 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
25665 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
25666 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
25667 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
25668 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
25669 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
25670 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
25671 every one of you to explore and invent.
25673 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
25674 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
25677 @node Compatibility
25678 @subsection Compatibility
25680 @cindex compatibility
25681 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
25682 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
25683 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
25688 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
25692 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
25695 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
25698 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
25699 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
25700 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
25701 important variables have their values copied into their global
25702 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
25703 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
25705 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
25706 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
25707 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
25708 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
25709 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
25713 @cindex highlighting
25714 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
25715 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
25716 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
25717 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
25718 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
25719 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
25722 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
25723 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
25724 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
25725 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
25727 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
25728 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
25729 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
25730 to stop doing it the old way.
25732 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
25734 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
25736 @cindex reporting bugs
25738 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
25739 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
25740 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
25742 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
25743 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
25744 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
25745 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
25750 @subsection Conformity
25752 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
25753 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
25761 There are no known breaches of this standard.
25765 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
25767 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
25768 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
25769 We do have some breaches to this one.
25775 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
25776 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
25777 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
25778 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
25779 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
25784 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
25785 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
25786 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
25787 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
25789 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
25790 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
25791 All the various @acronym{MIME} RFCs are supported.
25793 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
25794 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
25796 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
25799 RFC 1991 is the original @acronym{PGP} message specification,
25800 published as an informational RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now
25801 called Open PGP, and put on the Standards Track. Both document a
25802 non-@acronym{MIME} aware @acronym{PGP} format. Gnus supports both
25803 encoding (signing and encryption) and decoding (verification and
25806 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
25807 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
25808 1991) describes the @acronym{MIME}-wrapping around the RFC 1991/2440 format.
25809 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
25811 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
25812 RFC 2633 describes the @acronym{S/MIME} format.
25814 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
25815 RFC 1730 is @acronym{IMAP} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060
25816 (@acronym{IMAP} 4 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5
25817 authentication for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2086 describes access control
25818 lists (ACLs) for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2359 describes a @acronym{IMAP}
25819 protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper @acronym{TLS}
25820 integration (STARTTLS) with @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 1731 describes the
25821 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @acronym{IMAP}.
25825 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
25826 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
25831 @subsection Emacsen
25837 Gnus should work on:
25845 XEmacs 21.4 and up.
25849 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
25850 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
25851 Emacs versions. Particularly, Gnus 5.10.8 should also work on Emacs
25852 20.7 and XEmacs 21.1.
25854 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
25855 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
25856 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
25860 @node Gnus Development
25861 @subsection Gnus Development
25863 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
25864 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
25865 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
25866 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
25867 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
25868 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
25869 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
25870 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
25872 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
25873 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
25874 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
25875 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
25876 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
25879 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
25880 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
25881 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
25882 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
25883 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
25885 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
25886 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
25887 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
25888 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
25889 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
25890 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
25891 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
25892 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
25893 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
25894 can't be assumed to do so.
25899 @subsection Contributors
25900 @cindex contributors
25902 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
25903 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
25904 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
25905 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
25906 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
25907 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
25908 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
25909 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
25910 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
25911 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
25913 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for@dots{} oops,
25919 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
25922 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
25923 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @acronym{MIME} and
25924 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
25925 functionality and stuff.
25928 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
25929 well as numerous other things).
25932 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
25935 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
25938 Justin Sheehy---the @acronym{FAQ} maintainer.
25941 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
25944 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
25945 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
25948 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
25951 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section.
25954 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
25957 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
25960 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
25963 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
25966 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
25967 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
25970 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
25973 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
25976 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
25979 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
25983 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
25986 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
25989 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
25992 Fran@,{c}ois Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
25993 well as autoconf support.
25997 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
25998 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
26000 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
26015 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
26017 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
26021 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
26031 Alexei V. Barantsev,
26046 Massimo Campostrini,
26051 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
26052 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
26056 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
26059 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
26065 Michael Welsh Duggan,
26070 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
26074 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
26082 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
26084 Michelangelo Grigni,
26088 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
26090 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c Hayashi
26092 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
26099 Fran@,{c}ois Felix Ingrand,
26100 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c Ichikawa
26101 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
26103 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
26113 Peter Skov Knudsen,
26114 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
26116 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
26117 Thor Kristoffersen,
26120 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
26138 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
26139 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
26146 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
26151 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
26155 John McClary Prevost,
26161 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
26166 Christian von Roques,
26169 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
26176 Philippe Schnoebelen,
26178 Randal L. Schwartz,
26192 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
26197 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
26217 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
26218 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
26219 (550kB and counting).
26221 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
26224 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
26225 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
26229 @subsection New Features
26230 @cindex new features
26233 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
26234 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
26235 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
26236 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
26237 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
26238 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10/5.11.
26239 * No Gnus:: Very punny.
26242 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
26243 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
26244 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
26247 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
26249 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
26254 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
26255 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
26258 Local spool and several @acronym{NNTP} servers can be used at once
26259 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
26262 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
26265 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
26266 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
26267 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
26270 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
26271 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
26272 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
26273 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
26276 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
26277 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
26280 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
26281 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
26282 (@pxref{The Active File}).
26285 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
26286 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
26289 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
26290 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
26291 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
26294 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
26295 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
26296 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
26299 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{~/.gnus.el}) to avoid
26300 cluttering up the @file{.emacs} file.
26303 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
26304 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
26307 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
26308 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
26311 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
26312 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
26315 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
26316 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
26319 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
26320 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
26323 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
26326 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
26327 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
26330 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
26331 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
26334 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
26335 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
26338 Gnus can fetch @acronym{FAQ}s and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
26341 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
26342 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
26345 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
26349 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
26353 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
26354 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
26357 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
26363 @node September Gnus
26364 @subsubsection September Gnus
26368 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
26372 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
26377 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
26378 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
26382 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
26383 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
26387 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
26391 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
26392 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
26395 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
26399 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions.
26402 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
26405 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
26408 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
26412 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
26413 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
26416 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
26420 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
26424 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
26428 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
26432 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
26435 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
26436 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
26439 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
26443 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
26444 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
26447 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
26450 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
26451 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
26452 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
26455 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
26459 The Gnus cache is much faster.
26462 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
26466 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
26467 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
26470 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
26471 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
26474 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
26475 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
26478 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
26479 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
26480 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
26483 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
26484 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
26487 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
26490 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
26493 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
26496 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
26499 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
26500 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
26503 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
26507 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
26510 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
26515 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
26518 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
26522 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
26525 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
26529 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
26532 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
26535 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
26536 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
26539 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
26540 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
26544 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
26545 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
26548 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
26552 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
26553 buffer to allow easier treatment.
26556 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
26559 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
26563 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
26567 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
26568 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
26571 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
26575 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
26576 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
26579 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
26580 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
26583 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
26587 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
26590 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
26593 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
26599 @subsubsection Red Gnus
26601 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
26605 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
26612 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
26615 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
26616 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
26619 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
26620 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
26624 Article washing status can be displayed in the
26625 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
26628 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
26631 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
26632 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
26635 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
26639 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
26640 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
26644 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
26645 Server Internals}).
26648 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
26652 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
26655 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
26656 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
26659 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
26660 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
26661 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
26664 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
26665 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
26668 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
26669 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
26672 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
26676 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
26677 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
26680 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
26681 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
26684 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
26688 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
26691 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
26695 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
26696 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
26699 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
26700 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
26703 A new command for reading collections of documents
26704 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
26705 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
26708 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
26712 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @acronym{NNTP}
26713 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
26716 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
26717 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
26718 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
26721 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
26722 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
26726 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
26730 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
26734 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
26739 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
26743 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
26747 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
26748 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
26751 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
26757 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
26759 New features in Gnus 5.6:
26764 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
26765 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added.
26766 @xref{Gnus Unplugged}, for the full story.
26769 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
26770 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
26771 group, which is created automatically.
26774 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
26778 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
26781 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
26782 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
26785 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
26789 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
26792 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
26793 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
26796 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
26799 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. @xref{Symbolic Prefixes}, for
26803 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
26804 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the @file{all.SCORE} file.
26807 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
26808 control over simplification.
26811 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
26814 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
26818 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
26821 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
26824 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
26825 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
26826 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
26829 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
26830 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
26833 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
26837 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
26838 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
26841 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
26842 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @acronym{NNTP} servers.
26845 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
26849 A history of where mails have been split is available.
26852 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
26855 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
26856 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
26859 A new function for citing in Message has been
26860 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
26863 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
26866 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
26870 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
26871 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
26874 The ``lapsed date'' article header can be kept continually
26875 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
26878 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
26881 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
26885 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
26886 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
26888 New features in Gnus 5.8:
26893 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
26894 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
26896 If you used procmail like in
26899 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
26900 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
26901 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
26902 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
26905 this now has changed to
26909 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
26913 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}.
26916 Gnus is now a @acronym{MIME}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
26917 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
26920 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
26921 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
26924 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
26925 called to position point.
26928 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
26929 summary buffers and @acronym{NOV} files.
26932 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
26933 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
26936 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
26937 subtly different manner.
26940 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
26941 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
26942 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
26945 Gnus can now read @acronym{IMAP} mail via @code{nnimap}.
26950 @subsubsection Oort Gnus
26953 New features in Gnus 5.10:
26957 @item Installation changes
26958 @c ***********************
26962 Upgrading from previous (stable) version if you have used Oort.
26964 If you have tried Oort (the unstable Gnus branch leading to this
26965 release) but went back to a stable version, be careful when upgrading to
26966 this version. In particular, you will probably want to remove all
26967 @file{.marks} (nnml) and @file{.mrk} (nnfolder) files, so that flags are
26968 read from your @file{.newsrc.eld} instead of from the
26969 @file{.marks}/@file{.mrk} file where this release store flags. See a
26970 later entry for more information about marks. Note that downgrading
26971 isn't save in general.
26974 Lisp files are now installed in @file{.../site-lisp/gnus/} by default.
26975 It defaulted to @file{.../site-lisp/} formerly. In addition to this,
26976 the new installer issues a warning if other Gnus installations which
26977 will shadow the latest one are detected. You can then remove those
26978 shadows manually or remove them using @code{make
26979 remove-installed-shadows}.
26982 New @file{make.bat} for compiling and installing Gnus under MS Windows
26984 Use @file{make.bat} if you want to install Gnus under MS Windows, the
26985 first argument to the batch-program should be the directory where
26986 @file{xemacs.exe} respectively @file{emacs.exe} is located, iff you want
26987 to install Gnus after compiling it, give @file{make.bat} @code{/copy} as
26988 the second parameter.
26990 @file{make.bat} has been rewritten from scratch, it now features
26991 automatic recognition of XEmacs and GNU Emacs, generates
26992 @file{gnus-load.el}, checks if errors occur while compilation and
26993 generation of info files and reports them at the end of the build
26994 process. It now uses @code{makeinfo} if it is available and falls
26995 back to @file{infohack.el} otherwise. @file{make.bat} should now
26996 install all files which are necessary to run Gnus and be generally a
26997 complete replacement for the @code{configure; make; make install}
26998 cycle used under Unix systems.
27000 The new @file{make.bat} makes @file{make-x.bat} and @file{xemacs.mak}
27001 superfluous, so they have been removed.
27004 @file{~/News/overview/} not used.
27006 As a result of the following change, the @file{~/News/overview/}
27007 directory is not used any more. You can safely delete the entire
27010 @c FIXME: `gnus-load' is mentioned in README, which is not included in
27011 @c CVS. We should find a better place for this item.
27013 @code{(require 'gnus-load)}
27015 If you use a stand-alone Gnus distribution, you'd better add
27016 @code{(require 'gnus-load)} into your @file{~/.emacs} after adding the Gnus
27017 lisp directory into load-path.
27019 File @file{gnus-load.el} contains autoload commands, functions and variables,
27020 some of which may not be included in distributions of Emacsen.
27024 @item New packages and libraries within Gnus
27025 @c *****************************************
27030 The revised Gnus @acronym{FAQ} is included in the manual,
27031 @xref{Frequently Asked Questions}.
27034 @acronym{TLS} wrapper shipped with Gnus
27036 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is now supported in @acronym{IMAP} and
27037 @acronym{NNTP} via @file{tls.el} and GNUTLS. The old
27038 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} support via (external third party)
27039 @file{ssl.el} and OpenSSL still works.
27042 Improved anti-spam features.
27044 Gnus is now able to take out spam from your mail and news streams
27045 using a wide variety of programs and filter rules. Among the supported
27046 methods are RBL blocklists, bogofilter and white/blacklists. Hooks
27047 for easy use of external packages such as SpamAssassin and Hashcash
27048 are also new. @ref{Thwarting Email Spam} and @ref{Spam Package}.
27049 @c FIXME: @xref{Spam Package}?. Should this be under Misc?
27052 Gnus supports server-side mail filtering using Sieve.
27054 Sieve rules can be added as Group Parameters for groups, and the
27055 complete Sieve script is generated using @kbd{D g} from the Group
27056 buffer, and then uploaded to the server using @kbd{C-c C-l} in the
27057 generated Sieve buffer. @xref{Sieve Commands}, and the new Sieve
27058 manual @ref{Top, , Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
27062 @item Changes in group mode
27063 @c ************************
27068 @code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group} can be called interactively,
27072 Retrieval of charters and control messages
27074 There are new commands for fetching newsgroup charters (@kbd{H c}) and
27075 control messages (@kbd{H C}).
27078 The new variable @code{gnus-parameters} can be used to set group parameters.
27080 Earlier this was done only via @kbd{G p} (or @kbd{G c}), which stored
27081 the parameters in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, but via this variable you can
27082 enjoy the powers of customize, and simplified backups since you set the
27083 variable in @file{~/.gnus.el} instead of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. The
27084 variable maps regular expressions matching group names to group
27087 (setq gnus-parameters
27089 (gnus-show-threads nil)
27090 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
27091 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
27092 (to-group . "\\1"))))
27096 Unread count correct in nnimap groups.
27098 The estimated number of unread articles in the group buffer should now
27099 be correct for nnimap groups. This is achieved by calling
27100 @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} from the
27101 @code{gnus-setup-news-hook} (called on startup) and
27102 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook}. (called after getting new
27103 mail). If you have modified those variables from the default, you may
27104 want to add @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} again. If
27105 you were happy with the estimate and want to save some (minimal) time
27106 when getting new mail, remove the function.
27109 Group names are treated as UTF-8 by default.
27111 This is supposedly what USEFOR wanted to migrate to. See
27112 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist} and
27113 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist} for customization.
27116 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} and
27117 @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
27119 The regexps in these variables are compared with full group names
27120 instead of real group names in 5.8. Users who customize these
27121 variables should change those regexps accordingly. For example:
27123 ("^han\\>" euc-kr) -> ("\\(^\\|:\\)han\\>" euc-kr)
27128 @item Changes in summary and article mode
27129 @c **************************************
27134 @kbd{F} (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}) and @kbd{R}
27135 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}) only yank the text in the
27136 region if the region is active.
27139 In draft groups, @kbd{e} is now bound to @code{gnus-draft-edit-message}.
27140 Use @kbd{B w} for @code{gnus-summary-edit-article} instead.
27145 More buttons for URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man
27146 pages and Emacs or Gnus related references. @xref{Article Buttons}. The
27147 variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} can be used to control the
27148 appearance of all article buttons. @xref{Article Button Levels}.
27151 Single-part yenc encoded attachments can be decoded.
27156 The picons code has been reimplemented to work in GNU Emacs---some of
27157 the previous options have been removed or renamed.
27159 Picons are small ``personal icons'' representing users, domain and
27160 newsgroups, which can be displayed in the Article buffer.
27164 If the new option @code{gnus-treat-body-boundary} is non-@code{nil}, a
27165 boundary line is drawn at the end of the headers.
27168 Signed article headers (X-PGP-Sig) can be verified with @kbd{W p}.
27171 The Summary Buffer uses an arrow in the fringe to indicate the current
27172 article. Use @code{(setq gnus-summary-display-arrow nil)} to disable it.
27175 Warn about email replies to news
27177 Do you often find yourself replying to news by email by mistake? Then
27178 the new option @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} is just the thing for
27182 If the new option @code{gnus-summary-display-while-building} is
27183 non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer is shown and updated as it's being
27187 The new @code{recent} mark @samp{.} indicates newly arrived messages (as
27188 opposed to old but unread messages).
27191 Gnus supports RFC 2369 mailing list headers, and adds a number of
27192 related commands in mailing list groups. @xref{Mailing List}.
27195 The Date header can be displayed in a format that can be read aloud
27196 in English. @xref{Article Date}.
27199 diffs are automatically highlighted in groups matching
27200 @code{mm-uu-diff-groups-regexp}
27203 Better handling of Microsoft citation styles
27205 Gnus now tries to recognize the mangled header block that some Microsoft
27206 mailers use to indicate that the rest of the message is a citation, even
27207 though it is not quoted in any way. The variable
27208 @code{gnus-cite-unsightly-citation-regexp} matches the start of these
27211 The new command @kbd{W Y f}
27212 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}) allows deuglifying broken
27213 Outlook (Express) articles.
27216 @code{gnus-article-skip-boring}
27218 If you set @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} to @code{t}, then Gnus will
27219 not scroll down to show you a page that contains only boring text,
27220 which by default means cited text and signature. You can customize
27221 what is skippable using @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}.
27223 This feature is especially useful if you read many articles that
27224 consist of a little new content at the top with a long, untrimmed
27225 message cited below.
27228 Smileys (@samp{:-)}, @samp{;-)} etc) are now displayed graphically in
27231 Put @code{(setq gnus-treat-display-smileys nil)} in @file{~/.gnus.el} to
27235 Face headers handling. @xref{Face}.
27238 In the summary buffer, the new command @kbd{/ N} inserts new messages
27239 and @kbd{/ o} inserts old messages.
27242 Gnus decodes morse encoded messages if you press @kbd{W m}.
27245 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}
27247 The default value changed to @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%)
27248 %s\n}. Moreover @code{gnus-extra-headers},
27249 @code{nnmail-extra-headers} and @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses}
27250 changed their default so that the users name will be replaced by the
27251 recipient's name or the group name posting to for @acronym{NNTP}
27255 Deleting of attachments.
27257 The command @code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip} (bound to @kbd{C-o}
27258 on @acronym{MIME} buttons) saves a part and replaces the part with an
27259 external one. @code{gnus-mime-delete-part} (bound to @kbd{d} on
27260 @acronym{MIME} buttons) removes a part. It works only on back ends
27261 that support editing.
27264 @code{gnus-default-charset}
27266 The default value is determined from the
27267 @code{current-language-environment} variable, instead of
27268 @code{iso-8859-1}. Also the @samp{.*} item in
27269 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} is removed.
27272 Printing capabilities are enhanced.
27274 Gnus supports Muttprint natively with @kbd{O P} from the Summary and
27275 Article buffers. Also, each individual @acronym{MIME} part can be
27276 printed using @kbd{p} on the @acronym{MIME} button.
27279 Extended format specs.
27281 Format spec @samp{%&user-date;} is added into
27282 @code{gnus-summary-line-format-alist}. Also, user defined extended
27283 format specs are supported. The extended format specs look like
27284 @samp{%u&foo;}, which invokes function
27285 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{foo}}. Because @samp{&} is used as the
27286 escape character, old user defined format @samp{%u&} is no longer supported.
27289 @kbd{/ *} (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}) is rewritten.
27290 @c FIXME: Was this a user-visible change?
27292 It was aliased to @kbd{Y c}
27293 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}). The new function filters
27294 out other articles.
27297 Some limiting commands accept a @kbd{C-u} prefix to negate the match.
27299 If @kbd{C-u} is used on subject, author or extra headers, i.e., @kbd{/
27300 s}, @kbd{/ a}, and @kbd{/ x}
27301 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-@{subject,author,extra@}}) respectively, the
27302 result will be to display all articles that do not match the expression.
27305 Gnus inlines external parts (message/external).
27309 @item Changes in Message mode and related Gnus features
27310 @c ****************************************************
27317 You can delay the sending of a message with @kbd{C-c C-j} in the Message
27318 buffer. The messages are delivered at specified time. This is useful
27319 for sending yourself reminders. @xref{Delayed Articles}.
27322 If the new option @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil},
27323 the nnml back end allows compressed message files.
27326 The new option @code{gnus-gcc-mark-as-read} automatically marks
27327 Gcc articles as read.
27330 Externalizing of attachments
27332 If @code{gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments} or
27333 @code{message-fcc-externalize-attachments} is non-@code{nil}, attach
27334 local files as external parts.
27337 The envelope sender address can be customized when using Sendmail.
27338 @xref{Mail Variables, Mail Variables,, message, Message Manual}.
27341 Gnus no longer generate the Sender: header automatically.
27343 Earlier it was generated iff the user configurable email address was
27344 different from the Gnus guessed default user address. As the guessing
27345 algorithm is rarely correct these days, and (more controversially) the
27346 only use of the Sender: header was to check if you are entitled to
27347 cancel/supersede news (which is now solved by Cancel Locks instead,
27348 see another entry), generation of the header has been disabled by
27349 default. See the variables @code{message-required-headers},
27350 @code{message-required-news-headers}, and
27351 @code{message-required-mail-headers}.
27354 Features from third party @file{message-utils.el} added to @file{message.el}.
27356 Message now asks if you wish to remove @samp{(was: <old subject>)} from
27357 subject lines (see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}). @kbd{C-c
27358 M-m} and @kbd{C-c M-f} inserts markers indicating included text.
27359 @kbd{C-c C-f a} adds a X-No-Archive: header. @kbd{C-c C-f x} inserts
27360 appropriate headers and a note in the body for cross-postings and
27361 followups (see the variables @code{message-cross-post-@var{*}}).
27364 References and X-Draft-From headers are no longer generated when you
27365 start composing messages and @code{message-generate-headers-first} is
27369 Easy inclusion of X-Faces headers. @xref{X-Face}.
27372 Group Carbon Copy (GCC) quoting
27374 To support groups that contains SPC and other weird characters, groups
27375 are quoted before they are placed in the Gcc: header. This means
27376 variables such as @code{gnus-message-archive-group} should no longer
27377 contain quote characters to make groups containing SPC work. Also, if
27378 you are using the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar} (indicating Gcc
27379 into two groups) you must change it to return the list
27380 @code{("nnml:foo" "nnml:bar")}, otherwise the Gcc: line will be quoted
27381 incorrectly. Note that returning the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar}
27382 was incorrect earlier, it just didn't generate any problems since it
27383 was inserted directly.
27386 @code{message-insinuate-rmail}
27388 Adding @code{(message-insinuate-rmail)} and @code{(setq
27389 mail-user-agent 'gnus-user-agent)} in @file{.emacs} convinces Rmail to
27390 compose, reply and forward messages in message-mode, where you can
27391 enjoy the power of @acronym{MML}.
27394 @code{message-minibuffer-local-map}
27396 The line below enables BBDB in resending a message:
27398 (define-key message-minibuffer-local-map [(tab)]
27399 'bbdb-complete-name)
27403 @code{gnus-posting-styles}
27405 Add a new format of match like
27407 ((header "to" "larsi.*org")
27408 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
27410 The old format like the lines below is obsolete, but still accepted.
27412 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
27413 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
27417 @code{message-ignored-news-headers} and @code{message-ignored-mail-headers}
27419 @samp{X-Draft-From} and @samp{X-Gnus-Agent-Meta-Information} have been
27420 added into these two variables. If you customized those, perhaps you
27421 need add those two headers too.
27424 Gnus supports the ``format=flowed'' (RFC 2646) parameter. On
27425 composing messages, it is enabled by @code{use-hard-newlines}.
27426 Decoding format=flowed was present but not documented in earlier
27430 The option @code{mm-fill-flowed} can be used to disable treatment of
27431 ``format=flowed'' messages. Also, flowed text is disabled when sending
27432 inline PGP signed messages. @xref{Flowed text, , Flowed text,
27433 emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
27434 @c This entry is also present in the node "No Gnus".
27437 Gnus supports the generation of RFC 2298 Disposition Notification requests.
27439 This is invoked with the @kbd{C-c M-n} key binding from message mode.
27442 Message supports the Importance: (RFC 2156) header.
27444 In the message buffer, @kbd{C-c C-f C-i} or @kbd{C-c C-u} cycles through
27448 Gnus supports Cancel Locks in News.
27450 This means a header @samp{Cancel-Lock} is inserted in news posting. It is
27451 used to determine if you wrote an article or not (for canceling and
27452 superseding). Gnus generates a random password string the first time
27453 you post a message, and saves it in your @file{~/.emacs} using the Custom
27454 system. While the variable is called @code{canlock-password}, it is not
27455 security sensitive data. Publishing your canlock string on the web
27456 will not allow anyone to be able to anything she could not already do.
27457 The behavior can be changed by customizing @code{message-insert-canlock}.
27460 Gnus supports @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991/2440), @acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC
27461 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME} (RFC 2630-2633).
27463 It needs an external @acronym{S/MIME} and OpenPGP implementation, but no
27464 additional Lisp libraries. This add several menu items to the
27465 Attachments menu, and @kbd{C-c RET} key bindings, when composing
27466 messages. This also obsoletes @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook}.
27469 @acronym{MML} (Mime compose) prefix changed from @kbd{M-m} to @kbd{C-c
27472 This change was made to avoid conflict with the standard binding of
27473 @code{back-to-indentation}, which is also useful in message mode.
27476 The default for @code{message-forward-show-mml} changed to the symbol
27479 The behavior for the @code{best} value is to show @acronym{MML} (i.e.,
27480 convert to @acronym{MIME}) when appropriate. @acronym{MML} will not be
27481 used when forwarding signed or encrypted messages, as the conversion
27482 invalidate the digital signature.
27485 If @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled, attachments are automatically
27486 decompressed when activated.
27487 @c FIXME: Does this affect article or message mode?
27490 Support for non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names
27492 Message supports non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To: and
27493 Cc: and will query you whether to perform encoding when you try to
27494 send a message. The variable @code{message-use-idna} controls this.
27495 Gnus will also decode non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To:
27496 and Cc: when you view a message. The variable @code{gnus-use-idna}
27499 @item You can now drag and drop attachments to the Message buffer.
27500 See @code{mml-dnd-protocol-alist} and @code{mml-dnd-attach-options}.
27501 @xref{MIME, ,MIME, message, Message Manual}.
27502 @c New in 5.10.9 / 5.11
27506 @item Changes in back ends
27507 @c ***********************
27511 Gnus can display RSS newsfeeds as a newsgroup. @xref{RSS}.
27514 The nndoc back end now supports mailman digests and exim bounces.
27517 Gnus supports Maildir groups.
27519 Gnus includes a new back end @file{nnmaildir.el}. @xref{Maildir}.
27522 The nnml and nnfolder back ends store marks for each groups.
27524 This makes it possible to take backup of nnml/nnfolder servers/groups
27525 separately of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, while preserving marks. It also
27526 makes it possible to share articles and marks between users (without
27527 sharing the @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file) within e.g. a department. It
27528 works by storing the marks stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld} in a per-group
27529 file @file{.marks} (for nnml) and @file{@var{groupname}.mrk} (for
27530 nnfolder, named @var{groupname}). If the nnml/nnfolder is moved to
27531 another machine, Gnus will automatically use the @file{.marks} or
27532 @file{.mrk} file instead of the information in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
27533 The new server variables @code{nnml-marks-is-evil} and
27534 @code{nnfolder-marks-is-evil} can be used to disable this feature.
27544 The menu bar item (in Group and Summary buffer) named ``Misc'' has
27545 been renamed to ``Gnus''.
27548 The menu bar item (in Message mode) named ``@acronym{MML}'' has been
27549 renamed to ``Attachments''. Note that this menu also contains security
27550 related stuff, like signing and encryption (@pxref{Security, Security,,
27551 message, Message Manual}).
27554 The tool bars have been updated to use GNOME icons in Group, Summary and
27555 Message mode. You can also customize the tool bars. This is a new
27556 feature in Gnus 5.10.9. (Only for Emacs, not in XEmacs.)
27558 @item The tool bar icons are now (de)activated correctly
27559 in the group buffer, see the variable @code{gnus-group-update-tool-bar}.
27560 Its default value depends on your Emacs version. This is a new feature
27565 @item Miscellaneous changes
27566 @c ************************
27573 The Gnus Agent has seen a major updated and is now enabled by default,
27574 and all nntp and nnimap servers from @code{gnus-select-method} and
27575 @code{gnus-secondary-select-method} are agentized by default. Earlier
27576 only the server in @code{gnus-select-method} was agentized by the
27577 default, and the agent was disabled by default. When the agent is
27578 enabled, headers are now also retrieved from the Agent cache instead
27579 of the back ends when possible. Earlier this only happened in the
27580 unplugged state. You can enroll or remove servers with @kbd{J a} and
27581 @kbd{J r} in the server buffer. Gnus will not download articles into
27582 the Agent cache, unless you instruct it to do so, though, by using
27583 @kbd{J u} or @kbd{J s} from the Group buffer. You revert to the old
27584 behavior of having the Agent disabled with @code{(setq gnus-agent
27585 nil)}. Note that putting @code{(gnus-agentize)} in @file{~/.gnus.el}
27586 is not needed any more.
27589 Gnus reads the @acronym{NOV} and articles in the Agent if plugged.
27591 If one reads an article while plugged, and the article already exists
27592 in the Agent, it won't get downloaded once more. @code{(setq
27593 gnus-agent-cache nil)} reverts to the old behavior.
27598 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} (see @ref{Other modes}) installs key
27599 bindings in dired buffers to send a file as an attachment, open a file
27600 using the appropriate mailcap entry, and print a file using the mailcap
27604 The format spec @code{%C} for positioning point has changed to @code{%*}.
27607 @code{gnus-slave-unplugged}
27609 A new command which starts Gnus offline in slave mode.
27616 @subsubsection No Gnus
27619 New features in No Gnus:
27620 @c FIXME: Gnus 5.12?
27622 @include gnus-news.texi
27628 @section The Manual
27632 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
27633 either @code{texi2dvi}
27635 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
27636 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
27638 to get what you hold in your hands now.
27640 The following conventions have been used:
27645 This is a @samp{string}
27648 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
27651 This is a @file{file}
27654 This is a @code{symbol}
27658 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
27662 (setq flargnoze "yes")
27665 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
27668 (setq flumphel 'yes)
27671 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
27672 ever get them confused.
27676 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
27677 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
27678 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
27679 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
27680 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
27681 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
27682 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
27688 @node On Writing Manuals
27689 @section On Writing Manuals
27691 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
27692 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
27693 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
27694 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
27695 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
27696 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
27699 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
27700 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
27701 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
27704 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
27705 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
27710 @section Terminology
27712 @cindex terminology
27717 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
27718 News is generally fetched from a nearby @acronym{NNTP} server, and is
27719 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
27720 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
27721 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
27725 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
27726 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
27727 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
27728 not posting, and replying is not following up.
27732 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
27736 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
27741 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
27742 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
27743 commonly fetched via the protocol @acronym{NNTP}, whereas mail
27744 messages could be read from a file on the local disk. The internal
27745 architecture of Gnus thus comprises a ``front end'' and a number of
27746 ``back ends''. Internally, when you enter a group (by hitting
27747 @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke a function in the front end in
27748 Gnus. The front end then ``talks'' to a back end and says things like
27749 ``Give me the list of articles in the foo group'' or ``Show me article
27752 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back
27753 end accesses news via @acronym{NNTP}, the @code{nnimap} back end
27754 accesses mail via @acronym{IMAP}) or a file format and directory
27755 layout (the @code{nnspool} back end accesses news via the common
27756 ``spool directory'' format, the @code{nnml} back end access mail via a
27757 file format and directory layout that's quite similar).
27759 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
27760 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
27761 access the articles.
27763 However, sometimes the term ``back end'' is also used where ``server''
27764 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term ``select
27765 method'' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
27770 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
27771 default, way of getting news.
27775 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
27776 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
27781 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
27782 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
27786 A message that has been posted as news.
27789 @cindex mail message
27790 A message that has been mailed.
27794 A mail message or news article
27798 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
27803 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
27808 A line from the head of an article.
27812 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
27813 collection of @acronym{NOV} lines.
27815 @item @acronym{NOV}
27816 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
27817 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
27818 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
27819 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
27820 normal @sc{head} format.
27824 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
27825 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
27826 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
27827 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
27828 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
27829 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
27831 @item killed groups
27832 @cindex killed groups
27833 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
27834 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
27836 @item zombie groups
27837 @cindex zombie groups
27838 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
27841 @cindex active file
27842 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
27843 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
27844 is rather large, as you might surmise.
27847 @cindex bogus groups
27848 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
27849 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
27850 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
27853 @cindex activating groups
27854 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
27855 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
27856 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
27860 News servers store their articles locally in one fashion or other.
27861 One old-fashioned storage method is to have just one file per
27862 article. That's called a ``traditional spool''.
27866 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
27868 @item select method
27869 @cindex select method
27870 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
27873 @item virtual server
27874 @cindex virtual server
27875 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
27876 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
27877 whole is a virtual server.
27881 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
27882 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
27885 @item ephemeral groups
27886 @cindex ephemeral groups
27887 @cindex temporary groups
27888 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
27889 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
27890 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
27893 @cindex solid groups
27894 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
27895 group buffer are solid groups.
27897 @item sparse articles
27898 @cindex sparse articles
27899 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
27900 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
27904 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
27905 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
27909 @cindex thread root
27910 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
27911 articles in the thread.
27915 An article that has responses.
27919 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
27923 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
27924 specified by RFC 1153.
27927 @cindex splitting, terminology
27928 @cindex mail sorting
27929 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
27930 The action of sorting your emails according to certain rules. Sometimes
27931 incorrectly called mail filtering.
27937 @node Customization
27938 @section Customization
27939 @cindex general customization
27941 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
27942 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
27943 for some quite common situations.
27946 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
27947 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
27948 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
27949 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
27953 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
27954 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
27956 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
27957 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
27958 Gnus has to get from the @acronym{NNTP} server.
27962 @item gnus-read-active-file
27963 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
27964 entire active file from the server. This file is often very large. You
27965 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
27966 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
27967 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
27969 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
27970 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
27971 the @acronym{NNTP} server will not be very fast. Not all @acronym{NNTP} servers
27972 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
27976 @node Slow Terminal Connection
27977 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
27979 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
27980 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
27981 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
27985 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
27986 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
27987 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
27988 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
27989 horizontal and vertical recentering.
27991 @item gnus-visible-headers
27992 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
27993 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
27994 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
27995 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
27997 Use the following to enable all the available hiding features:
27999 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
28000 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
28001 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
28004 @item gnus-use-full-window
28005 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
28006 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
28007 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
28008 want to read them anyway.
28010 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
28011 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
28015 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
28016 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
28017 lines, which might save some time.
28021 @node Little Disk Space
28022 @subsection Little Disk Space
28025 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
28026 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
28030 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
28031 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
28032 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
28033 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
28036 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
28037 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
28038 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
28039 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
28042 @item gnus-save-killed-list
28043 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
28044 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
28045 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
28046 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
28052 @subsection Slow Machine
28053 @cindex slow machine
28055 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
28056 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
28058 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
28059 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
28061 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
28062 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
28063 summary buffer faster.
28067 @node Troubleshooting
28068 @section Troubleshooting
28069 @cindex troubleshooting
28071 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
28079 Make sure your computer is switched on.
28082 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
28083 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
28087 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
28088 like @samp{Gnus v5.10.6} you have the right files loaded. Otherwise
28089 you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
28092 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a
28093 @acronym{FAQ} and a how-to.
28096 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
28097 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
28098 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
28099 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
28100 something like that.
28103 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
28106 @cindex reporting bugs
28108 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
28110 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
28111 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
28112 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
28113 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
28115 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
28116 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
28117 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
28118 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
28121 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
28122 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
28123 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
28124 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
28125 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
28126 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
28128 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
28129 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
28130 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
28134 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
28135 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
28138 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
28139 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
28140 edebug. Debugging Lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
28141 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
28142 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
28143 you discover some weird behavior when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
28144 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
28145 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
28146 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
28147 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
28148 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
28149 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
28150 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
28151 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
28156 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate an elisp error but
28157 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
28158 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press @kbd{C-g} when things are
28159 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
28160 helps isolating the real problem areas).
28162 A fancier approach is to use the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is
28163 (or should be) fully documented elsewhere, but to get you started
28164 there are a few steps that need to be followed. First, instrument the
28165 part of Gnus you are interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x
28166 elp-instrument-package RET gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package
28167 RET message}. Then perform the operation that is slow and press
28168 @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will then see which operations that takes
28169 time, and can debug them further. If the entire operation takes much
28170 longer than the time spent in the slowest function in the profiler
28171 output, you probably profiled the wrong part of Gnus. To reset
28172 profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x
28173 elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove profiling, but given the
28174 complexities and dynamic code generation in Gnus, it might not always
28177 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
28178 @cindex ding mailing list
28179 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
28180 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful. You can also ask on
28181 @email{ding@@gnus.org, the ding mailing list}. Write to
28182 @email{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
28186 @node Gnus Reference Guide
28187 @section Gnus Reference Guide
28189 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
28190 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
28191 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
28192 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
28195 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
28196 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
28197 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
28198 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
28199 and general methods of operation.
28202 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
28203 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
28204 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
28205 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
28206 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
28207 * Group Info:: The group info format.
28208 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
28209 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
28210 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
28214 @node Gnus Utility Functions
28215 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
28216 @cindex Gnus utility functions
28217 @cindex utility functions
28219 @cindex internal variables
28221 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
28222 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
28223 Below is a list of the most common ones.
28227 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
28228 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
28229 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
28231 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
28232 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
28233 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
28235 @item gnus-group-real-name
28236 @findex gnus-group-real-name
28237 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
28240 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
28241 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
28242 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
28243 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
28245 @item gnus-get-info
28246 @findex gnus-get-info
28247 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
28249 @item gnus-group-unread
28250 @findex gnus-group-unread
28251 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
28255 @findex gnus-active
28256 The active entry for @var{group}.
28258 @item gnus-set-active
28259 @findex gnus-set-active
28260 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
28262 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
28263 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
28264 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
28267 @item gnus-continuum-version
28268 @findex gnus-continuum-version
28269 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
28270 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
28273 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
28274 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
28275 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
28277 @item gnus-news-group-p
28278 @findex gnus-news-group-p
28279 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
28281 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
28282 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
28283 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
28285 @item gnus-server-to-method
28286 @findex gnus-server-to-method
28287 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
28289 @item gnus-server-equal
28290 @findex gnus-server-equal
28291 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
28293 @item gnus-group-native-p
28294 @findex gnus-group-native-p
28295 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
28297 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
28298 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
28299 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
28301 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
28302 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
28303 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
28305 @item gnus-group-find-parameter
28306 @findex gnus-group-find-parameter
28307 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
28308 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
28310 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
28311 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
28312 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
28314 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
28315 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
28316 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
28318 @item gnus-check-backend-function
28319 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
28320 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
28321 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
28324 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
28328 @item gnus-read-method
28329 @findex gnus-read-method
28330 Prompts the user for a select method.
28335 @node Back End Interface
28336 @subsection Back End Interface
28338 Gnus doesn't know anything about @acronym{NNTP}, spools, mail or virtual
28339 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
28340 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
28341 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
28342 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
28343 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
28345 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
28346 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
28347 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
28348 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
28349 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
28350 been opened, the function should fail.
28352 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
28353 name. Take this example:
28357 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
28358 (nntp-port-number 4324))
28361 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
28362 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
28364 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
28365 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
28366 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
28368 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
28369 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
28370 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
28372 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
28373 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
28374 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
28375 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
28376 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
28377 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
28380 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
28381 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
28382 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
28383 ---they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
28386 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
28387 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
28388 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
28389 possible for later articles to ``re-use'' older article numbers without
28390 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
28391 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
28392 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
28393 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
28394 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
28395 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
28397 The previous paragraph already mentions all the ``hard'' restrictions that
28398 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
28399 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
28400 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
28401 the ``no-reuse'' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
28402 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
28403 of numbers as long as possible.
28405 Note that by convention, back ends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
28406 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
28407 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
28409 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
28412 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
28415 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
28416 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
28417 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
28418 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
28419 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
28420 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
28424 @node Required Back End Functions
28425 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
28429 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
28431 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
28432 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
28433 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
28434 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
28436 The result data should either be HEADs or @acronym{NOV} lines, and the result
28437 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
28438 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
28439 of HEADs and @acronym{NOV} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
28441 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching ``extra
28442 headers'', in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
28443 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
28444 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
28445 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
28446 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
28447 number, do maximum fetches.
28449 Here's an example HEAD:
28452 221 1056 Article retrieved.
28453 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
28454 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
28455 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
28456 Subject: Re: Something very droll
28457 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
28458 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
28460 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
28461 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
28462 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
28466 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
28467 these in the data buffer.
28469 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
28473 head = error / valid-head
28474 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
28475 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
28476 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
28477 header = <text> eol
28481 (The version of BNF used here is the one used in RFC822.)
28483 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
28484 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
28488 nov-buffer = *nov-line
28489 nov-line = field 7*8[ <TAB> field ] eol
28490 field = <text except TAB>
28493 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
28497 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
28499 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
28500 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
28502 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
28503 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
28504 server. In fact, it should do so.
28506 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
28507 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
28510 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
28512 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
28513 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
28516 There should be no data returned.
28519 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
28521 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
28522 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
28523 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
28524 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
28526 There should be no data returned.
28529 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
28531 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
28532 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
28533 non-@code{nil} value. This function should under no circumstances
28534 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
28536 There should be no data returned.
28539 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
28541 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
28543 There should be no data returned.
28546 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
28548 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
28549 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
28550 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
28551 it would be nice if that were possible.
28553 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
28554 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
28555 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
28556 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
28557 into its article buffer.
28559 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
28560 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
28561 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
28562 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
28563 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
28564 on successful article retrieval.
28567 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
28569 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
28570 making @var{group} the current group.
28572 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
28575 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
28578 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
28581 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
28582 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
28583 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
28584 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
28585 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
28586 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
28587 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
28588 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
28589 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
28593 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
28594 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
28595 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
28599 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
28601 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
28602 a no-op on most back ends.
28604 There should be no data returned.
28607 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
28609 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
28612 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
28615 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
28616 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
28619 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
28620 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
28621 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
28622 and the highest as 0.
28625 active-file = *active-line
28626 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
28628 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
28631 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
28632 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
28633 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
28636 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
28638 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
28639 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
28640 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
28641 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
28642 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
28643 clear if the posting could not be completed.
28645 There should be no result data from this function.
28650 @node Optional Back End Functions
28651 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
28655 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
28657 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
28658 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
28659 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
28661 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
28662 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
28663 former is in the same format as the data from
28664 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
28665 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
28668 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
28672 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
28674 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
28675 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all
28676 the information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
28677 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
28678 should return a non-@code{nil} value (exceptionally,
28679 @code{nntp-request-update-info} always returns @code{nil} not to waste
28680 the network resources).
28682 There should be no result data from this function.
28685 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
28687 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
28688 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
28689 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
28690 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
28691 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
28692 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
28693 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
28694 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
28696 There should be no result data from this function.
28699 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
28701 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
28702 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
28703 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @acronym{IMAP}) however carry
28704 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
28705 propagate the mark information to the server.
28707 @var{action} is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
28710 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
28713 @var{range} is a range of articles you wish to update marks on.
28714 @var{action} is @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove
28715 marks (preserving all marks not mentioned). @var{mark} is a list of
28716 marks; where each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are
28717 @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
28718 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
28719 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
28720 possible, not limit itself to these.
28722 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
28723 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
28724 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
28725 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
28727 An example action list:
28730 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
28731 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
28732 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
28735 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
28736 mark on (currently not used for anything).
28738 There should be no result data from this function.
28740 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
28742 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
28743 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
28744 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
28745 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
28746 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
28748 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
28749 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
28750 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
28753 There should be no result data from this function.
28756 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
28758 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
28759 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
28760 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query
28761 the @acronym{POP} server when this function is invoked. The
28762 @var{group} doesn't have to be heeded---if the back end decides that
28763 it is too much work just scanning for a single group, it may do a
28764 total scan of all groups. It would be nice, however, to keep things
28765 local if that's practical.
28767 There should be no result data from this function.
28770 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
28772 The result data from this function should be a description of
28776 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
28778 description = <text>
28781 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
28783 The result data from this function should be the description of all
28784 groups available on the server.
28787 description-buffer = *description-line
28791 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
28793 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
28794 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
28795 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
28796 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
28797 in the active buffer format.
28799 It is okay for this function to return ``too many'' groups; some back ends
28800 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
28801 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
28802 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
28803 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
28804 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
28805 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
28808 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
28810 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
28812 There should be no return data.
28815 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
28817 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
28818 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
28819 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
28820 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
28821 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
28824 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
28827 There should be no result data returned.
28830 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM &optional LAST)
28832 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
28833 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
28835 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
28836 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
28837 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
28838 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
28839 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
28840 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
28842 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
28843 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
28846 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
28847 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
28849 There should be no data returned.
28852 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
28854 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
28855 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
28856 this function in short order.
28858 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
28859 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
28861 The group should exist before the back end is asked to accept the
28862 article for that group.
28864 There should be no data returned.
28867 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
28869 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
28870 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
28872 There should be no data returned.
28875 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
28877 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
28878 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
28879 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
28881 There should be no data returned.
28884 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
28886 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
28887 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
28889 There should be no data returned.
28894 @node Error Messaging
28895 @subsubsection Error Messaging
28897 @findex nnheader-report
28898 @findex nnheader-get-report
28899 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
28900 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
28901 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
28902 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
28903 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
28904 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
28907 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
28909 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
28912 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
28913 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
28914 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
28915 takes one argument---the server symbol.
28917 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
28918 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
28919 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
28922 @node Writing New Back Ends
28923 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
28925 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
28926 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
28927 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
28928 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
28929 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
28932 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
28933 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
28934 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
28936 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
28937 package called @code{nnoo}.
28939 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
28940 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
28946 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
28947 parameters. For instance:
28950 (nnoo-declare nndir
28954 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
28955 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
28958 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
28959 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
28960 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
28962 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
28963 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
28964 a function in those back ends.
28967 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
28968 "Where nndir will look for groups."
28969 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
28972 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
28973 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
28974 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
28976 @item nnoo-define-basics
28977 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
28981 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
28985 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
28986 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
28987 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
28989 @item nnoo-map-functions
28990 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
28991 functions from the parent back ends.
28994 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
28995 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
28996 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
28999 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
29000 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
29001 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
29002 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
29005 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
29006 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
29007 haven't already been defined.
29013 nnmh-request-newgroups)
29017 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
29018 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
29019 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
29024 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
29027 ;;; @r{nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus}
29028 ;; @r{Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.}
29032 (require 'nnheader)
29036 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
29038 (nnoo-declare nndir
29041 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
29042 "Where nndir will look for groups."
29043 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
29045 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
29046 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
29049 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
29051 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
29052 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
29053 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
29055 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
29056 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
29058 ;;; @r{Interface functions.}
29060 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
29062 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
29063 (setq nndir-directory
29064 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
29066 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
29067 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
29068 (push `(nndir-current-group
29069 ,(file-name-nondirectory
29070 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
29072 (push `(nndir-top-directory
29073 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
29075 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
29077 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
29078 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
29079 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
29080 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
29081 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
29085 nnmh-status-message
29087 nnmh-request-newgroups))
29093 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
29094 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
29096 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
29097 @findex gnus-declare-backend
29098 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
29099 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
29100 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
29102 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
29103 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
29108 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
29111 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
29113 The abilities can be:
29117 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
29119 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
29121 This back end supports both mail and news.
29123 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
29126 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
29127 articles and groups.
29129 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
29130 true for almost all back ends.
29131 @item prompt-address
29132 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
29133 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
29134 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
29138 @node Mail-like Back Ends
29139 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
29141 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
29142 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
29143 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
29144 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
29147 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
29148 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
29149 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
29152 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
29153 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
29156 This function takes four parameters.
29160 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
29163 @item exit-function
29164 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
29166 @item temp-directory
29167 Where the temporary files should be stored.
29170 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
29171 performed for one group only.
29174 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
29175 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
29176 find the article number assigned to this article.
29178 The function also uses the following variables:
29179 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
29180 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
29181 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
29182 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
29186 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
29187 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
29191 @node Score File Syntax
29192 @subsection Score File Syntax
29194 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
29195 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
29196 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
29198 Here's a typical score file:
29202 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
29209 BNF definition of a score file:
29212 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
29213 element = rule / atom
29214 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
29215 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
29216 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
29217 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
29219 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
29220 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
29221 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
29222 date-header = "date"
29223 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
29224 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
29225 score = "nil" / <integer>
29226 date = "nil" / <natural number>
29227 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
29228 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
29229 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
29230 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
29231 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
29232 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
29233 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
29234 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
29235 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
29236 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
29237 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
29238 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
29239 exclude-files / read-only / touched
29240 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
29241 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
29242 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
29243 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
29244 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
29245 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
29246 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
29247 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
29248 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
29249 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
29250 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
29251 eval = "eval" space <form>
29252 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
29255 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
29258 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
29259 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
29260 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
29261 one looong line, then that's ok.
29263 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
29264 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
29268 @subsection Headers
29270 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
29271 corresponds to the @acronym{NOV} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
29272 almost suspect that the author looked at the @acronym{NOV} specification and
29273 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
29275 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
29276 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
29277 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
29278 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
29279 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
29280 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
29281 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
29283 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
29284 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
29285 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
29286 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
29287 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
29289 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
29290 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
29296 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
29297 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
29299 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
29300 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
29301 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
29302 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
29304 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
29308 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
29311 is transformed into
29314 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
29317 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
29318 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
29321 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
29324 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
29325 is slightly tricky:
29328 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
29334 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
29337 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
29343 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
29350 and is equal to the previous range.
29352 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
29353 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
29354 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
29358 range = simple-range / normal-range
29359 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
29360 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
29361 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
29362 number *[ " " contents ]
29365 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
29366 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
29367 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
29368 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
29369 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
29374 @subsection Group Info
29376 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
29377 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
29378 describes the group.
29380 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
29381 second is a more complex one:
29384 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
29386 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
29387 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
29389 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
29392 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
29393 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
29394 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
29395 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
29396 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
29397 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
29398 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
29399 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
29400 this section is about.
29402 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
29403 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
29404 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
29406 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
29409 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
29410 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
29411 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
29412 group = quote <string> quote
29413 ralevel = rank / level
29414 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
29415 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
29416 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
29418 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
29419 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
29420 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
29421 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
29424 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
29425 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
29428 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
29429 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
29432 @item gnus-info-group
29433 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
29434 @findex gnus-info-group
29435 @findex gnus-info-set-group
29436 Get/set the group name.
29438 @item gnus-info-rank
29439 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
29440 @findex gnus-info-rank
29441 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
29442 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
29444 @item gnus-info-level
29445 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
29446 @findex gnus-info-level
29447 @findex gnus-info-set-level
29448 Get/set the group level.
29450 @item gnus-info-score
29451 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
29452 @findex gnus-info-score
29453 @findex gnus-info-set-score
29454 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
29456 @item gnus-info-read
29457 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
29458 @findex gnus-info-read
29459 @findex gnus-info-set-read
29460 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
29462 @item gnus-info-marks
29463 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
29464 @findex gnus-info-marks
29465 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
29466 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
29468 @item gnus-info-method
29469 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
29470 @findex gnus-info-method
29471 @findex gnus-info-set-method
29472 Get/set the group select method.
29474 @item gnus-info-params
29475 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
29476 @findex gnus-info-params
29477 @findex gnus-info-set-params
29478 Get/set the group parameters.
29481 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
29482 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
29484 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
29485 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
29486 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
29487 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
29490 @node Extended Interactive
29491 @subsection Extended Interactive
29492 @cindex interactive
29493 @findex gnus-interactive
29495 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
29496 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
29497 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
29500 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
29501 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
29506 The best thing to do would have been to implement
29507 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
29508 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
29509 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
29510 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
29511 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
29512 @code{interactive}.
29514 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
29519 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
29520 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
29524 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
29525 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
29526 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
29529 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
29533 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
29537 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
29543 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
29544 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
29548 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
29549 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
29550 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
29552 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
29553 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
29554 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
29555 Gnus, that's very useful.
29557 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
29558 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
29559 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
29560 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
29561 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
29562 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
29563 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
29564 following function:
29567 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
29571 (,function ,@@args))
29575 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
29576 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
29577 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
29580 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
29581 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
29582 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
29584 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
29585 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
29586 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
29589 @node Various File Formats
29590 @subsection Various File Formats
29593 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
29594 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
29598 @node Active File Format
29599 @subsubsection Active File Format
29601 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
29602 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
29605 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
29608 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
29609 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
29610 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
29611 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
29612 no.general 1000 900 y
29615 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
29618 active = *group-line
29619 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
29620 group = <non-white-space string>
29622 high-number = <non-negative integer>
29623 low-number = <positive integer>
29624 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
29627 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
29628 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
29631 @node Newsgroups File Format
29632 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
29634 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
29635 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
29636 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
29639 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
29640 Here's the definition:
29644 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
29645 group = <non-white-space string>
29647 description = <string>
29652 @node Emacs for Heathens
29653 @section Emacs for Heathens
29655 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
29656 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
29657 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
29658 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
29659 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
29660 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
29661 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
29665 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
29666 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
29671 @subsection Keystrokes
29675 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
29678 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
29681 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
29682 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
29683 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
29684 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
29685 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
29686 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
29688 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
29689 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
29690 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
29691 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
29692 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
29693 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
29694 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
29696 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
29697 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
29698 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
29699 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
29700 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
29701 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
29702 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
29704 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
29705 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
29706 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
29707 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
29708 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
29714 @subsection Emacs Lisp
29716 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
29717 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
29718 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
29719 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
29721 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
29722 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
29723 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
29724 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
29725 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
29726 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
29727 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{~/.gnus.el}
29728 file to customize Gnus. (You can also use the @file{~/.emacs} file, but
29729 in order to set things of Gnus up, it is much better to use the
29730 @file{~/.gnus.el} file, @xref{Startup Files}.)
29732 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
29733 write the following:
29736 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
29739 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
29740 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
29741 you can go and fill your @file{~/.gnus.el} file with lots of these to
29742 change how Gnus works.
29744 If you have put that thing in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, it will be
29745 read and @code{eval}ed (which is Lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
29746 start Gnus. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
29747 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
29748 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
29750 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
29751 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
29752 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
29756 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
29760 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
29763 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
29764 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
29767 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
29770 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
29771 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
29774 @include gnus-faq.texi
29776 @node GNU Free Documentation License
29777 @chapter GNU Free Documentation License
29778 @include doclicense.texi
29798 @c Local Variables:
29800 @c coding: iso-8859-1
29804 arch-tag: c9fa47e7-78ca-4681-bda9-9fef45d1c819