10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
15 @setchapternewpage odd
19 \documentclass[twoside,a4paper,openright,11pt]{book}
20 \usepackage[latin1]{inputenc}
21 \usepackage{pagestyle}
24 \input{gnusconfig.tex}
26 \ifx\pdfoutput\undefined
28 \usepackage[pdftex,bookmarks,colorlinks=true]{hyperref}
36 \newcommand{\gnusversionname}{Oort Gnus v0.12}
37 \newcommand{\gnuschaptername}{}
38 \newcommand{\gnussectionname}{}
40 \newcommand{\gnusbackslash}{/}
42 \newcommand{\gnusref}[1]{``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
43 \ifx\pdfoutput\undefined
44 \newcommand{\gnusuref}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
46 \newcommand{\gnusuref}[1]{\href{#1}{\gnustt{#1}}}
48 \newcommand{\gnusxref}[1]{See ``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
49 \newcommand{\gnuspxref}[1]{see ``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
51 \newcommand{\gnuskindex}[1]{\index{#1}}
52 \newcommand{\gnusindex}[1]{\index{#1}}
54 \newcommand{\gnustt}[1]{{\gnusselectttfont{}#1}}
55 \newcommand{\gnuscode}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
56 \newcommand{\gnussamp}[1]{``{\fontencoding{OT1}\gnusselectttfont{}#1}''}
57 \newcommand{\gnuslisp}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
58 \newcommand{\gnuskbd}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
59 \newcommand{\gnuskey}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
60 \newcommand{\gnusfile}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
61 \newcommand{\gnusdfn}[1]{\textit{#1}}
62 \newcommand{\gnusi}[1]{\textit{#1}}
63 \newcommand{\gnusstrong}[1]{\textbf{#1}}
64 \newcommand{\gnusemph}[1]{\textit{#1}}
65 \newcommand{\gnusvar}[1]{{\fontsize{10pt}{10}\selectfont\textsl{\textsf{#1}}}}
66 \newcommand{\gnussc}[1]{\textsc{#1}}
67 \newcommand{\gnustitle}[1]{{\huge\textbf{#1}}}
68 \newcommand{\gnusversion}[1]{{\small\textit{#1}}}
69 \newcommand{\gnusauthor}[1]{{\large\textbf{#1}}}
70 \newcommand{\gnusresult}[1]{\gnustt{=> #1}}
72 \newcommand{\gnusbullet}{{${\bullet}$}}
73 \newcommand{\gnusdollar}{\$}
74 \newcommand{\gnusampersand}{\&}
75 \newcommand{\gnuspercent}{\%}
76 \newcommand{\gnushash}{\#}
77 \newcommand{\gnushat}{\symbol{"5E}}
78 \newcommand{\gnusunderline}{\symbol{"5F}}
79 \newcommand{\gnusnot}{$\neg$}
80 \newcommand{\gnustilde}{\symbol{"7E}}
81 \newcommand{\gnusless}{{$<$}}
82 \newcommand{\gnusgreater}{{$>$}}
83 \newcommand{\gnusbraceleft}{{$>$}}
84 \newcommand{\gnusbraceright}{{$>$}}
86 \newcommand{\gnushead}{\raisebox{-1cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-head,height=1cm}}}
87 \newcommand{\gnusinteresting}{
88 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\gnushead]{\gnushead}
91 \newcommand{\gnuscleardoublepage}{\ifodd\count0\mbox{}\clearpage\thispagestyle{empty}\mbox{}\clearpage\else\clearpage\fi}
93 \newcommand{\gnuspagechapter}[1]{
100 \newcommand{\gnuschapter}[2]{
102 \ifdim \gnusdimen = 0pt\setcounter{page}{1}\pagestyle{gnus}\pagenumbering{arabic} \gnusdimen 1pt\fi
104 \renewcommand{\gnussectionname}{}
105 \renewcommand{\gnuschaptername}{#2}
106 \thispagestyle{empty}
108 \begin{picture}(500,500)(0,0)
109 \put(480,350){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{#1}}
110 \put(40,300){\makebox(500,50)[bl]{{\Huge\bf{#2}}}}
115 \newcommand{\gnusfigure}[3]{
117 \mbox{}\ifodd\count0\hspace*{-0.8cm}\else\hspace*{-3cm}\fi\begin{picture}(440,#2)
124 \newcommand{\gnusicon}[1]{
125 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\raisebox{-1.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/#1-up,height=1.5cm}}]{\raisebox{-1cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/#1-up,height=1cm}}}
128 \newcommand{\gnuspicon}[1]{
129 \margindex{\epsfig{figure=#1,width=2cm}}
132 \newcommand{\gnusxface}[2]{
133 \margindex{\epsfig{figure=#1,width=1cm}\epsfig{figure=#2,width=1cm}}
136 \newcommand{\gnussmiley}[2]{
137 \margindex{\makebox[2cm]{\hfill\epsfig{figure=#1,width=0.5cm}\hfill\epsfig{figure=#2,width=0.5cm}\hfill}}
140 \newcommand{\gnusitemx}[1]{\mbox{}\vspace*{-\itemsep}\vspace*{-\parsep}\item#1}
142 \newcommand{\gnussection}[1]{
143 \renewcommand{\gnussectionname}{#1}
147 \newenvironment{codelist}%
152 \newenvironment{kbdlist}%
158 \newenvironment{dfnlist}%
163 \newenvironment{stronglist}%
168 \newenvironment{samplist}%
173 \newenvironment{varlist}%
178 \newenvironment{emphlist}%
183 \newlength\gnusheadtextwidth
184 \setlength{\gnusheadtextwidth}{\headtextwidth}
185 \addtolength{\gnusheadtextwidth}{1cm}
187 \newpagestyle{gnuspreamble}%
192 \hspace*{-0.23cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\mbox{}}\textbf{\hfill\roman{page}}}
196 \hspace*{-3.25cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\roman{page}\hfill\mbox{}}}
205 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
207 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
212 \newpagestyle{gnusindex}%
217 \hspace*{-0.23cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\gnuschaptername\hfill\arabic{page}}}}
221 \hspace*{-3.25cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{page}\hfill\gnuschaptername}}}
229 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
231 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
241 \makebox[12cm]{\hspace*{3.1cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{chapter}.\arabic{section}} \textbf{\gnussectionname\hfill\arabic{page}}}}}
245 \makebox[12cm]{\hspace*{-2.95cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{page}\hfill\gnuschaptername}}}}
253 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
255 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
260 \pagenumbering{roman}
261 \pagestyle{gnuspreamble}
271 %\addtolength{\oddsidemargin}{-5cm}
272 %\addtolength{\evensidemargin}{-5cm}
274 \addtolength{\textheight}{2cm}
276 \gnustitle{\gnustitlename}\hfill\gnusversion{\gnusversionname}\\
279 \hspace*{0cm}\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=15cm}
282 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
289 \thispagestyle{empty}
291 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
293 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
296 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
297 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
298 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
299 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
300 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
301 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
302 License'' in the Emacs manual.
304 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
305 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
306 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
308 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
309 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
310 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
311 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
319 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
321 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
322 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
324 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
325 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
326 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
327 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
328 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
329 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
330 License'' in the Emacs manual.
332 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
333 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
334 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
336 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
337 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
338 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
339 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
347 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
350 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
351 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
353 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
355 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
356 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
357 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
358 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
359 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
360 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
361 License'' in the Emacs manual.
363 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
364 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
365 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
367 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
368 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
369 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
370 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
379 @top The Gnus Newsreader
383 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
384 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
385 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
388 This manual corresponds to Oort Gnus v0.12.
399 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
400 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
402 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
403 being accused of plagiarism:
405 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
406 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
407 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
408 can even read news with it!
410 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
411 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
412 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
413 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
414 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
420 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
421 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
422 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
423 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
424 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
425 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
426 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
427 * Various:: General purpose settings.
428 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
429 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
430 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
431 * Key Index:: Key Index.
433 Other related manuals
435 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
436 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; MIME-specific parts.
437 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
438 * PGG:(pgg). PGP/MIME with Gnus.
441 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
445 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
446 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
447 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
448 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
449 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
450 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
451 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
452 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
453 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
454 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
455 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
459 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
460 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
461 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
465 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
466 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
467 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
468 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
469 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
470 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
471 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
472 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
473 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
474 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
475 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
476 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
477 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
478 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
479 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
480 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
481 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
485 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
486 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
487 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
491 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
492 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
493 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
494 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
495 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
499 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
500 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
501 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
502 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
503 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
507 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
508 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
509 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
510 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
511 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
512 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
513 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
514 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
515 * Threading:: How threads are made.
516 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
517 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
518 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
519 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
520 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
521 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
522 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
523 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
524 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
525 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
526 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
527 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
528 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
529 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
530 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
531 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
532 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
533 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
534 or reselecting the current group.
535 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
536 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
537 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
538 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
540 Summary Buffer Format
542 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
543 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
544 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
545 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
549 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
550 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
552 Reply, Followup and Post
554 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
555 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
556 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
557 * Canceling and Superseding::
561 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
562 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
563 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
565 * Generic Marking Commands::
566 * Setting Process Marks::
570 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
571 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
572 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
576 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
577 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
579 Customizing Threading
581 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
582 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
583 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
584 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
588 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
589 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
590 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
591 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
592 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
593 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
597 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
598 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
599 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
603 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
604 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
605 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
606 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
607 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
608 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
609 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
610 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
611 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
612 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
614 Alternative Approaches
616 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
617 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
619 Various Summary Stuff
621 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
622 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
623 * Summary Generation Commands::
624 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
628 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
629 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
630 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
631 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
632 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
636 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
637 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
638 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
639 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
640 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
641 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
642 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
643 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
647 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
648 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
649 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
650 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
651 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
652 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
653 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
654 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
658 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
659 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
660 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
661 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
662 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
663 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
664 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
668 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
669 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
673 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
674 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
675 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
679 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
680 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
681 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
682 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
683 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
684 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
685 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
686 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
687 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
688 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
689 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
690 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
691 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
695 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
696 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
697 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
699 Choosing a Mail Back End
701 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
702 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
703 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
704 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
705 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
706 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
711 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
712 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
713 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
714 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
715 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
716 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
720 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
721 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
722 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
723 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
724 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
728 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
729 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
730 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
731 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
732 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
736 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
740 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
741 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
742 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
746 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
747 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
751 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
752 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
753 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
754 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
755 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
756 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
757 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
758 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
759 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
760 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
761 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
765 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
766 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
767 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
771 * Group Agent Commands::
772 * Summary Agent Commands::
773 * Server Agent Commands::
777 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
778 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
779 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
780 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
781 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
782 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
783 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
784 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
785 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
786 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
787 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
788 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
789 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
790 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
791 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
792 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
793 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
797 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
798 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
799 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
800 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
804 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
805 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
806 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
810 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
811 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
812 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
813 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
814 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
815 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
816 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
817 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
818 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
819 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
820 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
821 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
822 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
823 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
824 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
825 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
826 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
827 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
828 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
832 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
833 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
834 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
835 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
836 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
837 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
838 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
839 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
843 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
844 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
845 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
846 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
847 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
851 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
852 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
853 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
854 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
855 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
859 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
860 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
861 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
862 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
863 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
864 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
868 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
869 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
870 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
871 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
872 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
873 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
874 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
875 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
876 * Frequently Asked Questions::
880 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
881 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
882 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
883 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
884 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
885 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
886 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
887 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
888 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
892 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
893 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
894 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
895 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
896 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
900 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
901 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
902 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
903 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
907 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
908 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
909 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
910 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
911 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
912 * Group Info:: The group info format.
913 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
914 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
915 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
919 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
920 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
921 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
922 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
923 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
924 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
928 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
929 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
933 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
934 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
940 @chapter Starting Gnus
945 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
946 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
949 @findex gnus-other-frame
950 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
951 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
952 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
954 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
955 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
956 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
958 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
959 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
962 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
963 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
964 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
965 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
966 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
967 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
968 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
969 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
970 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
971 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
972 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
976 @node Finding the News
977 @section Finding the News
980 @vindex gnus-select-method
982 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
983 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
984 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
985 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
988 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
989 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
992 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
995 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
998 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1001 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1002 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1003 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1005 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1007 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
1008 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
1009 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1010 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1011 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
1012 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
1014 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1015 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1016 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1017 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1019 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1020 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1021 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1022 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1023 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
1024 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1025 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1026 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1027 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1030 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1032 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
1033 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1034 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1035 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1036 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1037 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1039 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1041 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1042 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1043 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1044 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1045 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1046 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1049 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1050 you would typically set this variable to
1053 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1057 @node The First Time
1058 @section The First Time
1059 @cindex first time usage
1061 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
1062 be subscribed by default.
1064 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1065 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1066 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1067 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1070 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1071 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1072 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1074 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1075 help you with most common problems.
1077 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1078 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1082 @node The Server is Down
1083 @section The Server is Down
1084 @cindex server errors
1086 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1087 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1088 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1090 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1091 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1092 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1093 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1094 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1095 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1096 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1098 @findex gnus-no-server
1099 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1101 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1102 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1103 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1104 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1105 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1106 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1107 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1111 @section Slave Gnusae
1114 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1115 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1116 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1117 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1119 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1120 @code{.newsrc} file.
1122 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1123 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1124 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1125 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1126 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1127 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1128 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1130 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1131 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1132 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1133 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1134 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1135 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1136 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1137 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1139 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1140 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1142 If the @code{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1143 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1144 file. If you answer "yes", the unsaved changes to the master will be
1145 incorporated into the slave. If you answer "no", the slave may see some
1146 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1148 @node Fetching a Group
1149 @section Fetching a Group
1150 @cindex fetching a group
1152 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1153 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1154 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1155 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1156 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1157 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1163 @cindex subscription
1165 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1166 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1167 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1168 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1169 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1170 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1171 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1172 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1173 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1176 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1177 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1178 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1182 @node Checking New Groups
1183 @subsection Checking New Groups
1185 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1186 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1187 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1188 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1189 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1190 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1191 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1192 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1193 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1194 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1196 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1197 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1198 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1199 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1200 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1201 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1202 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1203 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1204 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1205 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1206 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1208 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1209 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1210 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1211 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1212 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1213 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1216 @node Subscription Methods
1217 @subsection Subscription Methods
1219 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1220 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1221 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1223 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1224 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1226 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1230 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1231 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1232 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1233 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1234 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1236 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1237 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1238 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1239 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1241 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1242 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1243 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1245 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1246 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1247 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1248 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1249 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1250 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1251 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1252 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1253 up. Or something like that.
1255 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1256 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1257 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1258 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1259 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1261 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1262 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1263 Kill all new groups.
1265 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1266 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1267 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1268 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1269 topic parameter that looks like
1275 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1278 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1283 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1284 A closely related variable is
1285 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1286 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1287 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1288 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1291 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1292 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1293 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1294 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1297 @node Filtering New Groups
1298 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1300 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1301 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1302 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1305 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1308 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1309 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1310 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1311 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1312 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1313 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1314 subscribing these groups.
1315 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1316 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1318 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1319 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1320 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1321 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1322 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1323 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1324 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1325 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1327 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1328 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1329 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1330 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1331 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1332 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1333 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1334 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1335 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1336 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1339 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1340 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1343 @node Changing Servers
1344 @section Changing Servers
1345 @cindex changing servers
1347 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1348 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1349 very flaky and you want to use another.
1351 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1352 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1356 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1357 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1358 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1359 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1362 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1363 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1364 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1365 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1367 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1368 @findex gnus-change-server
1369 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1370 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1371 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1372 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1373 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1375 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1376 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1377 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1378 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1379 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1381 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1382 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1383 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1384 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1385 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1386 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1388 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1389 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1390 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1391 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1393 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1394 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1395 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1396 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1397 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1398 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1399 cache for all groups).
1403 @section Startup Files
1404 @cindex startup files
1409 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1410 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1412 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1413 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1414 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1415 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1416 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1417 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1418 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1420 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1421 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1422 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1423 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1424 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1425 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1427 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1428 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1429 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1430 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1431 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1432 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1433 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1434 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1435 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1436 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1438 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1439 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1440 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1441 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1442 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1443 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1444 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1445 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1446 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1447 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1448 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1449 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1451 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1452 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1453 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1454 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1456 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1457 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1458 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1459 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1460 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1461 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1462 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1463 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1464 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1465 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1468 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1469 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1471 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1472 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1475 @vindex gnus-init-file
1476 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1477 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1478 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1479 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1480 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1481 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1482 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1483 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1484 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1490 @cindex dribble file
1493 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1494 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1495 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1496 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1497 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1500 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1501 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1504 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1505 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1506 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1508 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1509 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1510 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1511 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1512 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1513 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1515 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1516 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1517 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1520 @node The Active File
1521 @section The Active File
1523 @cindex ignored groups
1525 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1526 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1527 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1529 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1530 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1531 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1532 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1533 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1534 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1535 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1538 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1539 @c if you set it to anything else.
1541 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1543 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1544 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1545 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1547 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1548 you actually subscribe to.
1550 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1551 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1552 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1553 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1555 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1556 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1557 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1558 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1559 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1560 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1562 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1563 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1564 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1567 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1568 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1569 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1570 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1571 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1572 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1574 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1575 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1577 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1578 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1580 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1581 secondary select methods.
1584 @node Startup Variables
1585 @section Startup Variables
1589 @item gnus-load-hook
1590 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1591 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1592 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1593 times you start Gnus.
1595 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1596 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1597 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1599 @item gnus-startup-hook
1600 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1601 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1603 @item gnus-started-hook
1604 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1605 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1608 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1609 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1610 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1611 generating the group buffer.
1613 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1614 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1615 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1616 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1617 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1618 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1619 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1620 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1622 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1623 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1624 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1625 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1626 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1627 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1629 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1630 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1631 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1633 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1634 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1635 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1637 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1638 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1639 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1640 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1646 @chapter Group Buffer
1647 @cindex group buffer
1649 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1651 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1652 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1653 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1654 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1655 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1656 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1657 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1658 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1659 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1660 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1661 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1662 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1663 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1664 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1665 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1666 @c human rights at 9...
1669 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1670 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1671 long as Gnus is active.
1675 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1676 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1677 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1678 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1679 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1680 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1681 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1682 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1688 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1689 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1690 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1691 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1692 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1693 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1694 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1695 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1696 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1697 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1698 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1699 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1700 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1701 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1702 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1703 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1704 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1708 @node Group Buffer Format
1709 @section Group Buffer Format
1712 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1713 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1714 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1718 @node Group Line Specification
1719 @subsection Group Line Specification
1720 @cindex group buffer format
1722 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1723 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1725 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1728 25: news.announce.newusers
1729 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1734 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1735 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1736 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1737 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1739 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1740 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1741 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1742 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1743 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1744 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1746 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1748 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1749 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1750 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1751 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1752 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1754 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1755 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1756 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1758 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1763 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1766 Whether the group is subscribed.
1769 Level of subscribedness.
1772 Number of unread articles.
1775 Number of dormant articles.
1778 Number of ticked articles.
1781 Number of read articles.
1784 Number of unseen articles.
1787 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1788 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1790 Gnus uses this estimation because the @sc{nntp} protocol provides
1791 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1792 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1793 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1794 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1795 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1796 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1797 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1800 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1803 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1812 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1813 comment element in the group parameters.
1816 Newsgroup description.
1819 @samp{m} if moderated.
1822 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1828 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1834 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1838 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1841 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1842 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1843 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1844 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1845 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1848 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1850 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1854 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1857 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1861 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1862 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1863 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1864 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1865 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1866 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1871 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1872 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1873 group, or a bogus native group.
1876 @node Group Modeline Specification
1877 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1878 @cindex group modeline
1880 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1881 The mode line can be changed by setting
1882 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1883 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1887 The native news server.
1889 The native select method.
1893 @node Group Highlighting
1894 @subsection Group Highlighting
1895 @cindex highlighting
1896 @cindex group highlighting
1898 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1899 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1900 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1901 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1902 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1904 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1908 (cond (window-system
1909 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1910 (defface my-group-face-1
1911 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1912 (defface my-group-face-2
1913 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1914 (defface my-group-face-3
1915 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1916 (defface my-group-face-4
1917 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1918 (defface my-group-face-5
1919 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1921 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1922 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1923 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1924 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1925 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1926 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1929 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1931 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1938 The number of unread articles in the group.
1942 Whether the group is a mail group.
1944 The level of the group.
1946 The score of the group.
1948 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1950 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1951 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1953 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1954 topic being inserted.
1957 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1958 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1959 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1961 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1962 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1963 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1964 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1965 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1968 @node Group Maneuvering
1969 @section Group Maneuvering
1970 @cindex group movement
1972 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1973 expected, hopefully.
1979 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1980 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1981 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1987 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1988 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1989 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1993 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1994 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1998 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1999 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2003 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2004 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2005 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2009 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2010 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2011 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2014 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2020 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2021 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2022 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2027 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2028 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2029 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2033 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2034 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2035 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2038 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2039 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2040 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2041 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2045 @node Selecting a Group
2046 @section Selecting a Group
2047 @cindex group selection
2052 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2053 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2054 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2055 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2056 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2057 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2058 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
2059 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
2060 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
2061 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
2063 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2064 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2065 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2067 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2068 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2073 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2074 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2075 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2076 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2077 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2081 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2082 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2083 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2084 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2085 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2086 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2087 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2088 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2089 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2090 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2093 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2094 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2095 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2096 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2097 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2100 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2101 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2102 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2103 doing any processing of its contents
2104 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2105 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2106 manner will have no permanent effects.
2110 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2111 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
2112 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2113 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2114 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2115 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2116 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2117 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2120 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2121 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2122 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2123 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2124 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2125 Which article this is is controlled by the
2126 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2132 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2135 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2138 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2140 @item unseen-or-unread
2141 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2142 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2146 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2150 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2151 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2153 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2154 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2155 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2156 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2160 @node Subscription Commands
2161 @section Subscription Commands
2162 @cindex subscription
2170 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2171 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2172 Toggle subscription to the current group
2173 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2179 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2180 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2181 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2182 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2188 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2189 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2190 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2196 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2197 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2200 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2201 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2202 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2203 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2204 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2210 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2211 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2215 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2216 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2219 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2220 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2221 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2222 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2223 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2224 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2225 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2226 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2227 @file{.newsrc} file.
2231 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2241 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2242 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2243 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2244 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2245 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2246 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2251 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2252 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2253 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2257 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2258 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2259 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2261 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2262 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2263 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2264 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2265 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2266 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2273 @section Group Levels
2277 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2278 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2279 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2280 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2281 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2283 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2289 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2290 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2291 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2292 prompted for a level.
2295 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2296 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2297 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2298 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2299 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2300 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2301 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2302 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2303 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2304 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2305 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2306 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2307 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2308 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2309 reasons of efficiency.
2311 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2312 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2314 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2315 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2316 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2317 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2318 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2319 groups are hidden, in a way.
2321 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2322 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2323 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2324 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2325 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2326 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2328 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2329 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2330 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2331 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2332 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2333 list of killed groups.)
2335 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2336 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2337 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2339 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2340 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2341 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2342 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2343 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2344 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2345 relevant valid ranges.
2347 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2348 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2349 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2350 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2351 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2352 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2355 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2356 one with the best level.
2358 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2359 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2360 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2363 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2364 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2365 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2366 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2369 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2370 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2371 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2372 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2374 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2375 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2376 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2377 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2378 to 5. The default is 6.
2382 @section Group Score
2387 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2388 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2389 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2392 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2393 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2394 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2395 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2396 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2397 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2398 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2399 least significant part.))
2401 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2402 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2403 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2404 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2405 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2406 action after each summary exit, you can add
2407 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2408 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2409 slow things down somewhat.
2412 @node Marking Groups
2413 @section Marking Groups
2414 @cindex marking groups
2416 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2417 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2418 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2419 bidding on those groups.
2421 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2422 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2423 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2431 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2432 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2438 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2439 Remove the mark from the current group
2440 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2444 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2445 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2449 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2450 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2454 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2455 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2459 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2460 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2461 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2464 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2466 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2467 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2468 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2469 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2470 the command to be executed.
2473 @node Foreign Groups
2474 @section Foreign Groups
2475 @cindex foreign groups
2477 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2478 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2479 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2480 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2487 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2488 @cindex making groups
2489 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2490 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2491 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2495 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2496 @cindex renaming groups
2497 Rename the current group to something else
2498 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2499 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2505 @findex gnus-group-customize
2506 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2510 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2511 @cindex renaming groups
2512 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2513 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2517 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2518 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2519 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2523 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2524 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2525 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2529 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2531 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2532 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2537 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2538 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2542 @cindex (ding) archive
2543 @cindex archive group
2544 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2545 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2546 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2547 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2548 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2549 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2550 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2554 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2556 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2557 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2558 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2559 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2563 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2565 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2566 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2567 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2571 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2572 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2574 Make a group based on some file or other
2575 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2576 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2577 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2578 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2579 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2580 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2581 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2582 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2583 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2587 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2588 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2589 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2590 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2594 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2598 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2599 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2600 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2601 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2602 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2603 @xref{Web Searches}.
2605 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2606 to a particular group by using a match string like
2607 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2610 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2611 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2612 This function will delete the current group
2613 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2614 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2615 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2616 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2617 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2621 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2622 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2623 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2627 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2628 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2629 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2632 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2635 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2636 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2637 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2638 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2639 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2640 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2644 @node Group Parameters
2645 @section Group Parameters
2646 @cindex group parameters
2648 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2649 Here's an example group parameter list:
2652 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2656 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2657 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2658 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2659 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2661 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2662 is an alist of regexps and values.
2664 The following group parameters can be used:
2669 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2672 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2675 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2676 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2677 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2678 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2679 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2681 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2682 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2683 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2684 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2685 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2686 list address instead.
2688 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2692 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2695 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2698 It is totally ignored
2699 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2700 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2702 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2703 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2704 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2705 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2706 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2708 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2709 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2710 sending the message.
2712 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2713 @cindex Mail List Groups
2714 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2715 entering summary buffer.
2717 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2722 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2723 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2724 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2725 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2726 headers for your posts to these lists. Look here @pxref{(message)Mailing
2727 Lists} for a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2729 See also @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses}, the function that
2730 directly uses this group parameter.
2734 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2735 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2736 of whether it has any unread articles.
2738 @item broken-reply-to
2739 @cindex broken-reply-to
2740 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2741 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2742 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2743 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2744 broken behavior. So there!
2748 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2749 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2753 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2754 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2755 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2760 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2761 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2762 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2763 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2764 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2765 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2766 (@pxref{Archived Messages}). CAVEAT:: It yields an error putting
2767 @code{(gcc-self . t)} in groups of a @code{nntp} server or so, because
2768 a @code{nntp} server doesn't accept articles.
2772 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2773 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2774 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2776 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2779 @cindex total-expire
2780 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2781 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2782 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2783 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2786 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2790 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2791 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2792 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2793 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2794 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2795 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2796 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2799 @cindex score file group parameter
2800 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2801 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2802 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2805 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2806 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2807 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2808 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2811 @cindex admin-address
2812 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2813 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2814 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2815 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2819 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2820 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2824 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2827 Display the last INTEGER articles in the group. This is the same as
2828 entering the group with C-u INTEGER.
2831 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2835 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2837 Here are some examples:
2841 Display only unread articles.
2844 Display everything except expirable articles.
2846 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2847 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2851 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2852 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2853 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2854 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2855 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2859 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2860 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2861 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2865 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2866 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2867 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2871 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2872 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2873 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2875 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2877 @item ignored-charsets
2878 @cindex ignored-charset
2879 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2880 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2881 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2883 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2886 @cindex posting-style
2887 You can store additional posting style information for this group
2888 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2889 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2890 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2891 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2893 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2894 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2895 like this in the group parameters:
2900 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
2901 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2906 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2907 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2911 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2912 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2913 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2914 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2915 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2919 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2920 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2921 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2922 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2924 For example, if the INBOX.list.sieve group has the @code{(sieve
2925 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2926 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2927 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2930 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2931 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2935 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, , Top, sieve,
2938 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2939 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2940 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2941 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2942 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2943 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2944 @code{eval}ed there.
2946 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
2947 A use for this feature, is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
2948 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
2949 @samp{nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps} has the tag
2950 @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this tag can be
2951 removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for the group by
2952 putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")} into the group
2953 parameters for the group.
2956 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2957 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2958 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2959 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2960 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2964 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2965 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2966 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2967 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2968 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2970 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2971 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2975 (setq gnus-parameters
2977 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2978 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2979 (gnus-summary-line-format
2980 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2984 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2988 (gnus-use-scoring t))
2992 (broken-reply-to . t))))
2995 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
2996 the @code{to-group} example shows.
2999 @node Listing Groups
3000 @section Listing Groups
3001 @cindex group listing
3003 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3011 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3012 List all groups that have unread articles
3013 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3014 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3015 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
3016 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3023 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3024 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3025 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3026 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3027 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3028 unsubscribed groups).
3032 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3033 List all unread groups on a specific level
3034 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3035 with no unread articles.
3039 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3040 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3041 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3042 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3047 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3048 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3052 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3053 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3054 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3058 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3059 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3063 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3064 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3065 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3066 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3067 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3068 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3069 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3070 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3074 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3075 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3076 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3080 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3081 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3082 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3086 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3087 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3091 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3092 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3096 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3097 List groups limited within the current selection
3098 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3102 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3103 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3107 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3108 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3112 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3113 @cindex visible group parameter
3114 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3115 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3116 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3117 get the same effect.
3119 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3120 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3121 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3122 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3123 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3126 @node Sorting Groups
3127 @section Sorting Groups
3128 @cindex sorting groups
3130 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3131 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3132 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3133 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3134 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3135 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3140 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3141 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3142 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3144 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3145 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3146 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3148 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3149 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3150 Sort by group level.
3152 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3153 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3154 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3156 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3157 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3158 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3159 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3161 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3162 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3163 Sort by number of unread articles.
3165 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3166 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3167 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3169 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3170 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3171 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3176 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3177 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3181 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3182 some sorting criteria:
3186 @kindex G S a (Group)
3187 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3188 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3189 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3192 @kindex G S u (Group)
3193 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3194 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3195 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3198 @kindex G S l (Group)
3199 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3200 Sort the group buffer by group level
3201 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3204 @kindex G S v (Group)
3205 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3206 Sort the group buffer by group score
3207 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3210 @kindex G S r (Group)
3211 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3212 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3213 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3216 @kindex G S m (Group)
3217 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3218 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3219 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3222 @kindex G S n (Group)
3223 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3224 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3225 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3229 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3230 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3232 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3233 commands will sort in reverse order.
3235 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3239 @kindex G P a (Group)
3240 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3241 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3242 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3245 @kindex G P u (Group)
3246 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3247 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3248 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3251 @kindex G P l (Group)
3252 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3253 Sort the groups by group level
3254 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3257 @kindex G P v (Group)
3258 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3259 Sort the groups by group score
3260 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3263 @kindex G P r (Group)
3264 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3265 Sort the groups by group rank
3266 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3269 @kindex G P m (Group)
3270 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3271 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3272 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3275 @kindex G P n (Group)
3276 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3277 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3278 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3281 @kindex G P s (Group)
3282 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3283 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3287 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3291 @node Group Maintenance
3292 @section Group Maintenance
3293 @cindex bogus groups
3298 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3299 Find bogus groups and delete them
3300 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3304 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3305 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3306 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3307 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3308 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3312 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3313 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3314 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3315 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3316 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3317 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3320 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3321 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3322 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3323 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3328 @node Browse Foreign Server
3329 @section Browse Foreign Server
3330 @cindex foreign servers
3331 @cindex browsing servers
3336 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3337 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3338 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3339 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3342 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3343 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3344 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3345 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3347 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3352 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3353 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3357 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3358 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3361 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3362 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3363 Enter the current group and display the first article
3364 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3367 @kindex RET (Browse)
3368 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3369 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3373 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3374 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3375 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3381 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3382 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3386 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3387 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3391 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3392 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3393 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3398 @section Exiting Gnus
3399 @cindex exiting Gnus
3401 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3406 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3407 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3408 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3409 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3413 @findex gnus-group-exit
3414 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3415 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3419 @findex gnus-group-quit
3420 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3421 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3424 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3425 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3426 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3427 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3428 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3433 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3434 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3435 trying to customize meta-variables.
3440 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3441 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3442 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3448 @section Group Topics
3451 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3452 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3453 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3454 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3455 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3456 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3460 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3461 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3472 2: alt.religion.emacs
3475 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3477 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3478 13: comp.sources.unix
3481 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3483 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3484 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3485 is a toggling command.)
3487 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3488 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and
3489 now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3490 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3493 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3494 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3495 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3498 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3502 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3503 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3504 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3505 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3506 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3510 @node Topic Commands
3511 @subsection Topic Commands
3512 @cindex topic commands
3514 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3515 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3516 definitions slightly.
3518 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3519 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3520 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3521 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3522 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3523 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3525 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3532 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3533 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3534 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3538 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3540 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3541 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3542 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3543 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3546 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3547 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3548 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3549 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3553 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3554 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3555 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3556 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3562 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3563 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3564 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3568 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3569 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3570 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3573 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3574 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3575 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3576 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3577 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3579 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3580 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3584 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3585 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3592 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3594 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3595 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3596 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3597 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3598 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3599 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3603 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3609 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3610 Move the current group to some other topic
3611 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3612 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3616 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3617 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3621 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3622 Copy the current group to some other topic
3623 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3624 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3628 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3629 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3630 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3634 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3635 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3636 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3640 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3641 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3642 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3643 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3644 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3645 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3646 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3649 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3650 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3654 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3655 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3656 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3660 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3661 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3662 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3666 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3667 Toggle hiding empty topics
3668 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3672 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3673 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3674 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3677 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3678 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3679 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3680 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3683 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3684 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3685 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3686 expiry process (if any)
3687 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3691 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3692 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3695 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3696 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3697 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3701 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3702 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3703 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3706 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3707 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3708 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3711 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3712 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3713 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3717 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3718 @cindex group parameters
3719 @cindex topic parameters
3721 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3722 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3727 @node Topic Variables
3728 @subsection Topic Variables
3729 @cindex topic variables
3731 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3732 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3734 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3735 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3736 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3749 Number of groups in the topic.
3751 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3753 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3756 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3757 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3758 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3761 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3762 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3764 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3765 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3766 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3770 @subsection Topic Sorting
3771 @cindex topic sorting
3773 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3779 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3780 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3781 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3782 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3785 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3786 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3787 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3788 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3791 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3792 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3793 Sort the current topic by group level
3794 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3797 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3798 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3799 Sort the current topic by group score
3800 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3803 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3804 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3805 Sort the current topic by group rank
3806 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3809 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3810 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3811 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3812 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3815 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3816 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3817 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3818 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3822 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3823 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3824 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3825 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3829 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3830 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3834 @node Topic Topology
3835 @subsection Topic Topology
3836 @cindex topic topology
3839 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3845 2: alt.religion.emacs
3848 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3850 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3851 13: comp.sources.unix
3854 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3855 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3856 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3861 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3862 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3866 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3867 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3868 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3869 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3870 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3871 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3873 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3874 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3875 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3878 @node Topic Parameters
3879 @subsection Topic Parameters
3880 @cindex topic parameters
3882 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3883 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3884 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3886 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3891 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3892 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3893 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3896 @item subscribe-level
3897 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3898 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
3899 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
3903 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3904 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3905 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3906 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3912 2: alt.religion.emacs
3916 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3918 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3919 13: comp.sources.unix
3923 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3924 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3925 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3926 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3927 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3928 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3930 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3931 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3932 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3933 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3934 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3936 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3937 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3938 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3939 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3940 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3941 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3942 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3943 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3946 @node Misc Group Stuff
3947 @section Misc Group Stuff
3950 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3951 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3952 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3953 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3954 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
3961 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3962 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3963 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3967 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3968 Start composing a message (a news by default)
3969 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
3970 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
3971 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
3972 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
3973 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3977 @findex gnus-group-mail
3978 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
3979 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
3980 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
3981 @xref{Composing Messages}.
3985 @findex gnus-group-news
3986 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
3987 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
3988 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3990 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
3991 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
3992 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
3993 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
3994 for this to work though.
3998 Variables for the group buffer:
4002 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
4003 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4004 is called after the group buffer has been
4007 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4008 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4009 is called after the group buffer is
4010 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4013 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4014 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4015 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4016 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4018 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4019 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4020 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4021 whether they are empty or not.
4023 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4024 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4025 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
4026 non-ASCII group names.
4030 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4031 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4034 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4035 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4036 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4037 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4038 is used to show non-ASCII group names. @code{((".*" utf-8))} is the
4039 default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the default is
4044 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4045 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4050 @node Scanning New Messages
4051 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4052 @cindex new messages
4053 @cindex scanning new news
4059 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4060 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4061 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4062 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4063 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4064 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4069 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4070 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4071 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4072 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4073 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4074 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4075 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4077 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4078 @cindex activating groups
4080 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4081 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4086 @findex gnus-group-restart
4087 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4088 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4089 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
4093 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4094 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4096 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4097 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4101 @node Group Information
4102 @subsection Group Information
4103 @cindex group information
4104 @cindex information on groups
4111 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4112 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4115 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
4116 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
4117 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
4118 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
4119 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4120 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
4121 for fetching the file.
4123 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
4124 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4128 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4129 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4131 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4132 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4135 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4136 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4137 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4141 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4142 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4143 @cindex control message
4144 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4145 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4146 group if given a prefix argument.
4148 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-@code{nil},
4149 Gnus will open the control messages in a browser using
4150 @code{browse-url}. Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp}
4151 and displayed in an ephemeral group.
4153 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4154 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode}
4155 (@pxref{(emacs)Compressed Files}).
4159 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4161 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4162 @cindex describing groups
4163 @cindex group description
4164 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4165 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4166 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4170 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4171 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4172 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4179 @findex gnus-version
4180 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4184 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4185 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4188 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4191 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4192 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4196 @node Group Timestamp
4197 @subsection Group Timestamp
4199 @cindex group timestamps
4201 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4202 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4203 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4206 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4209 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4211 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4212 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4215 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4216 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4219 This will result in lines looking like:
4222 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4223 0: custom 19961002T012713
4226 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4227 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4231 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4232 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4235 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4236 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4240 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4241 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4242 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4243 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4245 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4251 @subsection File Commands
4252 @cindex file commands
4258 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4259 @vindex gnus-init-file
4260 @cindex reading init file
4261 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4262 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4266 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4267 @cindex saving .newsrc
4268 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4269 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4270 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4273 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4274 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4275 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4280 @node Sieve Commands
4281 @subsection Sieve Commands
4282 @cindex group sieve commands
4284 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4285 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4286 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4287 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4288 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4290 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4291 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4292 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4293 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4294 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4295 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4296 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4297 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4298 regenerate the Sieve script.
4300 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4301 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4302 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
4303 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
4304 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
4305 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4306 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4307 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
4308 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
4309 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4312 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4313 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4318 @xref{Top, ,Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4324 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4325 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4326 @cindex generating sieve script
4327 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4328 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4332 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4333 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4334 @cindex updating sieve script
4335 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4336 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4337 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4342 @node Summary Buffer
4343 @chapter Summary Buffer
4344 @cindex summary buffer
4346 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4347 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4349 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4350 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4352 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4355 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4356 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4357 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4358 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4359 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4360 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4361 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4362 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4363 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4364 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4365 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4366 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4367 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4368 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4369 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4370 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4371 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4372 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4373 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4374 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4375 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4376 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4377 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4378 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4379 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4380 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4381 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4382 or reselecting the current group.
4383 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4384 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4385 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4386 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4390 @node Summary Buffer Format
4391 @section Summary Buffer Format
4392 @cindex summary buffer format
4396 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4397 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4398 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4404 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4405 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4406 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4407 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4410 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4411 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4412 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4413 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4414 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4415 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4416 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4417 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4418 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4419 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4420 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4423 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4424 'mail-extract-address-components)
4427 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4428 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4429 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4430 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4433 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4434 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4436 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4437 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4438 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4439 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4440 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4442 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4443 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4444 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4445 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4446 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4447 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4449 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4451 The following format specification characters and extended format
4452 specification(s) are understood:
4458 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4459 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4461 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4462 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4463 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4465 Full @code{From} header.
4467 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4469 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4472 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4473 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4474 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4475 may be more thorough.
4477 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4480 Number of lines in the article.
4482 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4483 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4485 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4486 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4488 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4490 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4491 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
4504 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
4505 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
4506 replacing the default ASCII characters with graphic line-drawing
4509 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4510 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4511 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
4512 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4514 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4515 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4516 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
4517 instead. The default is @samp{}.
4519 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4520 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4521 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
4523 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4524 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4525 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
4527 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4528 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4529 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
4531 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4532 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4533 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
4538 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4539 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4541 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4542 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4544 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4545 for adopted articles.
4547 One space for each thread level.
4549 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4551 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4554 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4555 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4556 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4559 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4561 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4562 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4563 default level. If the difference between
4564 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4565 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4573 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4575 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4581 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4582 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4584 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4585 article has any children.
4591 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4592 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4594 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4595 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4596 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4597 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4598 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4599 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4602 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4603 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4604 There can only be one such area.
4606 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4607 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4608 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4609 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4610 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4611 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4613 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4614 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4616 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4619 @node To From Newsgroups
4620 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4624 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4625 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4626 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4627 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4628 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4632 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4633 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4634 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4638 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4639 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4642 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4643 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4646 @findex gnus-extra-header
4647 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4648 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4649 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4652 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4656 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4657 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4658 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4659 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4660 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4661 headers are used instead.
4665 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4666 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4667 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4668 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4669 this variable, by entering the server buffer using `^', and then `g' on
4670 the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause regeneration.
4672 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4673 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4674 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4675 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4677 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4681 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4683 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4684 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4685 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4686 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4690 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4693 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4694 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4697 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4698 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4699 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4705 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4706 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4709 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4710 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4712 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4713 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4714 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4715 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4717 Here are the elements you can play with:
4723 Unprefixed group name.
4725 Current article number.
4727 Current article score.
4731 Number of unread articles in this group.
4733 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4736 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4737 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4738 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4739 and no unselected ones.
4741 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4742 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4744 Subject of the current article.
4746 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4748 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4750 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4752 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4754 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4756 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4760 @node Summary Highlighting
4761 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4765 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4766 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4767 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4768 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4769 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4771 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4772 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4773 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4774 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4776 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4777 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4778 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4779 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4781 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4782 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4783 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4784 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4785 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4786 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4789 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4790 ((> score default) . bold))
4792 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4793 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4797 @node Summary Maneuvering
4798 @section Summary Maneuvering
4799 @cindex summary movement
4801 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4802 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4804 None of these commands select articles.
4809 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4810 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4811 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4812 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4813 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4817 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4818 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4819 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4820 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4821 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4824 @kindex G g (Summary)
4825 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4826 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4827 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4830 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4831 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4832 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4833 to the group buffer.
4835 Variables related to summary movement:
4839 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4840 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4841 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4842 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4843 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4844 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4845 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4846 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
4847 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
4848 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
4849 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
4850 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
4851 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
4852 @pxref{Group Levels}.
4854 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4855 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4856 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4857 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4858 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4859 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4860 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4862 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4864 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4865 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4866 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4867 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4868 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4870 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4871 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4872 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4873 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4874 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4875 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4876 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4877 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4880 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4881 the given number of lines from the top.
4886 @node Choosing Articles
4887 @section Choosing Articles
4888 @cindex selecting articles
4891 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4892 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4896 @node Choosing Commands
4897 @subsection Choosing Commands
4899 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4900 and they all select and display an article.
4902 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4903 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4907 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4908 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4909 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4910 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4915 @kindex G n (Summary)
4916 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4917 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4918 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4923 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4924 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4925 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4930 @kindex G N (Summary)
4931 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4932 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4937 @kindex G P (Summary)
4938 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4939 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4942 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4943 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4944 Go to the next article with the same subject
4945 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4948 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4949 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4950 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4951 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4955 @kindex G f (Summary)
4957 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4958 Go to the first unread article
4959 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4963 @kindex G b (Summary)
4965 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4966 Go to the unread article with the highest score
4967 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
4968 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
4973 @kindex G l (Summary)
4974 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4975 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4978 @kindex G o (Summary)
4979 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4981 @cindex article history
4982 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4983 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4984 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4985 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4986 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4987 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4992 @kindex G j (Summary)
4993 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4994 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4995 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
5000 @node Choosing Variables
5001 @subsection Choosing Variables
5003 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
5006 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5007 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5008 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
5009 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
5010 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
5011 the server and display it in the article buffer.
5013 @item gnus-select-article-hook
5014 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
5015 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
5016 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article. If you wish
5017 that the Agent saves all articles you read, putting
5018 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this hook should do it.
5020 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
5021 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
5022 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
5023 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
5024 @findex gnus-unread-mark
5025 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
5026 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
5027 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
5028 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
5029 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
5030 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
5031 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
5032 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
5033 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
5038 @node Paging the Article
5039 @section Scrolling the Article
5040 @cindex article scrolling
5045 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5046 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5047 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5048 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5049 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5052 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5053 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5054 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5057 @kindex RET (Summary)
5058 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5059 Scroll the current article one line forward
5060 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5063 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5064 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5065 Scroll the current article one line backward
5066 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5070 @kindex A g (Summary)
5072 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5073 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5074 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5075 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
5076 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5077 the way it came from the server.
5079 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5080 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5081 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5084 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5089 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5094 @kindex A < (Summary)
5095 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5096 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5097 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5102 @kindex A > (Summary)
5103 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5104 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5108 @kindex A s (Summary)
5110 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5111 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5112 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5116 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5117 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5122 @node Reply Followup and Post
5123 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5126 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5127 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5128 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5129 * Canceling and Superseding::
5133 @node Summary Mail Commands
5134 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5136 @cindex composing mail
5138 Commands for composing a mail message:
5144 @kindex S r (Summary)
5146 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5147 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5148 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5149 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5150 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5155 @kindex S R (Summary)
5156 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5157 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5158 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5159 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5160 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5163 @kindex S w (Summary)
5164 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5165 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5166 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5167 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5168 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
5171 @kindex S W (Summary)
5172 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5173 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5174 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5175 the process/prefix convention.
5178 @kindex S v (Summary)
5179 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5180 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5181 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5182 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5183 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5184 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5187 @kindex S V (Summary)
5188 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5189 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5190 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5191 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5194 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5195 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5196 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5197 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5200 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5201 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5202 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5203 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5204 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5208 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5209 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5210 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5211 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5212 Forward the current article to some other person
5213 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
5214 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
5215 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5216 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5217 as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5218 forward as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5219 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5220 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5221 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @sc{mime}
5227 @kindex S m (Summary)
5228 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5229 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5230 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5231 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5232 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5237 @kindex S i (Summary)
5238 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5239 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5240 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5241 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5243 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5244 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
5245 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5246 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5247 for this to work though.
5250 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5251 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5252 @cindex bouncing mail
5253 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5254 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5255 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5256 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5257 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5258 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5259 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5260 very well fail, though.
5263 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5264 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5265 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5266 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5267 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5268 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5269 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5270 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5271 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5272 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5274 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5275 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5276 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5277 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5278 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5280 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5281 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5284 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5285 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5286 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5287 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5288 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5291 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5292 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5293 @cindex crossposting
5294 @cindex excessive crossposting
5295 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5296 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5298 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5299 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5300 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5301 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5302 command understands the process/prefix convention
5303 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5307 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5308 Manual}, for more information.
5311 @node Summary Post Commands
5312 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5314 @cindex composing news
5316 Commands for posting a news article:
5322 @kindex S p (Summary)
5323 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5324 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5325 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5326 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5327 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5332 @kindex S f (Summary)
5333 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5334 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5335 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5339 @kindex S F (Summary)
5341 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5342 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5343 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5344 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5345 process/prefix convention.
5348 @kindex S n (Summary)
5349 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5350 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5351 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5354 @kindex S N (Summary)
5355 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5356 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5357 message through mail and include the original message
5358 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5359 the process/prefix convention.
5362 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5363 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5364 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5365 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5366 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5367 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5368 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5369 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5370 as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5371 forward as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5372 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5373 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5374 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section.
5377 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5378 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5380 @cindex making digests
5381 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5382 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
5383 process/prefix convention.
5386 @kindex S u (Summary)
5387 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5388 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5389 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5390 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5393 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5394 Manual}, for more information.
5397 @node Summary Message Commands
5398 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5402 @kindex S y (Summary)
5403 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5404 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5405 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5406 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5407 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5412 @node Canceling and Superseding
5413 @subsection Canceling Articles
5414 @cindex canceling articles
5415 @cindex superseding articles
5417 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5418 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5420 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5422 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5424 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5425 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5426 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5427 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5428 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5429 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5431 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5432 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5435 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5436 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5437 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5439 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5440 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5441 your original article.
5443 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5445 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5446 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5447 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5450 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5451 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5452 have posted almost the same article twice.
5454 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5455 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5456 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5457 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5458 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5459 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5460 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5461 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5462 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5463 canceled/superseded.
5465 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5467 @node Delayed Articles
5468 @section Delayed Articles
5469 @cindex delayed sending
5470 @cindex send delayed
5472 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5473 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5474 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5475 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5478 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5481 @findex gnus-delay-article
5482 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5483 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5484 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5485 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5489 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5490 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5491 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5492 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5495 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5496 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5497 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5500 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5501 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5502 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5503 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5504 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5505 that means a time tomorrow.
5508 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5509 couple of variables:
5512 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5513 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5514 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5515 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5517 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5518 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5519 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5520 formats described above.
5522 @item gnus-delay-group
5523 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5524 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5525 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5526 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5528 @item gnus-delay-header
5529 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5530 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5531 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5532 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5535 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5536 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5537 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5538 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5539 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5541 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5542 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5543 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5544 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5545 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5546 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5549 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5550 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5551 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5552 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5553 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5554 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5555 argument is ignored.
5557 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5558 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5559 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5563 @node Marking Articles
5564 @section Marking Articles
5565 @cindex article marking
5566 @cindex article ticking
5569 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5571 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5572 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5573 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5575 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5578 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5579 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5580 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5584 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5588 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5589 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5590 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5594 @node Unread Articles
5595 @subsection Unread Articles
5597 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5602 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5603 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5605 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5606 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5607 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5608 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5609 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5610 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5611 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5614 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5615 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5617 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5618 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5619 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5620 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5624 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5625 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5627 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5632 @subsection Read Articles
5633 @cindex expirable mark
5635 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5640 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5641 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5642 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5645 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5646 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5649 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5650 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5651 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5654 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5655 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5658 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5659 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5662 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5663 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5666 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5667 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5670 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5671 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5674 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5675 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5678 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5679 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5683 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5684 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5685 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5689 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5690 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5692 One more special mark, though:
5696 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5697 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5699 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5700 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5701 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5702 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5708 @subsection Other Marks
5709 @cindex process mark
5712 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5718 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5719 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5720 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5721 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5722 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5725 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5726 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5727 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5728 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5731 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5732 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5733 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5736 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5737 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5738 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5741 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5742 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5743 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5744 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5747 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5748 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5749 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5750 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5751 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5752 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5755 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5756 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5757 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5758 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5761 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
5762 When using the Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics}, some articles might not
5763 have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you are
5764 offline (unplugged). These articles get the @samp{@@} mark in the
5765 first column. (The variable @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls
5766 which character to use.)
5769 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
5770 The Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics} downloads some articles
5771 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
5772 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
5773 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
5774 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
5778 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5779 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5780 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5781 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5782 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5785 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5786 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5787 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5788 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5789 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5790 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5794 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5795 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5796 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5798 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5799 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5800 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5804 @subsection Setting Marks
5805 @cindex setting marks
5807 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5812 @kindex M c (Summary)
5813 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5814 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5815 @cindex mark as unread
5816 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5817 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5823 @kindex M t (Summary)
5824 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5825 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5826 @xref{Article Caching}.
5831 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5832 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5833 Mark the current article as dormant
5834 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5838 @kindex M d (Summary)
5840 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5841 Mark the current article as read
5842 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5846 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5847 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5848 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5853 @kindex M k (Summary)
5854 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5855 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5856 and then select the next unread article
5857 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5861 @kindex M K (Summary)
5862 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5863 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5864 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5865 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5868 @kindex M C (Summary)
5869 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5870 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5871 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5874 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5875 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5876 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5877 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5880 @kindex M H (Summary)
5881 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5882 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5883 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5886 @kindex M h (Summary)
5887 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5888 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5889 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5892 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5893 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5894 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5895 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5898 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5899 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5900 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5901 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5905 @kindex M e (Summary)
5907 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5908 Mark the current article as expirable
5909 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5912 @kindex M b (Summary)
5913 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5914 Set a bookmark in the current article
5915 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5918 @kindex M B (Summary)
5919 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5920 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5921 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5924 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5925 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5926 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5927 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5930 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5931 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5932 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5933 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5936 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5937 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5938 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5939 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5940 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5943 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5944 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5945 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5946 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5947 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5948 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5949 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5950 The default is @code{t}.
5953 @node Generic Marking Commands
5954 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5956 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5957 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5958 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5959 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5960 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5963 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5964 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5967 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5968 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5969 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5970 to list in this manual.
5972 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5973 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5974 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5975 article, you could say something like:
5978 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5979 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5980 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5986 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5987 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5991 @node Setting Process Marks
5992 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5993 @cindex setting process marks
5995 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
5996 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
5997 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
5998 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
5999 commands into the cache. For more information,
6000 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6007 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6008 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6009 Mark the current article with the process mark
6010 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6011 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6015 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6016 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6017 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6018 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6021 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6022 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6023 Remove the process mark from all articles
6024 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6027 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6028 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6029 Invert the list of process marked articles
6030 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6033 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6034 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6035 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6036 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6039 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6040 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6041 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6042 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6045 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6046 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6047 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6051 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6052 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6055 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6056 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6057 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6058 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6061 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6062 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6063 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6064 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6067 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6068 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6069 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6070 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6073 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6074 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6075 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6078 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6079 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6080 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6081 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6084 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6085 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6086 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6089 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6090 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6091 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6092 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6095 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6096 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6097 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6098 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6101 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6102 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6103 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6104 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6107 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6108 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6109 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6110 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6114 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
6115 set process marks based on article body contents.
6122 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6123 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6124 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6127 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6128 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6129 additional articles.
6135 @kindex / / (Summary)
6136 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6137 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6138 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6142 @kindex / a (Summary)
6143 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6144 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6145 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6149 @kindex / x (Summary)
6150 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6151 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6152 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6153 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6158 @kindex / u (Summary)
6160 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6161 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6162 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6163 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6164 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6167 @kindex / m (Summary)
6168 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6169 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6170 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6173 @kindex / t (Summary)
6174 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6175 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6176 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6177 articles younger than that number of days.
6180 @kindex / n (Summary)
6181 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6182 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6183 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6184 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6187 @kindex / w (Summary)
6188 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6189 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6190 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6194 @kindex / . (Summary)
6195 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6196 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6197 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6200 @kindex / v (Summary)
6201 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6202 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6203 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6206 @kindex / p (Summary)
6207 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6208 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6209 group parameter predicate
6210 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). See @pxref{Group
6211 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
6215 @kindex M S (Summary)
6216 @kindex / E (Summary)
6217 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6218 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6219 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6222 @kindex / D (Summary)
6223 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6224 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6225 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6228 @kindex / * (Summary)
6229 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6230 Include all cached articles in the limit
6231 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6234 @kindex / d (Summary)
6235 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6236 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6237 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6240 @kindex / M (Summary)
6241 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6242 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6245 @kindex / T (Summary)
6246 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6247 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6250 @kindex / c (Summary)
6251 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6252 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
6253 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6256 @kindex / C (Summary)
6257 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6258 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6259 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6260 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6263 @kindex / N (Summary)
6264 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6265 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6266 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6269 @kindex / o (Summary)
6270 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6271 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6272 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6280 @cindex article threading
6282 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6283 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6284 hierarchical fashion.
6286 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6287 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6288 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6289 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6290 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6291 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6292 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
6294 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6298 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6301 A tree-like article structure.
6304 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6307 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6308 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6309 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6310 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6311 called loose threads.
6313 @item thread gathering
6314 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6316 @item sparse threads
6317 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6318 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6324 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6325 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6329 @node Customizing Threading
6330 @subsection Customizing Threading
6331 @cindex customizing threading
6334 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6335 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6336 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6337 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
6342 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6345 @cindex loose threads
6348 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6349 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6350 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6351 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6352 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6353 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6355 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6356 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6357 There are four possible values:
6361 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6362 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6363 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6364 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6365 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6370 @cindex adopting articles
6375 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6376 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6377 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6378 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6381 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6382 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6383 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6384 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6385 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6386 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6387 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6388 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6389 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6390 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6393 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6394 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6395 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6399 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6400 display them after one another.
6403 Don't gather loose threads.
6406 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6407 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6408 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6409 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6410 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6411 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6412 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6413 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6414 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6415 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6416 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6418 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6419 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6420 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6423 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6424 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6425 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6426 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6427 simplification is used.
6429 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6430 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6431 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6432 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6434 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6436 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6442 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6443 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6444 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6445 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6450 (mapconcat 'identity
6451 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6453 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6456 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6459 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6460 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6461 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6462 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6463 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6464 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6466 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6469 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6470 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6471 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6473 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6474 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6477 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6478 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6479 Remove excessive whitespace.
6481 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6482 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6483 Remove all whitespace.
6486 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6489 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6490 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6491 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6492 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6493 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6494 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6495 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6496 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6498 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6499 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6500 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6501 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6502 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6503 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6504 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6505 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6506 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6510 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6511 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6512 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6513 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6515 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6516 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6517 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6520 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6524 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6525 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6531 @node Filling In Threads
6532 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6535 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6536 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6537 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6538 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6539 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6540 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6541 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6542 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6543 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6544 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6545 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6546 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do
6549 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6550 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6551 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6553 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6554 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6555 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6556 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6557 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6558 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6559 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6560 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6561 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6562 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6563 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6564 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6565 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6566 @code{nil} by default.
6568 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6569 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6570 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6571 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6572 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6573 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6574 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6576 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6577 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6578 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6583 @node More Threading
6584 @subsubsection More Threading
6587 @item gnus-show-threads
6588 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6589 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6590 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6591 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6592 slower and more awkward.
6594 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6595 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6596 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6599 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6600 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6601 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}).
6606 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6607 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6608 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6611 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6612 unread, but you get my drift.)
6615 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6616 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6617 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6618 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6619 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6620 threads are expunged.
6622 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6623 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6624 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6627 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6628 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6629 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6630 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6631 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6632 result in a new thread.
6634 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6635 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6636 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6639 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6640 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6641 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6642 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6643 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6644 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6645 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6646 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6647 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6648 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6649 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6654 @node Low-Level Threading
6655 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6659 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6660 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6661 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6663 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6664 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6665 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6666 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6667 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6668 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6669 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6670 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6671 meaningful. Here's one example:
6674 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6676 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6677 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6679 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6681 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6688 @node Thread Commands
6689 @subsection Thread Commands
6690 @cindex thread commands
6696 @kindex T k (Summary)
6697 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6698 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6699 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6700 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6701 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6706 @kindex T l (Summary)
6707 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6708 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6709 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6710 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6713 @kindex T i (Summary)
6714 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6715 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6716 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6719 @kindex T # (Summary)
6720 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6721 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6722 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6725 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6726 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6727 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6728 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6731 @kindex T T (Summary)
6732 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6733 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6736 @kindex T s (Summary)
6737 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6738 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6739 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6742 @kindex T h (Summary)
6743 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6744 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6747 @kindex T S (Summary)
6748 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6749 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6752 @kindex T H (Summary)
6753 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6754 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6757 @kindex T t (Summary)
6758 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6759 Re-thread the current article's thread
6760 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6761 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6764 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6765 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6766 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6767 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6771 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6772 understand the numeric prefix.
6777 @kindex T n (Summary)
6779 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6781 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6782 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6783 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6786 @kindex T p (Summary)
6788 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6790 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6791 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6792 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6795 @kindex T d (Summary)
6796 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6797 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6800 @kindex T u (Summary)
6801 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6802 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6805 @kindex T o (Summary)
6806 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6807 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6810 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6811 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6812 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6813 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6814 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6815 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6816 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6817 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6818 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6819 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6820 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6821 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6825 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6826 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6828 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6829 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6830 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6831 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6832 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6833 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6834 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
6835 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6836 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-thread
6837 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6838 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6839 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6840 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6842 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6843 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6844 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6845 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6846 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
6847 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
6848 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
6849 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6851 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6852 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6853 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6855 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6856 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6857 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6858 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6859 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6860 ascending article order.
6862 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6863 by number, you could do something like:
6866 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6867 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6868 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6869 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6872 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6873 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6874 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6875 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6876 which the articles arrived.
6878 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6882 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6884 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6885 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6888 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6889 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6890 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6891 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6894 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6895 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6896 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6897 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6898 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6899 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
6900 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6901 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
6902 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
6903 variable. It is very similar to the
6904 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
6905 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
6906 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6907 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
6908 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
6909 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
6910 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6912 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6916 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6917 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6918 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6923 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6924 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6925 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6926 @cindex article pre-fetch
6929 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6930 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6931 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6932 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6933 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6935 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6936 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
6938 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6939 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6940 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6941 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6942 connection is blocked.
6944 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6945 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6946 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6947 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
6949 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6950 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6951 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6952 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6955 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6958 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6959 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6960 happen automatically.
6962 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6963 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6964 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6965 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6966 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6967 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6968 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6970 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6971 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6972 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6973 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6974 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6975 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6976 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6977 data structure as the only parameter.
6979 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6982 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6983 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6984 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6985 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6988 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6991 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6992 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
6993 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6995 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6996 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6997 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6998 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7002 Remove articles when they are read.
7005 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7008 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7010 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7011 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7012 @c from the next group.
7015 @node Article Caching
7016 @section Article Caching
7017 @cindex article caching
7020 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
7021 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7022 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7023 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7024 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7026 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7028 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7029 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7030 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7031 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7032 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7033 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7034 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7035 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7037 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7038 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7039 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7040 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7041 as dormant, and don't worry.
7043 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7045 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7046 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7047 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7048 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7049 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7050 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7051 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7052 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7053 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7054 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7056 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7057 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7058 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7059 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7060 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7061 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
7062 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7063 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7064 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7065 not then be downloaded by this command.
7067 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7068 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7069 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7070 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7071 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7072 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7074 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7075 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7076 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7077 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7078 variables, the group is not cached.
7080 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7081 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7082 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7083 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7084 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7085 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
7086 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7087 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
7088 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7091 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7092 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7093 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7094 where, isn't that cool?
7096 @node Persistent Articles
7097 @section Persistent Articles
7098 @cindex persistent articles
7100 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7101 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7102 useful in my opinion.
7104 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7105 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7106 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7107 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7108 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7109 the expiry going on at the news server.
7111 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7112 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7113 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7119 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7120 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7123 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7124 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7125 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7126 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7130 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7132 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7133 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7134 interested in persistent articles:
7137 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7141 @node Article Backlog
7142 @section Article Backlog
7144 @cindex article backlog
7146 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7147 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7148 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
7149 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7150 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7151 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7152 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
7153 increase memory usage some.
7155 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7156 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
7157 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7158 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
7159 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7160 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7161 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7163 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
7166 @node Saving Articles
7167 @section Saving Articles
7168 @cindex saving articles
7170 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7171 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7172 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7173 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7174 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7176 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7177 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7178 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7180 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7181 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
7182 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7184 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7185 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7186 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7187 deleted before saving.
7193 @kindex O o (Summary)
7195 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7196 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7197 Save the current article using the default article saver
7198 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7201 @kindex O m (Summary)
7202 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7203 Save the current article in mail format
7204 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7207 @kindex O r (Summary)
7208 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7209 Save the current article in rmail format
7210 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7213 @kindex O f (Summary)
7214 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7215 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7216 Save the current article in plain file format
7217 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7220 @kindex O F (Summary)
7221 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7222 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7223 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7226 @kindex O b (Summary)
7227 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7228 Save the current article body in plain file format
7229 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7232 @kindex O h (Summary)
7233 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7234 Save the current article in mh folder format
7235 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7238 @kindex O v (Summary)
7239 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7240 Save the current article in a VM folder
7241 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7245 @kindex O p (Summary)
7247 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7248 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7249 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7250 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7251 complete headers in the piped output.
7254 @kindex O P (Summary)
7255 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7256 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7257 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7258 external program Muttprint (see
7259 @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/}). The program name and
7260 options to use is controlled by the variable
7261 @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}. (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7265 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7266 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7267 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7268 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7269 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7270 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7271 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7272 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7273 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7274 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7275 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7276 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7280 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7281 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7282 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7283 functions below, or you can create your own.
7287 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7288 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7289 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7290 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7291 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
7292 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7293 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7295 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7296 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7297 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7298 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7299 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7300 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7302 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7303 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7304 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7305 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7306 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7307 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7308 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7310 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7311 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7312 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7313 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7314 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7315 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7317 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7318 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7319 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7320 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7321 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7323 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7324 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7325 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7326 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7327 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7330 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7331 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7332 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7333 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7334 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7336 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7337 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7338 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7339 reader to use this setting.
7342 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7343 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7344 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7345 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7348 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7349 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7350 available functions that generate names:
7354 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7355 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7356 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7358 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7359 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7360 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7362 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7363 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7364 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7366 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7367 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7368 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7370 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7371 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7372 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7375 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7376 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7377 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7378 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7379 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7383 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7384 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7385 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7386 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7389 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7390 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7391 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7392 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7393 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7394 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7395 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7396 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7397 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7399 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7400 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7401 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7402 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7404 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7405 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7406 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7409 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7410 lots of mail groups called things like
7411 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7412 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7413 following will do just that:
7416 (defun my-save-name (group)
7417 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7418 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7420 (setq gnus-split-methods
7421 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7426 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7427 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7428 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7429 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7430 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7431 all the files in the top level directory
7432 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7433 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7434 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7435 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7437 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7438 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7439 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7440 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7441 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7444 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7448 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
7449 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7450 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
7453 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7454 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7455 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7456 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7459 @node Decoding Articles
7460 @section Decoding Articles
7461 @cindex decoding articles
7463 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7464 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7467 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7468 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7469 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7470 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7471 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7472 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7476 @cindex article series
7477 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7478 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7479 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7480 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7481 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7483 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7484 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7485 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7487 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
7488 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7489 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7491 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7492 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7493 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7496 @node Uuencoded Articles
7497 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7499 @cindex uuencoded articles
7504 @kindex X u (Summary)
7505 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7506 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7507 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7510 @kindex X U (Summary)
7511 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7512 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7513 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7516 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7517 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7518 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7521 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7522 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7523 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7524 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7528 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7529 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7530 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7531 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7532 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7534 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7535 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7536 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7537 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7540 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7541 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7542 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7543 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7544 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7545 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7549 @node Shell Archives
7550 @subsection Shell Archives
7552 @cindex shell archives
7553 @cindex shared articles
7555 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7556 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7557 some commands to deal with these:
7562 @kindex X s (Summary)
7563 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7564 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7567 @kindex X S (Summary)
7568 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7569 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7572 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7573 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7574 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7577 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7578 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7579 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7580 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7584 @node PostScript Files
7585 @subsection PostScript Files
7591 @kindex X p (Summary)
7592 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7593 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7596 @kindex X P (Summary)
7597 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7598 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7599 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7602 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7603 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7604 View the current PostScript series
7605 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7608 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7609 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7610 View and save the current PostScript series
7611 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7616 @subsection Other Files
7620 @kindex X o (Summary)
7621 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7622 Save the current series
7623 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7626 @kindex X b (Summary)
7627 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7628 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7629 doesn't really work yet.
7633 @node Decoding Variables
7634 @subsection Decoding Variables
7636 Adjective, not verb.
7639 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7640 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7641 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7645 @node Rule Variables
7646 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7647 @cindex rule variables
7649 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7650 variables are of the form
7653 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7660 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7661 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7663 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7664 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
7667 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7668 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7671 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7672 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7673 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7674 user and default view rules.
7676 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7677 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7678 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7683 @node Other Decode Variables
7684 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7687 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7689 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7690 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7691 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7692 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7693 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7697 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7698 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7701 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7702 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7703 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7706 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7707 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7708 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7709 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7710 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7713 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7714 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7715 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7717 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7718 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7719 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7720 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7721 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7724 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7725 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7726 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7728 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7729 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7730 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7731 looking for files to display.
7733 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7734 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7735 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7738 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7739 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7740 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7743 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7744 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7745 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7748 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7749 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7750 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7753 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7754 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7755 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7756 decoded articles as unread.
7758 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7759 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7760 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7761 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7763 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7764 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7765 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7767 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7768 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7770 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7771 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7772 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7773 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7775 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7776 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7777 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7778 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7779 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7780 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7781 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7782 simply dropped them.
7787 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7788 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7792 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7793 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7794 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7795 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7796 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7797 for you when you post the article.
7799 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7800 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7801 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7802 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7804 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7805 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7806 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7807 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7808 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7809 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7810 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
7812 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7813 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7814 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7815 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7816 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7817 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7818 Default is @code{t}.
7824 @subsection Viewing Files
7825 @cindex viewing files
7826 @cindex pseudo-articles
7828 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
7829 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7830 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7831 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
7832 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7833 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7834 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7836 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7837 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7838 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7839 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7841 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7842 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7843 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7845 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7846 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7847 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7848 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7849 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7851 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7852 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7853 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7854 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7855 a list of parameters to that command.
7857 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7858 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7859 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7861 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7862 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7863 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7866 @node Article Treatment
7867 @section Article Treatment
7869 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7870 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7871 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7872 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7873 these articles easier.
7876 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7877 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7878 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7879 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7880 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
7881 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7882 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7883 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
7884 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7885 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7889 @node Article Highlighting
7890 @subsection Article Highlighting
7891 @cindex highlighting
7893 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7894 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7899 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7900 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7901 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7902 Do much highlighting of the current article
7903 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7904 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7907 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7908 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7909 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7910 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7911 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7912 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7913 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7914 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7915 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7916 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7917 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7918 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7921 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7922 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7923 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7925 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7928 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7930 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7931 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7932 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7934 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7935 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7936 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7938 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7939 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7940 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7941 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7942 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7943 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7945 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7946 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7947 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7949 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7950 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7951 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7953 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7954 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7955 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7956 that it's a citation.
7958 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7959 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7960 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7962 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7963 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7964 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7966 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7967 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7968 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7969 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7975 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7976 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7977 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7978 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7979 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7980 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7981 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7982 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7987 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7990 @node Article Fontisizing
7991 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7993 @cindex article emphasis
7995 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7996 @kindex W e (Summary)
7997 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7998 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7999 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
8000 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
8002 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
8003 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
8004 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
8005 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
8006 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
8007 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
8008 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
8009 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
8013 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
8014 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
8015 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
8024 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
8025 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
8026 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
8027 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
8028 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
8029 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
8030 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
8031 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
8032 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
8033 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
8034 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
8035 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
8036 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
8038 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
8039 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
8040 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
8044 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
8047 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
8049 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
8050 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8051 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8052 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8054 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8057 @node Article Hiding
8058 @subsection Article Hiding
8059 @cindex article hiding
8061 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8062 too much cruft in most articles.
8067 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8068 @findex gnus-article-hide
8069 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8070 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8071 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
8074 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8075 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8076 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8080 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8081 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8082 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8083 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8086 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8087 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8088 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8092 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8093 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8094 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8095 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8096 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8097 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8098 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8099 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8103 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8104 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8105 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8106 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8111 @kindex W W p (Summary)
8112 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
8113 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
8114 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
8115 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
8116 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
8117 articles that have signatures in them do:
8119 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
8121 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
8123 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
8124 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
8126 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
8129 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
8134 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8135 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8136 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8137 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8140 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8141 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8142 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8143 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8146 @cindex stripping advertisements
8147 @cindex advertisements
8148 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8149 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8150 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8151 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8152 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8153 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8154 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8155 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8156 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8157 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8160 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8161 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8162 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8166 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8167 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8168 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8169 @code{(ADDRESS . BANNER)}, where ADDRESS is a regexp matching a mail
8170 address in the From header, BANNER is one of a symbol @code{signature},
8171 an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}, a regexp and @code{nil}.
8172 If ADDRESS matches author's mail address, it will remove things like
8173 advertisements. For example, if a sender has the mail address
8174 @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a banner something like
8175 @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he sends, you can use the
8176 following element to remove them:
8179 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" . "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8185 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8186 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8187 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8188 customizing the hiding:
8192 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8193 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8194 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8195 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8196 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8197 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8198 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8203 Starting point of the hidden text.
8205 Ending point of the hidden text.
8207 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8209 Number of lines of hidden text.
8212 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8213 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8214 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8215 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8216 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8221 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8222 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8224 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8225 following two variables:
8228 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8229 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8230 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8231 50), hide the cited text.
8233 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8234 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8235 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8240 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8241 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8242 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8243 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8244 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8245 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8249 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8250 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8251 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8253 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8254 citation customization.
8256 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8260 @node Article Washing
8261 @subsection Article Washing
8263 @cindex article washing
8265 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8266 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8268 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8269 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8272 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8273 articles by default.
8278 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8279 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8283 @kindex W l (Summary)
8284 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8285 Remove page breaks from the current article
8286 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8290 @kindex W r (Summary)
8291 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8292 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8293 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8294 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8295 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8296 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8298 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8299 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8300 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8301 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8304 @kindex W m (Summary)
8305 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8306 @c @icon{gnus-summary-morse-message}
8307 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8311 @kindex W t (Summary)
8313 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8314 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8315 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8318 @kindex W v (Summary)
8319 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8320 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8321 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8324 @kindex W o (Summary)
8325 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8326 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8329 @kindex W d (Summary)
8330 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8331 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8333 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8335 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8336 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8337 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8338 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8341 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8342 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8343 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8344 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8347 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
8348 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8349 @cindex Outlook Express
8350 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
8351 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
8352 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8355 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
8356 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
8357 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
8358 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
8359 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
8360 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the miminum and
8361 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
8362 (@code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8365 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
8366 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
8367 Repair a broken attribution line.
8368 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
8371 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
8372 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
8373 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
8374 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
8377 @kindex W w (Summary)
8378 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8379 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8381 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8385 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8386 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8387 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8390 @kindex W C (Summary)
8391 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8392 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8393 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8396 @kindex W c (Summary)
8397 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8398 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8399 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8400 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8401 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8404 @kindex W q (Summary)
8405 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8406 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8407 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
8408 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
8409 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
8410 readable to me. Note that this is usually done automatically by
8411 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
8412 header that says that this encoding has been done.
8413 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8416 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8417 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8418 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
8419 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
8420 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is usually done
8421 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8422 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
8424 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8427 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8428 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8429 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8430 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8431 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8434 @kindex W u (Summary)
8435 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8436 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8437 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8438 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8439 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8442 @kindex W h (Summary)
8443 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8444 Treat @sc{html} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8445 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8446 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @sc{html}.
8448 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8450 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8451 The default is to use the function specified by
8452 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{(emacs-mime)Display
8453 Customization}) to convert the @sc{html}, but this is controlled by
8454 the @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions
8455 you can use include:
8462 Use emacs-w3m (see @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/} for more
8466 Use Links (see @uref{http://artax.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~mikulas/links/}).
8469 Use Lynx (see @uref{http://lynx.browser.org/}).
8472 Use html2text -- a simple @sc{html} converter included with Gnus.
8477 @kindex W b (Summary)
8478 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8479 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8480 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8483 @kindex W B (Summary)
8484 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8485 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8486 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8489 @kindex W p (Summary)
8490 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8491 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
8492 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
8493 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
8494 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8495 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
8496 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8499 @kindex W s (Summary)
8500 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8501 Verify a signed (PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}) message
8502 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8505 @kindex W a (Summary)
8506 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8507 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8508 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8511 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8512 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8513 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8514 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8517 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8518 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8519 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8520 lines with a single empty line.
8521 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8524 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8525 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8526 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8527 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8530 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8531 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8532 Do all the three commands above
8533 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8536 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8537 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8538 Remove all blank lines
8539 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8542 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8543 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8544 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8545 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8548 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8549 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8550 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8551 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8555 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8558 @node Article Header
8559 @subsection Article Header
8561 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8566 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8567 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8568 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8571 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8572 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8573 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8574 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8577 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8578 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8579 Fold all the message headers
8580 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8584 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8585 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8586 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8591 @node Article Buttons
8592 @subsection Article Buttons
8595 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8596 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8597 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8598 button on these references.
8600 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8601 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8602 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links and man pages.
8603 This is controlled by two variables, one that handles article bodies and
8604 one that handles article heads:
8608 @item gnus-button-alist
8609 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8610 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8613 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8619 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
8620 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
8621 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
8622 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
8623 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}.
8626 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8627 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8628 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8631 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8632 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8633 avoid false matches.
8636 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8639 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8640 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8644 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8647 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8650 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8651 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8652 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8653 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8654 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8657 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8660 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8662 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8663 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8664 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8665 default values of the variables above.
8667 @item gnus-article-button-face
8668 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8669 Face used on buttons.
8671 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8672 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8673 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8677 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8681 @subsection Article Date
8683 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8684 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8685 when the article was sent.
8690 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8691 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8692 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8693 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8696 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8697 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8699 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8700 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8703 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8704 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8705 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8708 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8709 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8710 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8711 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8714 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8715 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8716 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8717 @findex format-time-string
8718 Display the date using a user-defined format
8719 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8720 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8721 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8722 for a list of possible format specs.
8725 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8726 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8727 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8728 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8729 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8730 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8733 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8736 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8737 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8740 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8741 into wonderful absurdities.
8743 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8746 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8749 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8750 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8754 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8755 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8756 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8757 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8758 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8759 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8760 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8764 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8765 preferred format automatically.
8768 @node Article Display
8769 @subsection Article Display
8774 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
8775 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
8777 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
8778 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
8780 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
8781 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
8783 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
8784 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
8786 All these functions are toggles--if the elements already exist,
8791 @kindex W D x (Summary)
8792 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
8793 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
8794 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
8797 @kindex W D d (Summary)
8798 @findex gnus-article-display-face
8799 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
8800 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
8803 @kindex W D s (Summary)
8804 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
8805 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
8808 @kindex W D f (Summary)
8809 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
8810 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
8813 @kindex W D m (Summary)
8814 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
8815 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
8816 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
8819 @kindex W D n (Summary)
8820 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
8821 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
8822 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
8825 @kindex W D D (Summary)
8826 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
8827 Remove all images from the article buffer
8828 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
8834 @node Article Signature
8835 @subsection Article Signature
8837 @cindex article signature
8839 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8840 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8841 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8842 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8843 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8844 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8845 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8846 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8847 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8850 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8851 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8852 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8853 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8854 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8855 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8856 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8857 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8860 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8863 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8864 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8865 signature when displaying articles.
8869 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8872 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8875 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8876 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8878 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8879 in question is not a signature.
8882 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8883 listed above. Here's an example:
8886 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8887 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8890 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8891 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8892 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8893 signature after all.
8896 @node Article Miscellania
8897 @subsection Article Miscellania
8901 @kindex A t (Summary)
8902 @findex gnus-article-babel
8903 Translate the article from one language to another
8904 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8910 @section MIME Commands
8911 @cindex MIME decoding
8913 @cindex viewing attachments
8915 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8916 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8922 @kindex K v (Summary)
8923 View the @sc{mime} part.
8926 @kindex K o (Summary)
8927 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8930 @kindex K c (Summary)
8931 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8934 @kindex K e (Summary)
8935 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8938 @kindex K i (Summary)
8939 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8942 @kindex K | (Summary)
8943 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8946 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8951 @kindex K b (Summary)
8952 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8953 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8957 @kindex K m (Summary)
8958 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8959 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8960 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8961 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8962 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8965 @kindex X m (Summary)
8966 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8967 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8968 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8969 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8972 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8973 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
8974 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8975 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8978 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8979 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
8980 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8981 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8984 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8985 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
8986 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8987 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8989 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8990 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8991 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8992 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
8993 include @sc{mime} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
8994 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8997 @kindex W M v (Summary)
8998 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
8999 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
9000 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
9007 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
9008 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
9009 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
9010 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
9013 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
9016 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
9020 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
9021 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
9022 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't required the @samp{MIME-Version} header
9023 before interpreting the message as a @sc{mime} message. This helps
9024 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
9025 default is @code{nil}.
9027 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
9028 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
9029 There are other, non-@sc{mime} encoding methods used. The most common
9030 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
9031 This variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
9032 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
9033 Gnus @sc{mime} machinery. The default is @code{t}.
9035 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9036 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9037 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
9038 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9039 displayed or this variable is overridden by
9040 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
9041 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
9042 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is nil.
9044 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9045 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9046 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
9047 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9048 displayed. This variable overrides
9049 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
9050 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
9053 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
9054 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
9055 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
9057 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9058 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9059 If this is non-nil, then all @sc{mime} parts get buttons. The default
9060 value is @code{nil}.
9062 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
9063 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
9064 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
9065 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
9066 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
9067 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
9068 save all jpegs into some directory).
9070 Here's an example function the does the latter:
9073 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
9074 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
9076 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
9077 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
9078 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
9079 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
9080 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
9083 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9084 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9085 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
9087 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9088 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9089 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
9090 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
9092 Ready-made functions include@*
9093 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
9094 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
9095 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
9096 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
9097 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
9098 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
9099 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
9100 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9101 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9102 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9103 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9104 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9106 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9107 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9109 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9110 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9111 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9114 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9115 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9116 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9117 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
9121 to your @file{.gnus.el} file.
9130 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
9131 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
9132 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
9133 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
9134 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
9135 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
9136 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
9138 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
9139 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
9140 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
9141 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
9143 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
9144 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
9145 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
9146 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
9147 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
9148 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
9149 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
9150 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
9152 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
9153 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9154 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
9155 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9156 quoted-printable header encoding.
9158 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9159 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9160 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9164 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9167 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9168 means encode all charsets),
9170 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9171 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9172 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9179 @cindex coding system aliases
9180 @cindex preferred charset
9182 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9184 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9185 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9188 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9189 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9192 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9193 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
9195 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9198 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9201 This will almost do the right thing.
9203 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9207 (codepage-setup 1251)
9208 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9212 @node Article Commands
9213 @section Article Commands
9220 @kindex A P (Summary)
9221 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9222 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9223 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9224 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9225 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9226 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9231 @node Summary Sorting
9232 @section Summary Sorting
9233 @cindex summary sorting
9235 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9236 can't really see why you'd want that.
9241 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9242 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9243 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9246 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9247 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9248 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9251 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9252 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9253 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9256 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9257 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9258 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9261 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9262 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9263 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9266 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9267 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9268 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9271 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9272 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9273 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9276 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9277 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9278 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9281 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9282 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9283 Sort using the default sorting method
9284 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9287 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9288 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9289 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9290 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9291 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9295 @node Finding the Parent
9296 @section Finding the Parent
9297 @cindex parent articles
9298 @cindex referring articles
9303 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9304 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9305 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9306 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
9307 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9308 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9309 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9310 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9311 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9313 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9314 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9315 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
9316 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9317 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9321 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9322 @kindex A R (Summary)
9323 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9324 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9327 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9328 @kindex A T (Summary)
9329 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9330 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9331 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9332 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9333 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9334 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9335 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9337 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9338 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9339 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9340 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9341 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9342 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9345 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9346 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9348 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9349 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
9350 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9351 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9352 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9353 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9354 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9357 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9358 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9359 by giving this command a prefix.
9361 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9362 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9363 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9364 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
9365 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
9366 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9369 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9370 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9371 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9374 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9375 then ask Google if that fails:
9378 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9380 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
9383 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9384 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9385 @code{nnbabyl}, and @code{nnmaildir} are able to locate articles from
9386 any groups, while @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9387 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current group.
9388 (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not
9389 support this at all.
9392 @node Alternative Approaches
9393 @section Alternative Approaches
9395 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9396 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9399 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9400 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9405 @subsection Pick and Read
9406 @cindex pick and read
9408 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9409 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9410 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9411 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9413 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9414 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9415 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9416 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9417 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9418 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9420 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9425 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9426 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9427 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9428 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9429 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9430 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9431 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9432 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9435 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9436 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9437 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9438 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9442 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9443 Unpick the thread or article
9444 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9445 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9446 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9447 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9448 the thread or article at that line.
9452 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9453 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9454 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9455 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9456 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9457 will still be visible when you are reading.
9461 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9462 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9463 which is mapped to the same function
9464 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9466 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9469 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9472 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9473 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9475 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9476 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9477 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9479 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9480 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9481 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9482 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9483 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9484 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9485 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9489 @subsection Binary Groups
9490 @cindex binary groups
9492 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9493 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9494 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9495 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9496 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9497 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9498 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9501 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9502 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9503 command, when you have turned on this mode
9504 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9506 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9507 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9511 @section Tree Display
9514 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9515 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
9516 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9517 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9520 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9523 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9524 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9525 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9527 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9528 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9529 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9530 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9531 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9533 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9534 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9535 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9536 default is @code{modeline}.
9538 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9539 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9540 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9541 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9542 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9543 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9544 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9550 The name of the poster.
9552 The @code{From} header.
9554 The number of the article.
9556 The opening bracket.
9558 The closing bracket.
9563 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9565 Variables related to the display are:
9568 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9569 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9570 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9571 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9572 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
9573 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9575 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9576 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9577 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9578 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9582 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9583 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9584 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
9585 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
9586 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9587 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9588 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9589 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9590 other windows displayed next to it.
9592 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9596 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9597 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9600 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9601 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9602 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9603 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9604 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9605 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9606 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9610 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9613 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9623 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9627 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9628 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9630 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9632 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9637 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9638 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9639 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
9642 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9643 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9644 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9645 (gnus-add-configuration
9649 (summary 0.75 point)
9654 @xref{Window Layout}.
9657 @node Mail Group Commands
9658 @section Mail Group Commands
9659 @cindex mail group commands
9661 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9662 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9664 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9665 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9670 @kindex B e (Summary)
9671 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9672 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9673 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9674 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9675 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9678 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9679 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9680 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9681 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9682 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9683 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9686 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9687 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9688 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9689 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9690 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9691 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9694 @kindex B m (Summary)
9696 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9697 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9698 Move the article from one mail group to another
9699 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9700 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9703 @kindex B c (Summary)
9705 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9706 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9707 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9708 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9709 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9712 @kindex B B (Summary)
9713 @cindex crosspost mail
9714 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9715 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9716 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9717 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9718 be properly updated.
9721 @kindex B i (Summary)
9722 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9723 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9724 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9725 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9728 @kindex B I (Summary)
9729 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
9730 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
9731 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
9732 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9735 @kindex B r (Summary)
9736 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9737 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9738 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9739 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9740 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9741 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9742 (which is the default).
9746 @kindex B w (Summary)
9748 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9749 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9750 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
9751 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9752 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9753 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9754 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9757 @kindex B q (Summary)
9758 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9759 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9760 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9761 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9764 @kindex B t (Summary)
9765 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9766 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9767 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9770 @kindex B p (Summary)
9771 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9772 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
9773 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9774 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9775 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9776 article from your news server (or rather, from
9777 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9778 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9779 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9780 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9781 just not have arrived yet.
9784 @kindex K E (Summary)
9785 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
9786 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
9787 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
9788 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
9789 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
9793 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9794 @cindex moving articles
9795 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
9796 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9797 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9798 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9799 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9800 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9801 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9804 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9805 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9806 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9807 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9811 @node Various Summary Stuff
9812 @section Various Summary Stuff
9815 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9816 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9817 * Summary Generation Commands::
9818 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9822 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9823 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9824 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9826 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9827 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9828 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9829 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9830 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9831 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9834 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9835 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9836 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9837 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9838 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9840 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9841 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9842 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9845 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9846 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9847 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9848 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9849 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9850 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9851 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
9852 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9853 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9854 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9856 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9857 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9858 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9859 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9860 list of articles to be selected.
9862 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9863 the list in one particular group:
9866 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9867 (if (string= group "some.group")
9868 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9872 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
9873 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
9874 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
9875 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
9876 nil), that should be made global while the summary buffer is active.
9877 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
9878 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
9879 buffers. For example:
9882 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
9883 '(message-use-followup-to
9884 (gnus-visible-headers .
9885 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
9891 @node Summary Group Information
9892 @subsection Summary Group Information
9897 @kindex H f (Summary)
9898 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9899 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9900 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9901 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9902 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9903 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9904 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9905 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9906 be used for fetching the file.
9909 @kindex H d (Summary)
9910 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9911 Give a brief description of the current group
9912 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9913 rereading the description from the server.
9916 @kindex H h (Summary)
9917 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9918 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9919 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9922 @kindex H i (Summary)
9923 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9924 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9928 @node Searching for Articles
9929 @subsection Searching for Articles
9934 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9935 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9936 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9937 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9940 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9941 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9942 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9943 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9947 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9948 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9949 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9950 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9951 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9952 search backward instead.
9954 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9955 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9958 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9959 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9960 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9961 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9964 @node Summary Generation Commands
9965 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9970 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9971 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9972 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
9975 @kindex Y c (Summary)
9976 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
9977 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9978 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
9981 @kindex Y d (Summary)
9982 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
9983 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9984 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
9989 @node Really Various Summary Commands
9990 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
9996 @kindex C-d (Summary)
9997 @kindex A D (Summary)
9998 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
9999 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
10000 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
10001 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
10002 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
10003 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
10004 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
10005 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
10009 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
10010 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
10011 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
10012 several documents into one biiig group
10013 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
10014 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
10015 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
10016 command understands the process/prefix convention
10017 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10020 @kindex C-t (Summary)
10021 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
10022 Toggle truncation of summary lines
10023 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
10024 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
10025 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
10028 @kindex = (Summary)
10029 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
10030 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
10031 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
10034 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
10035 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
10036 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10037 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
10040 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
10041 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
10042 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10043 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
10048 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
10049 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
10050 @cindex summary exit
10051 @cindex exiting groups
10053 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
10054 group and return you to the group buffer.
10060 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
10061 @kindex q (Summary)
10062 @findex gnus-summary-exit
10063 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
10064 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
10065 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
10066 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
10067 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
10068 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
10069 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
10070 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
10071 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
10072 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
10076 @kindex Z E (Summary)
10077 @kindex Q (Summary)
10078 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
10079 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
10080 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
10084 @kindex Z c (Summary)
10085 @kindex c (Summary)
10086 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
10087 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
10088 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
10089 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
10092 @kindex Z C (Summary)
10093 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
10094 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
10095 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
10098 @kindex Z n (Summary)
10099 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
10100 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
10101 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
10104 @kindex Z R (Summary)
10105 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
10106 Exit this group, and then enter it again
10107 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
10108 all articles, both read and unread.
10112 @kindex Z G (Summary)
10113 @kindex M-g (Summary)
10114 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
10115 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
10116 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
10117 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
10118 articles, both read and unread.
10121 @kindex Z N (Summary)
10122 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
10123 Exit the group and go to the next group
10124 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
10127 @kindex Z P (Summary)
10128 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
10129 Exit the group and go to the previous group
10130 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
10133 @kindex Z s (Summary)
10134 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
10135 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
10136 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
10137 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
10138 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
10141 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
10142 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
10143 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
10144 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
10146 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
10147 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
10148 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
10149 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
10150 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
10151 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
10152 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
10153 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
10154 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
10155 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
10156 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
10157 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
10159 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10161 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10162 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10163 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10164 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10165 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10166 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10167 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10168 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10169 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10172 @node Crosspost Handling
10173 @section Crosspost Handling
10177 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10178 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10179 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10180 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10181 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10182 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10185 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10186 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10187 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10188 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10189 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10191 @cindex cross-posting
10194 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10195 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
10196 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10197 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
10198 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10199 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10200 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10201 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10202 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10203 the cross reference mechanism.
10205 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10206 @cindex overview.fmt
10207 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10208 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10209 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10210 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10211 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10212 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10215 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10216 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10217 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10222 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10225 @node Duplicate Suppression
10226 @section Duplicate Suppression
10228 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10229 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10230 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10231 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10236 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10237 is evil and not very common.
10240 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10241 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10244 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10245 different @sc{nntp} servers.
10248 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10251 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10252 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10254 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10255 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10256 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10257 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10258 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10259 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10260 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10263 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10264 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10265 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10266 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10267 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10268 saw the article in.
10271 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10272 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10273 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10275 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10276 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10277 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10278 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10279 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
10280 session are suppressed.
10282 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10283 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10284 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10285 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10287 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10288 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10289 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10290 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10293 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
10294 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10295 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10296 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10297 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
10298 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10299 to you to figure out, I think.
10304 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10305 The formats that are supported are PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} and @sc{s/mime},
10306 however you need some external programs to get things to work:
10310 To handle PGP and PGP/MIME messages, you have to install an OpenPGP
10311 implementation such as GnuPG. The lisp interface to GnuPG included
10312 with Gnus is called PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg, PGG Manual}), but
10313 Mailcrypt and gpg.el are also supported.
10316 To handle @sc{s/mime} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10317 or newer is recommended.
10321 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10322 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10325 @item mm-verify-option
10326 @vindex mm-verify-option
10327 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10328 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10329 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10331 @item mm-decrypt-option
10332 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10333 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10334 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10335 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10338 @vindex mml1991-use
10339 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for PGP
10340 messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but @code{mailcrypt} and
10341 @code{gpg} are also supported although deprecated.
10344 @vindex mml2015-use
10345 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10346 PGP/MIME messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but @code{mailcrypt}
10347 and @code{gpg} are also supported although deprecated.
10352 @section Mailing List
10354 @kindex A M (summary)
10355 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10356 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10357 either add a `to-list' group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10358 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10359 summary buffer, or say:
10362 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-mailing-list-mode)
10365 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10370 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10371 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10372 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10375 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10376 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10377 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10380 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10381 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10382 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10386 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10387 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10388 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10391 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10392 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10393 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10396 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10397 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10398 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10402 @node Article Buffer
10403 @chapter Article Buffer
10404 @cindex article buffer
10406 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10407 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10408 tell Gnus otherwise.
10411 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10412 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
10413 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10414 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10415 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10419 @node Hiding Headers
10420 @section Hiding Headers
10421 @cindex hiding headers
10422 @cindex deleting headers
10424 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10425 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10427 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10428 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10429 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10430 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10431 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10432 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10433 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
10434 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10435 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10437 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10441 @item gnus-visible-headers
10442 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10443 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10444 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10445 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10447 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10448 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10451 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10454 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10457 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10458 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10459 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10460 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10461 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10462 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10464 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
10465 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
10468 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10471 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10474 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10475 variable will have no effect.
10479 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10480 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10481 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10482 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10483 the headers are to be displayed.
10485 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10486 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10489 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10492 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10493 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10495 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10496 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10497 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10498 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10499 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10500 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
10501 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10504 These conditions are:
10507 Remove all empty headers.
10509 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10510 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10512 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
10513 @code{From} header.
10515 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10518 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10519 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
10521 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10524 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10526 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10529 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10532 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10533 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10536 This is also the default value for this variable.
10540 @section Using MIME
10543 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10544 while people stand around yawning.
10546 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10547 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10549 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10550 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10551 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10553 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
10554 @findex gnus-display-mime
10555 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
10556 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
10557 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
10558 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
10560 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
10564 @findex gnus-article-press-button
10565 @item RET (Article)
10566 @kindex RET (Article)
10567 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
10568 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
10569 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}). If builtin viewers can not display
10570 the object, Gnus resorts to external viewers in the @file{mailcap}
10571 files. If a viewer has the @samp{copiousoutput} specification, the
10572 object is displayed inline.
10574 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
10575 @item M-RET (Article)
10576 @kindex M-RET (Article)
10578 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10579 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
10581 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
10583 @kindex t (Article)
10584 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
10585 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
10587 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
10589 @kindex C (Article)
10590 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10591 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
10593 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
10595 @kindex o (Article)
10596 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
10597 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
10599 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
10600 @item C-o (Article)
10601 @kindex C-o (Article)
10602 Prompt for a file name, then save the @sc{mime} object and strip it from
10603 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
10604 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
10605 like. The stripped @sc{mime} object will be referred via the
10606 message/external-body @sc{mime} type.
10607 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
10609 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
10611 @kindex c (Article)
10612 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
10613 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and
10614 @file{.bz2} are automatically decompressed if
10615 @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled (@pxref{Compressed Files,,
10616 Accessing Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
10618 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
10620 @kindex p (Article)
10621 Print the @sc{mime} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
10622 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
10623 @file{.mailcap} file.
10625 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
10627 @kindex i (Article)
10628 Insert the contents of the @sc{mime} object into the buffer
10629 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
10630 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
10631 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
10632 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @pxref{Paging the
10635 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-internally
10637 @kindex E (Article)
10638 View the @sc{mime} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
10639 viewer is available, use an external viewer
10640 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-internally}).
10642 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-externally
10644 @kindex e (Article)
10645 View the @sc{mime} object with an external viewer.
10646 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-externally}).
10648 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
10650 @kindex | (Article)
10651 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
10653 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
10655 @kindex . (Article)
10656 Interactively run an action on the @sc{mime} object
10657 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
10661 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
10662 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs
10665 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
10666 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
10667 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
10668 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
10669 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
10670 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
10671 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
10672 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
10673 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
10675 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10677 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10680 @node Customizing Articles
10681 @section Customizing Articles
10682 @cindex article customization
10684 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10685 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
10686 called automatically when you select the articles.
10688 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10689 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10690 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10691 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10693 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10694 for sensible values.
10698 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10701 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10704 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10707 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10710 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10714 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10715 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10716 regexps in the list.
10719 A list where the first element is not a string:
10721 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10722 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10723 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10727 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10732 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10733 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
10734 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10735 considered to contain just a single part.
10737 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10738 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10739 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10740 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10741 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10742 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10743 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10745 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10746 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10747 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10748 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
10751 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
10752 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
10754 @xref{Article Buttons}.
10756 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10757 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10758 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
10759 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
10760 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10761 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10762 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
10763 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
10764 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
10765 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
10766 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
10768 @xref{Article Washing}.
10770 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
10771 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
10772 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
10773 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
10774 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
10775 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
10776 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
10778 @xref{Article Date}.
10780 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
10781 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
10782 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
10786 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10788 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
10790 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
10791 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
10792 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
10796 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10800 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
10801 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
10802 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10803 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
10804 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
10805 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
10806 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
10807 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
10809 @xref{Article Hiding}.
10811 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
10812 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
10813 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
10815 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
10817 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10818 @item gnus-treat-translate
10819 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
10821 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
10822 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
10823 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
10824 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
10826 @xref{Article Header}.
10831 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10832 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10833 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10834 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10835 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10839 @node Article Keymap
10840 @section Article Keymap
10842 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10843 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10844 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10845 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10848 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10853 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10854 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10855 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10858 @kindex DEL (Article)
10859 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10860 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10863 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10864 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10865 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10866 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10867 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10870 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10871 @findex gnus-article-mail
10872 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10873 given a prefix, include the mail.
10876 @kindex s (Article)
10877 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10878 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10879 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10882 @kindex ? (Article)
10883 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10884 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10885 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10888 @kindex TAB (Article)
10889 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10890 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10891 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10894 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10895 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10896 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10899 @kindex R (Article)
10900 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
10901 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
10902 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
10903 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10907 @kindex F (Article)
10908 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
10909 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
10910 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
10911 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10919 @section Misc Article
10923 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10924 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10925 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10926 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10929 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10930 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10932 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
10933 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
10935 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
10936 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
10937 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
10938 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
10939 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
10940 the contents of the article buffer.
10942 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
10943 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
10944 Hook called in article mode buffers.
10946 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10947 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10948 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
10949 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
10951 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
10952 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
10953 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
10954 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
10955 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
10961 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
10962 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
10963 performed. The characters and their meaning:
10968 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
10971 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
10974 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
10975 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
10976 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
10979 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
10982 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
10985 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
10990 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
10994 @vindex gnus-break-pages
10996 @item gnus-break-pages
10997 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
10998 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
10999 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
11000 paging will not be done.
11002 @item gnus-page-delimiter
11003 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
11004 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
11009 @node Composing Messages
11010 @chapter Composing Messages
11011 @cindex composing messages
11014 @cindex sending mail
11019 @cindex using s/mime
11020 @cindex using smime
11022 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
11023 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
11024 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
11025 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
11026 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
11027 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
11030 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
11031 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
11032 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
11033 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
11034 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
11035 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
11036 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
11037 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
11040 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
11041 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
11047 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
11050 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
11051 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
11052 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
11053 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
11054 @code{nil} include all headers.
11056 @item gnus-add-to-list
11057 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
11058 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
11059 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
11061 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11062 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11063 This can also be a function receiving the group name as the only
11064 parameter which should return non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is
11065 needed, or a regular expression matching group names, where
11066 confirmation is should be asked for.
11068 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
11069 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
11071 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11072 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11073 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
11074 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
11075 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
11080 @node Posting Server
11081 @section Posting Server
11083 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
11084 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
11086 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
11088 It can be quite complicated.
11090 @vindex gnus-post-method
11091 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
11092 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
11093 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
11094 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
11095 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
11096 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
11097 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
11098 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
11099 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
11102 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
11105 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
11106 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
11107 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
11108 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
11110 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
11111 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
11113 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
11114 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
11117 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
11118 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
11120 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
11121 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
11122 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
11123 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
11124 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @sc{smtp}
11125 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
11126 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
11127 package correctly. An example:
11130 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
11131 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11134 To the thing similar to this, there is @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}.
11135 It is useful if your ISP requires the POP-before-SMTP authentication.
11136 See the documentation for the function @code{mail-source-touch-pop}.
11138 Other possible choices for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
11139 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
11140 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
11142 @node Mail and Post
11143 @section Mail and Post
11145 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
11149 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
11150 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
11151 @cindex mailing lists
11153 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
11154 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
11155 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
11156 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
11157 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
11158 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
11159 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
11160 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
11161 still a pain, though.
11165 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
11166 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
11167 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
11170 @findex ispell-message
11172 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
11175 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
11176 you're in, you could say something like the following:
11179 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
11183 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
11184 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
11186 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
11189 Modify to suit your needs.
11192 @node Archived Messages
11193 @section Archived Messages
11194 @cindex archived messages
11195 @cindex sent messages
11197 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
11198 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
11199 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
11200 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
11203 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
11204 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
11207 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
11208 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
11209 use to store sent messages. The default is:
11212 (nnfolder "archive"
11213 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
11214 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
11215 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
11216 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
11219 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
11220 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
11221 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
11222 directory chosen, you could say something like:
11225 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
11226 '(nnfolder "archive"
11227 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
11228 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
11229 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
11232 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
11234 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
11235 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
11236 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
11238 This variable can be used to do the following:
11243 Messages will be saved in that group.
11245 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
11246 message will not be stored in the select method given by
11247 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
11248 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
11249 has the default value shown above. Then setting
11250 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
11251 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
11252 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
11256 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
11258 an alist of regexps, functions and forms
11259 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
11262 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
11267 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
11269 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11272 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11274 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11277 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11279 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11280 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11281 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11282 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11285 More complex stuff:
11287 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11288 '((if (message-news-p)
11293 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11294 messages in one file per month:
11297 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11298 '((if (message-news-p)
11300 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11303 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11304 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11306 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11307 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11308 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11309 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11310 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11311 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11312 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11313 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11314 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11315 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11317 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11318 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11319 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11320 this will disable archiving.
11323 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11324 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11325 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11326 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11327 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11330 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11331 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11332 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11335 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11336 but the latter is the preferred method.
11338 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11339 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11340 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11342 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11343 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11344 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11345 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11346 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11347 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11348 changed in the future.
11353 @node Posting Styles
11354 @section Posting Styles
11355 @cindex posting styles
11358 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11360 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11361 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11362 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11365 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11366 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11367 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11368 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11369 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11374 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11375 (organization "What me?"))
11377 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11378 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11379 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11382 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11383 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11384 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11385 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11386 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11387 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11388 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11389 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11391 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11392 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11393 If it is the form @code{(header MATCH REGEXP)}, then Gnus will look in
11394 the original article for a header whose name is MATCH and compare that
11395 REGEXP. MATCH and REGEXP are strings. (There original article is the
11396 one you are replying or following up to. If you are not composing a
11397 reply or a followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
11398 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with no
11399 arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
11400 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
11401 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
11404 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11405 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11406 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
11407 @code{x-face-file}, @code{address} (overriding
11408 @code{user-mail-address}), @code{name} (overriding
11409 @code{(user-full-name)}) or @code{body}. The attribute name can also
11410 be a string or a symbol. In that case, this will be used as a header
11411 name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the article; if
11412 the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed. If the
11413 attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the result
11416 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11417 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11418 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11419 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11420 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11421 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11422 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11423 references chars lines xref extra.
11425 @vindex message-reply-headers
11427 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11428 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11429 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11431 @findex message-mail-p
11432 @findex message-news-p
11434 So here's a new example:
11437 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11439 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11441 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11442 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11444 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11445 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; A form
11446 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11447 (message-news-p ;; A function symbol
11448 (signature my-news-signature))
11449 (window-system ;; A value symbol
11450 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11451 ;; If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.
11452 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11453 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11454 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; A user defined function
11455 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11456 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11457 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11458 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11460 (From (save-excursion
11461 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11462 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11464 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11467 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11468 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11469 if you fill many roles.
11476 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11477 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11478 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11479 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11480 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11482 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11483 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11484 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11485 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11486 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11490 @vindex nndraft-directory
11491 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11492 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11493 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11494 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11495 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11496 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11498 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11499 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11502 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11503 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11504 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11505 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11506 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11507 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11508 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11509 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11510 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11511 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11512 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11513 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11514 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11515 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11517 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11518 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11519 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11521 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11522 @kindex D e (Draft)
11523 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11524 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11525 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11527 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11530 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11531 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11532 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11533 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11534 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11535 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11536 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11539 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11540 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11541 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11544 @node Rejected Articles
11545 @section Rejected Articles
11546 @cindex rejected articles
11548 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11549 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11550 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11551 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11553 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
11554 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11555 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11556 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
11557 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11559 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11560 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11561 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11563 @node Signing and encrypting
11564 @section Signing and encrypting
11566 @cindex using s/mime
11567 @cindex using smime
11569 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla PGP
11570 format or @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}. For decoding such messages,
11571 see the @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} options
11572 (@pxref{Security}).
11574 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
11575 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
11576 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
11577 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
11578 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
11579 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
11580 automatically encrypted messages.
11582 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @sc{mime} part is
11583 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
11584 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11589 @kindex C-c C-m s s
11590 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
11592 Digitally sign current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11595 @kindex C-c C-m s o
11596 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11598 Digitally sign current message using PGP.
11601 @kindex C-c C-m s p
11602 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11604 Digitally sign current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11607 @kindex C-c C-m c s
11608 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
11610 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11613 @kindex C-c C-m c o
11614 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
11616 Digitally encrypt current message using PGP.
11619 @kindex C-c C-m c p
11620 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
11622 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11625 @kindex C-c C-m C-n
11626 @findex mml-unsecure-message
11627 Remove security related MML tags from message.
11631 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
11633 @node Select Methods
11634 @chapter Select Methods
11635 @cindex foreign groups
11636 @cindex select methods
11638 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
11639 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
11640 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
11641 personal mail group.
11643 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
11644 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
11645 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
11646 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
11647 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
11648 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
11650 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
11651 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
11653 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
11656 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
11657 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
11658 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
11659 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
11660 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
11662 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
11665 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
11666 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
11667 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
11668 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
11669 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
11670 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
11671 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
11672 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
11676 @node Server Buffer
11677 @section Server Buffer
11679 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
11680 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
11681 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
11682 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
11683 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
11684 back end represents a virtual server.
11686 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
11687 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
11688 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
11689 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
11691 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
11692 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
11693 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
11694 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
11695 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
11696 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
11697 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
11699 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
11700 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
11703 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
11704 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
11705 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
11706 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
11707 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
11708 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
11709 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
11712 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
11713 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
11716 @node Server Buffer Format
11717 @subsection Server Buffer Format
11718 @cindex server buffer format
11720 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
11721 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
11722 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
11723 variable, with some simple extensions:
11728 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
11731 The name of this server.
11734 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
11737 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
11740 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
11741 The mode line can also be customized by using the
11742 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
11743 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
11753 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
11756 @node Server Commands
11757 @subsection Server Commands
11758 @cindex server commands
11764 @findex gnus-server-add-server
11765 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
11769 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
11770 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
11773 @kindex SPACE (Server)
11774 @findex gnus-server-read-server
11775 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
11779 @findex gnus-server-exit
11780 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
11784 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
11785 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
11789 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
11790 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
11794 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
11795 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
11799 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
11800 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
11804 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
11805 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
11806 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
11811 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
11812 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
11813 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
11814 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
11819 @node Example Methods
11820 @subsection Example Methods
11822 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
11825 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
11828 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
11834 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
11835 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
11838 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
11839 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
11841 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
11842 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
11846 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
11849 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
11850 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
11852 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
11853 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
11854 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
11858 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
11861 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
11864 Here's the method for a public spool:
11868 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
11869 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
11875 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
11876 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
11877 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
11878 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
11879 should probably look something like this:
11883 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
11884 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
11885 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
11886 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11889 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
11890 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
11891 configuration to the example above:
11894 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
11897 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
11899 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
11900 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
11901 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
11905 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11906 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
11907 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
11908 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11911 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
11912 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
11913 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
11914 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
11917 @node Creating a Virtual Server
11918 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
11920 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
11921 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
11923 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
11924 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
11925 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
11927 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
11929 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
11930 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
11931 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
11932 will contain the following:
11942 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
11943 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
11944 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
11947 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
11948 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
11949 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
11952 @node Server Variables
11953 @subsection Server Variables
11955 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
11956 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
11957 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
11958 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
11959 won't change the "derived" variables.
11961 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
11962 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
11963 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
11964 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
11965 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
11966 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
11967 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
11968 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
11969 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
11973 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
11974 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
11975 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
11979 @node Servers and Methods
11980 @subsection Servers and Methods
11982 Wherever you would normally use a select method
11983 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
11984 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
11985 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
11989 @node Unavailable Servers
11990 @subsection Unavailable Servers
11992 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
11993 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
11994 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
11995 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
11996 actually the case or not.
11998 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
11999 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
12000 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
12001 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
12002 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
12003 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
12004 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
12005 it will regard that server as ``down''.
12007 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
12008 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
12010 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
12011 with the following commands:
12017 @findex gnus-server-open-server
12018 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
12019 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
12023 @findex gnus-server-close-server
12024 Close the connection (if any) to the server
12025 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
12029 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
12030 Mark the current server as unreachable
12031 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
12034 @kindex M-o (Server)
12035 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
12036 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
12037 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
12040 @kindex M-c (Server)
12041 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
12042 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
12043 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
12047 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
12048 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
12049 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
12053 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
12054 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
12060 @section Getting News
12061 @cindex reading news
12062 @cindex news back ends
12064 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
12065 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
12066 or it can read from a local spool.
12069 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
12070 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
12078 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
12079 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
12080 server as the, uhm, address.
12082 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
12083 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
12084 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
12085 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12087 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
12088 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
12089 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
12091 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
12096 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
12097 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
12098 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
12100 @cindex authentification
12101 @cindex nntp authentification
12102 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12103 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
12104 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
12105 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
12106 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
12107 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
12108 present in this hook.
12110 @item nntp-authinfo-function
12111 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
12112 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12113 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
12114 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
12115 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
12116 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
12117 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
12118 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
12119 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
12120 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
12121 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
12125 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
12128 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
12130 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
12131 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
12132 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
12133 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
12134 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
12135 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
12136 @samp{force} is explained below.
12140 Here's an example file:
12143 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
12144 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
12147 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
12148 have to be first, for instance.
12150 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
12151 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
12152 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
12153 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
12154 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
12155 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
12156 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
12158 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
12159 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
12165 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
12166 previously mentioned.
12168 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
12170 @item nntp-server-action-alist
12171 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
12172 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
12173 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
12174 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
12177 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
12178 '(("innd" (ding))))
12181 You probably don't want to do that, though.
12183 The default value is
12186 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
12187 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
12188 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
12191 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
12192 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
12194 @item nntp-maximum-request
12195 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
12196 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
12197 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
12198 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
12199 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
12200 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
12201 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
12203 @item nntp-connection-timeout
12204 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
12205 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
12206 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
12207 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
12208 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
12209 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
12210 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
12211 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
12212 no timeouts are done.
12214 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
12215 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
12216 @c @cindex PPP connections
12217 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
12218 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
12219 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
12220 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
12221 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
12222 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
12223 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
12224 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
12225 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
12226 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
12228 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
12229 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
12230 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
12231 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
12232 @c described above.
12234 @item nntp-server-hook
12235 @vindex nntp-server-hook
12236 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
12239 @item nntp-buggy-select
12240 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
12241 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
12243 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
12244 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12245 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
12246 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
12249 @item nntp-xover-commands
12250 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12253 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
12254 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12258 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12259 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
12260 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12261 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12262 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
12263 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12264 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12265 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12266 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12267 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12268 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12270 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12271 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12272 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
12274 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12275 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12276 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
12277 server closes connection.
12279 @item nntp-record-commands
12280 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12281 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12282 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12283 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
12284 that doesn't seem to work.
12286 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12287 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12288 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12289 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12290 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12291 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
12292 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
12293 indirect ones (two pre-made).
12295 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12296 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12297 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12298 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12299 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12300 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12301 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12304 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12307 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12308 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12312 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12313 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12314 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12318 @node Direct Functions
12319 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12320 @cindex direct connection functions
12322 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12323 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
12324 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12325 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12328 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12329 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12330 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12333 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12334 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12335 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12336 this you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
12337 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also
12338 need @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
12339 define a server as follows:
12342 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
12344 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
12345 ;; however, openssl s_client -port doesn't like named ports
12347 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12348 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12349 (nntp-port-number 563)
12350 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12353 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12354 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12355 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12356 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12357 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12358 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12359 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12360 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12364 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12365 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12366 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12369 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12370 session, which is not a good idea.
12374 @node Indirect Functions
12375 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12376 @cindex indirect connection functions
12378 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12379 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
12380 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12381 the "via" family of connection: they're all prefixed with "via" to make
12382 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12383 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12386 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12387 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12388 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12389 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12390 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12392 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12395 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12396 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12397 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12398 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12400 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12401 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12402 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12403 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12404 @samp{ssh} for `nntp-via-rlogin-command', you may set this to
12405 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12406 this to @samp{("-t")} or @samp{("-C" "-t")} if the telnet command
12407 requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate host.
12410 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12411 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12412 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12413 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12415 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12418 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12419 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12420 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12423 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12424 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12425 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12426 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12428 @item nntp-via-user-password
12429 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12430 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12432 @item nntp-via-envuser
12433 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
12434 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
12435 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
12436 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
12438 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
12439 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
12440 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
12441 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
12448 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
12453 @item nntp-via-user-name
12454 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
12455 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
12457 @item nntp-via-address
12458 @vindex nntp-via-address
12459 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
12464 @node Common Variables
12465 @subsubsection Common Variables
12467 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
12468 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
12473 @item nntp-pre-command
12474 @vindex nntp-pre-command
12475 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
12476 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
12477 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
12478 wrapper for instance.
12481 @vindex nntp-address
12482 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
12484 @item nntp-port-number
12485 @vindex nntp-port-number
12486 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
12487 If you use @sc{nntp} over @sc{ssl}, you may want to use integer ports rather
12488 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews}), because
12489 external SSL tools may not work with named ports.
12491 @item nntp-end-of-line
12492 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
12493 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
12494 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
12495 using a non native connection function.
12497 @item nntp-telnet-command
12498 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
12499 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
12500 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
12501 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
12503 @item nntp-telnet-switches
12504 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
12505 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
12512 @subsection News Spool
12516 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
12517 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
12518 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
12521 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
12522 anything else) as the address.
12524 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
12525 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
12526 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
12527 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
12531 @item nnspool-inews-program
12532 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
12533 Program used to post an article.
12535 @item nnspool-inews-switches
12536 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
12537 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
12539 @item nnspool-spool-directory
12540 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
12541 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
12542 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
12544 @item nnspool-nov-directory
12545 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
12546 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
12547 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
12549 @item nnspool-lib-dir
12550 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12551 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12553 @item nnspool-active-file
12554 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12555 The name of the active file.
12557 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12558 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12559 The name of the group descriptions file.
12561 @item nnspool-history-file
12562 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12563 The name of the news history file.
12565 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12566 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12567 The name of the active date file.
12569 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12570 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12571 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
12574 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12575 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12577 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12578 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
12579 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
12585 @section Getting Mail
12586 @cindex reading mail
12589 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
12593 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
12594 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
12595 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
12596 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
12597 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
12598 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
12599 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
12600 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
12601 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
12602 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
12603 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
12604 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
12605 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
12609 @node Mail in a Newsreader
12610 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
12612 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
12613 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
12614 of a culture shock.
12616 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
12617 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
12619 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
12620 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
12621 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
12622 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
12624 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
12626 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
12627 deleted? How awful!
12629 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
12630 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
12631 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
12632 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
12635 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
12636 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
12637 they want to treat a message.
12639 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
12640 via @sc{smtp}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
12641 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
12642 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
12643 archived somewhere else.
12645 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
12646 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
12647 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
12648 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
12649 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
12651 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
12652 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
12653 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
12655 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
12656 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
12659 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
12660 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
12661 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
12662 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
12663 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
12665 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
12666 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
12667 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
12668 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
12669 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
12670 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
12674 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
12675 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
12677 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
12678 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
12679 and things will happen automatically.
12681 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
12682 mail" back end), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
12685 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12688 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
12689 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
12690 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
12691 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
12692 like any other group.
12694 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
12697 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12698 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12699 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12703 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
12704 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
12705 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
12708 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
12709 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
12710 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
12713 @node Splitting Mail
12714 @subsection Splitting Mail
12715 @cindex splitting mail
12716 @cindex mail splitting
12718 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
12719 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
12720 to be split into groups.
12723 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12724 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12725 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12726 ("mail.other" "")))
12729 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
12730 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
12731 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
12732 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
12733 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
12734 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
12735 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
12738 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
12741 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
12742 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
12743 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
12744 mail belongs in that group.
12746 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
12747 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
12748 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
12749 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
12750 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
12751 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
12753 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
12754 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
12755 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
12756 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
12757 thinks should carry this mail message.
12759 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
12760 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
12761 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
12762 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
12764 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
12765 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
12766 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
12767 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
12768 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
12770 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
12773 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
12774 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
12775 links. If that's the case for you, set
12776 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
12777 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
12779 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
12780 @kindex nnmail-split-history
12781 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
12782 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
12783 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
12784 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
12787 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
12788 Header lines longer than the value of
12789 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
12792 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
12793 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
12794 By default the splitting codes MIME decodes headers so you can match
12795 on non-ASCII strings. The @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset}
12796 variable specifies the default charset for decoding. The behaviour
12797 can be turned off completely by binding
12798 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to nil, which is useful if you
12799 want to match articles based on the raw header data.
12801 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12802 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If
12803 you specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable
12804 @code{mail-sources} @pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}, however, then
12805 splitting does @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
12806 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-nil value to make splitting
12807 happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on other kinds
12810 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
12811 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
12812 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
12813 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
12814 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
12815 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
12816 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
12817 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
12818 month's rent money.
12822 @subsection Mail Sources
12824 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
12825 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
12829 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
12830 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
12831 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
12835 @node Mail Source Specifiers
12836 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
12838 @cindex mail server
12841 @cindex mail source
12843 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
12844 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
12849 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
12852 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
12853 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
12854 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
12857 The following mail source types are available:
12861 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
12867 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
12868 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
12869 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
12872 An example file mail source:
12875 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
12878 Or using the default file name:
12884 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
12885 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
12886 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
12889 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
12893 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
12896 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
12900 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
12903 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
12905 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
12908 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
12912 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
12913 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
12914 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. That is,
12915 there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that directory and
12916 groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool} will be put in
12917 the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix to be used instead
12918 of @code{.spool}.) Setting
12919 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus to
12920 scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you want
12921 to scan mail groups at a specified level.
12923 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12924 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
12925 that to a non-nil value, then the normal splitting process is applied
12926 to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
12932 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
12936 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
12940 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
12941 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
12942 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
12943 predicate are considered.
12947 Script run before/after fetching mail.
12951 An example directory mail source:
12954 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
12959 Get mail from a POP server.
12965 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
12966 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12969 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
12970 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
12971 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
12972 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
12973 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
12976 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
12980 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
12984 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
12985 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
12988 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
12991 The valid format specifier characters are:
12995 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
12996 included in this string.
12999 The name of the server.
13002 The port number of the server.
13005 The user name to use.
13008 The password to use.
13011 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13012 corresponding keywords.
13015 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13016 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13019 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13020 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13023 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
13024 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
13027 @item :authentication
13028 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
13029 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
13034 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
13035 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
13037 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
13038 default user name, and default fetcher:
13044 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
13047 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
13048 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
13051 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
13054 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
13058 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
13059 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
13060 contains exactly one mail.
13066 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
13067 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
13070 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
13071 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
13073 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
13074 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
13075 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
13078 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
13079 from locking problems).
13083 Two example maildir mail sources:
13086 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
13087 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
13091 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
13096 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
13097 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
13098 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
13099 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
13102 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, SSL/TLS and STARTTLS support you
13103 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
13109 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
13110 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13113 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
13114 @samp{993} for SSL/TLS connections.
13117 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
13121 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
13125 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
13126 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
13127 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{ssl},
13128 @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
13130 @item :authentication
13131 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
13132 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
13133 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
13134 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
13137 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
13138 mapped into the `imap-shell-program' variable. This should be a
13139 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
13145 The valid format specifier characters are:
13149 The name of the server.
13152 User name from `imap-default-user'.
13155 The port number of the server.
13158 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13159 corresponding keywords.
13162 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
13163 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
13166 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
13167 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
13168 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
13169 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
13170 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
13171 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
13174 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
13175 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
13176 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
13177 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
13180 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
13181 after finishing the fetch.
13185 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
13188 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
13190 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
13194 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{www.hotmail.com},
13195 @uref{webmail.netscape.com}, @uref{www.netaddress.com},
13196 @uref{mail.yahoo..com}.
13198 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
13199 required for url "4.0pre.46".
13201 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
13207 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
13208 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13211 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13215 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13219 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
13220 folder after finishing the fetch.
13224 An example webmail source:
13227 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13229 :password "secret")
13234 @item Common Keywords
13235 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13241 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
13242 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
13246 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13251 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13252 useful when you use local mail and news.
13257 @subsubsection Function Interface
13259 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
13260 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
13261 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
13262 consider the following mail-source setting:
13265 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
13266 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
13269 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
13270 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
13271 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
13272 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
13273 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
13275 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13278 @node Mail Source Customization
13279 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13281 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13282 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13286 @item mail-source-crash-box
13287 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13288 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
13289 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13291 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13292 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13293 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
13295 @item mail-source-directory
13296 @vindex mail-source-directory
13297 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
13298 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
13299 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
13302 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13303 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13304 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13305 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13306 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13307 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13309 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13310 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13311 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13313 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13314 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13315 If non-nil, name of program for fetching new mail. If nil,
13316 @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13321 @node Fetching Mail
13322 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13324 @vindex mail-sources
13325 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13326 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13327 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13328 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13330 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13331 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13334 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
13335 mail server, you'd say something like:
13340 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13341 :password "secret")))
13344 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13348 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13349 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13352 :password "secret")))
13356 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13357 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13358 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13359 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13360 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13361 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13365 @node Mail Back End Variables
13366 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13368 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13372 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13373 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13374 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13375 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13377 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13378 @item nnmail-split-hook
13379 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
13380 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
13381 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
13382 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
13383 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
13384 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
13385 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
13386 in the buffer will show up in any files.
13387 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
13390 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13391 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13392 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13393 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13394 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
13395 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
13396 starting to handle the new mail) and
13397 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
13398 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
13399 default file modes the new mail files get:
13402 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13403 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
13405 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13406 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
13409 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
13410 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
13411 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
13412 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
13413 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
13414 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
13415 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
13417 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
13418 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
13419 @findex delete-file
13420 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
13422 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13423 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13424 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
13425 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
13426 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
13428 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13429 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13430 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
13431 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
13432 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
13434 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
13435 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
13436 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
13441 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
13442 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
13443 @cindex mail splitting
13444 @cindex fancy mail splitting
13446 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
13447 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
13448 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
13449 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
13450 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
13451 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
13453 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
13456 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
13457 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
13458 ;; from real errors.
13459 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
13461 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
13462 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
13463 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
13464 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
13465 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
13466 ;; Other mailing lists...
13467 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
13468 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
13469 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
13470 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
13471 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
13472 ;; message was really cross-posted.
13473 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
13474 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
13476 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
13477 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
13481 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
13482 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
13483 the five possible split syntaxes:
13488 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
13489 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
13493 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
13494 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
13495 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
13496 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
13497 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
13498 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
13499 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
13500 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
13503 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13504 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
13505 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
13506 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
13509 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13510 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
13513 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
13514 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
13517 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
13518 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
13519 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
13520 function should return a @var{split}.
13523 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
13524 body of the messages:
13527 (defun split-on-body ()
13529 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
13530 (goto-char (point-min))
13531 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
13535 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
13536 when the @code{:} function is run.
13539 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13540 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
13541 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
13545 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
13549 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
13550 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
13551 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
13552 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
13553 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
13555 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
13556 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
13557 are expanded as specified by the variable
13558 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
13559 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
13562 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
13563 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
13564 when all this splitting is performed.
13566 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
13567 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
13568 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
13571 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
13574 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
13575 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
13577 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
13578 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
13579 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
13580 groupings 1 through 9.
13582 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
13583 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
13584 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
13585 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
13586 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
13587 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
13588 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
13589 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
13590 it once per thread.
13592 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
13593 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
13594 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
13597 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; or 'delete
13598 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
13600 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
13601 ;; other splits go here
13605 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
13606 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
13607 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
13608 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
13609 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
13610 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
13611 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
13612 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
13613 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
13614 unless the group name matches the regexp
13615 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
13616 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
13617 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
13618 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
13619 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13620 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
13621 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
13622 messages goes into the new group.
13624 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
13625 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
13626 outgoing messages are written to an `outgoing' group, you could set
13627 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
13628 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
13632 @node Group Mail Splitting
13633 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
13634 @cindex mail splitting
13635 @cindex group mail splitting
13637 @findex gnus-group-split
13638 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
13639 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
13640 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
13641 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
13642 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
13643 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
13644 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
13645 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
13647 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
13648 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
13649 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
13650 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
13652 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
13653 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
13654 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
13655 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
13656 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
13657 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
13658 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
13660 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
13661 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
13662 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
13663 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
13664 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
13665 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
13666 @code{gnus-group-split}.
13668 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
13669 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
13670 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
13671 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
13672 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
13673 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
13674 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
13675 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
13676 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
13677 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
13678 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
13679 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
13680 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
13682 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
13687 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
13688 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
13690 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
13691 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
13692 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
13693 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
13695 ((split-spec . catch-all))
13698 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
13699 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
13700 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
13703 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
13704 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
13705 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
13709 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
13710 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
13711 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
13715 (: gnus-group-split-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
13718 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
13719 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
13720 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
13721 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
13722 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
13723 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
13724 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
13725 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
13726 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
13728 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
13729 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
13730 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
13731 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
13732 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
13733 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
13734 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
13735 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
13736 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
13738 @findex gnus-group-split-update
13739 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
13740 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
13741 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
13742 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
13743 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus.el}:
13746 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
13749 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
13750 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
13751 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
13752 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
13753 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
13756 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
13757 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
13758 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
13759 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
13761 @node Incorporating Old Mail
13762 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
13763 @cindex incorporating old mail
13764 @cindex import old mail
13766 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
13767 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
13768 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
13771 Doing so can be quite easy.
13773 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
13774 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
13775 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
13776 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
13777 your @code{nnml} groups.
13783 Go to the group buffer.
13786 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
13787 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13790 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
13793 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
13794 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13797 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
13798 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
13801 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
13802 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
13803 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
13804 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
13805 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
13807 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
13808 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
13809 using the new mail back end.
13812 @node Expiring Mail
13813 @subsection Expiring Mail
13814 @cindex article expiry
13816 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
13817 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
13818 different approach to mail reading.
13820 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
13821 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
13822 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
13823 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
13824 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
13825 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
13828 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
13829 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default keybindings, this means
13830 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
13831 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
13832 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
13833 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
13834 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
13835 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
13836 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
13838 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
13839 two features, called `auto-expire' and `total-expire', that can help you
13840 with this. In a nutshell, `auto-expire' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
13841 for you when you select an article. And `total-expire' means that Gnus
13842 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
13843 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
13844 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
13847 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
13848 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
13849 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
13850 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
13851 into its own group.)
13853 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
13854 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
13855 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
13856 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
13857 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
13858 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
13859 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring @pxref{Adaptive
13860 Scoring}. Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
13863 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13864 Groups that match the regular expression
13865 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
13866 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
13867 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
13869 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
13870 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
13871 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
13872 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
13873 @file{.gnus.el} file:
13875 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
13877 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
13878 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
13879 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
13882 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
13883 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
13884 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
13885 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
13886 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
13888 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
13889 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
13892 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13893 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
13896 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
13897 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
13899 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
13900 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
13901 don't really mix very well.
13903 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
13904 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
13905 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
13906 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
13909 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
13910 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
13911 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
13912 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
13915 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13917 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13919 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
13921 ((string= group "mail.junk")
13923 ((string= group "important")
13929 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
13930 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
13932 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
13933 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
13934 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
13937 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
13938 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
13940 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
13941 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
13942 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
13943 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
13944 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
13945 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
13946 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
13947 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
13948 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
13949 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
13950 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
13951 from as its parameter) which should return a target -- either a group
13952 name or @code{delete}.
13954 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
13956 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
13959 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13960 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13961 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
13962 expire mail to groups according to the variable
13963 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
13966 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13967 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13968 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
13969 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
13970 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
13973 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
13974 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
13975 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
13976 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
13977 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
13978 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
13980 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
13981 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
13982 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
13983 easier for procmail users.
13985 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
13986 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
13987 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
13988 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
13989 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
13990 caution. Even more dangerous is the
13991 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
13992 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
13993 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
13994 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
13995 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
13996 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
13997 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
14000 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
14002 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
14003 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
14004 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
14005 auto-expire turned on.
14009 @subsection Washing Mail
14010 @cindex mail washing
14011 @cindex list server brain damage
14012 @cindex incoming mail treatment
14014 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
14015 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
14016 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
14017 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
14018 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
14019 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
14021 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
14022 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
14023 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
14026 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
14027 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
14028 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
14029 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
14032 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14033 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14034 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
14035 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
14036 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
14039 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14040 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14041 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
14042 Emacs running on MS machines.
14046 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14047 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14048 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
14049 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
14052 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14053 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14054 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
14055 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
14057 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
14058 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
14059 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
14060 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
14061 into a feature by documenting it.)
14063 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14064 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14065 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
14066 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
14067 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
14068 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
14069 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
14072 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
14073 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
14076 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
14077 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
14080 This can also be done non-destructively with
14081 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
14083 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
14084 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
14085 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
14087 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14088 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14090 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
14091 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
14092 @code{References} headers.
14096 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14097 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14098 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
14102 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
14103 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
14104 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
14111 @subsection Duplicates
14113 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
14114 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
14115 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
14116 @cindex duplicate mails
14117 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
14118 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
14119 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
14120 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
14121 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
14122 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
14123 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
14124 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
14125 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
14126 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
14127 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
14128 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
14129 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
14131 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
14132 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
14133 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
14134 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
14136 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
14139 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
14140 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
14144 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
14145 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
14146 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
14147 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
14148 (any mail "mail.misc")
14155 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14156 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
14161 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
14162 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
14163 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
14164 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
14165 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
14168 @node Not Reading Mail
14169 @subsection Not Reading Mail
14171 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
14172 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
14173 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
14175 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
14176 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
14177 mail, which should help.
14179 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14180 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14181 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14182 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14183 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14184 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
14185 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
14186 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
14187 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
14188 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
14189 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
14191 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
14192 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
14196 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
14197 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
14199 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
14200 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
14201 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
14203 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
14204 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
14205 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
14206 Spool}). You might notice that only five back ends are listed below;
14207 @code{nnmaildir}'s documentation has not yet been completely
14208 incorporated into this manual. Until it is, you can find it at
14209 @uref{http://multivac.cwru.edu./nnmaildir/}.
14212 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
14213 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
14214 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
14215 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
14216 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
14217 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
14221 @node Unix Mail Box
14222 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
14224 @cindex unix mail box
14226 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14227 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14228 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
14229 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
14230 which group it belongs in.
14232 Virtual server settings:
14235 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
14236 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14237 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
14240 @item nnmbox-active-file
14241 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14242 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
14243 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
14245 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
14246 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14247 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
14248 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
14253 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
14257 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14258 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14259 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
14260 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
14261 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
14263 Virtual server settings:
14266 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
14267 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14268 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
14270 @item nnbabyl-active-file
14271 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14272 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
14273 @file{~/.rmail-active}
14275 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14276 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14277 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
14283 @subsubsection Mail Spool
14285 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
14287 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
14288 format. It should be used with some caution.
14290 @vindex nnml-directory
14291 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
14292 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
14293 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
14294 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
14296 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
14299 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
14300 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
14301 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14302 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14303 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14304 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14305 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14306 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14308 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14309 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14310 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14311 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14313 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14315 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14316 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14317 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14318 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14319 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14320 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14321 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14322 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14325 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14326 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14327 them next time it starts.
14329 Virtual server settings:
14332 @item nnml-directory
14333 @vindex nnml-directory
14334 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
14335 The default is the value of `message-directory' (whose default value is
14338 @item nnml-active-file
14339 @vindex nnml-active-file
14340 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
14341 @file{~/Mail/active"}.
14343 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
14344 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
14345 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14346 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
14348 @item nnml-get-new-mail
14349 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14350 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
14353 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
14354 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
14355 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14356 default is @code{nil}.
14358 @item nnml-nov-file-name
14359 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
14360 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
14362 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14363 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14364 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
14366 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
14367 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
14368 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14369 default is @code{nil}.
14371 @item nnml-marks-file-name
14372 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
14373 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
14375 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
14376 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
14377 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
14382 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
14383 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
14384 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
14385 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
14386 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
14387 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
14388 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
14393 @subsubsection MH Spool
14395 @cindex mh-e mail spool
14397 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
14398 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
14399 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
14400 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
14402 Virtual server settings:
14405 @item nnmh-directory
14406 @vindex nnmh-directory
14407 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
14408 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14411 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
14412 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14413 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
14417 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
14418 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
14419 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
14420 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
14421 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
14422 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
14423 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
14428 @subsubsection Mail Folders
14430 @cindex mbox folders
14431 @cindex mail folders
14433 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
14434 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
14435 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
14438 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
14440 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
14441 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14442 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14443 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
14444 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
14445 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
14446 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
14447 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
14448 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
14449 @code{nnfolder} directory).
14451 Virtual server settings:
14454 @item nnfolder-directory
14455 @vindex nnfolder-directory
14456 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
14457 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14460 @item nnfolder-active-file
14461 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
14462 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
14464 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14465 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14466 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14467 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
14469 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
14470 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14471 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
14474 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14475 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14476 @cindex backup files
14477 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
14478 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
14479 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
14480 your @file{.emacs} file:
14483 (defun turn-off-backup ()
14484 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
14486 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
14489 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14490 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14491 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
14492 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
14493 extract some information from it before removing it.
14495 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14496 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14497 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14498 default is @code{nil}.
14500 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14501 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14502 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
14504 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
14505 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
14506 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
14507 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14509 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14510 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14511 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14512 default is @code{nil}.
14514 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14515 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14516 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
14518 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
14519 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
14520 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
14521 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14526 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
14527 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
14528 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
14529 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
14530 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
14531 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
14534 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
14535 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
14537 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
14538 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
14539 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
14540 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
14541 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
14543 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
14544 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
14545 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
14546 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
14547 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
14548 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
14549 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
14550 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
14553 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
14554 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
14555 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
14556 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
14561 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
14562 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
14563 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
14564 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
14565 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
14566 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
14567 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
14568 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
14569 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
14570 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
14571 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
14572 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
14573 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
14578 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
14579 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
14580 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
14581 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
14582 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
14583 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
14584 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
14585 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
14586 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
14587 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
14588 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
14589 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
14590 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
14591 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
14593 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
14594 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
14599 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
14600 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
14601 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
14602 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
14603 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
14604 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
14605 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
14606 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
14607 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
14608 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
14609 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
14610 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
14611 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
14612 provided by the active file and overviews.
14614 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
14615 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
14616 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
14617 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
14618 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
14621 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
14622 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
14627 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
14628 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
14629 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
14630 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
14631 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
14632 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
14633 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
14637 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
14638 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
14639 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
14640 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
14641 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
14642 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
14643 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
14644 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
14645 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
14647 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
14648 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
14649 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
14650 friendly mail back end all over.
14654 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
14655 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
14656 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
14657 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
14658 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
14659 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
14660 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to ReiserFS
14661 (@uref{http://www.namesys.com/}) or another non-block-structured
14664 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
14665 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
14666 This means you can skip Gnus's mail splitting if your mail is already
14667 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
14668 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
14669 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
14670 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
14671 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
14672 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
14673 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will undergo
14674 treatment such as duplicate checking.
14676 An article will not necessarily keep the same number across Gnus
14677 sessions; articles are renumbered starting from 1 for each Gnus session
14678 (more precisely, each time you open the @code{nnmaildir} server). This
14679 way, you don't get gaps in your article number ranges, and when entering
14680 large groups, Gnus is likely to give a more accurate article count. The
14681 price is that @code{nnmaildir} doesn't work with the cache or agent.
14682 This will probably be changed in the future.
14684 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
14685 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
14686 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
14687 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
14688 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
14691 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses group
14692 parameters slightly different from those of other mail back ends.
14694 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
14695 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
14696 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
14697 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
14698 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
14699 would) to make it use less memory.
14701 Startup and shutdown are likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than
14702 with other back ends. Everything in between is likely to be faster,
14703 depending in part on your file system.
14705 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
14706 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
14711 @node Browsing the Web
14712 @section Browsing the Web
14714 @cindex browsing the web
14718 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
14719 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
14720 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
14721 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
14722 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
14723 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
14724 even know what a news group is.
14726 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
14727 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
14728 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
14729 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
14730 you mad in the end.
14732 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
14735 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
14736 interfaces to these sources.
14740 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
14741 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
14742 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
14743 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
14744 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
14745 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
14748 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
14750 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
14751 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
14752 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
14753 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
14754 though, you should be ok.
14756 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
14757 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
14758 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
14759 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
14760 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
14762 @node Archiving Mail
14763 @subsection Archiving Mail
14764 @cindex archiving mail
14765 @cindex backup of mail
14767 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
14768 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
14769 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
14770 marks is fairly simple.
14772 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
14773 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
14776 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
14777 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
14778 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
14779 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
14780 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
14781 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
14782 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
14783 before you restore the data.
14785 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
14786 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
14787 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
14788 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
14789 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
14790 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
14791 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
14792 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
14793 is unnecessary in that case.
14796 @subsection Web Searches
14801 @cindex Usenet searches
14802 @cindex searching the Usenet
14804 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
14805 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
14806 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
14807 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
14808 searches without having to use a browser.
14810 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
14811 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
14812 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
14813 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
14814 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
14816 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
14817 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
14818 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
14819 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
14820 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
14821 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
14822 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
14823 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
14824 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
14825 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
14828 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
14829 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
14830 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
14831 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
14832 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
14833 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
14835 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
14836 to use @code{nnweb}.
14838 Virtual server variables:
14843 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
14844 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
14845 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
14848 @vindex nnweb-search
14849 The search string to feed to the search engine.
14851 @item nnweb-max-hits
14852 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
14853 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
14856 @item nnweb-type-definition
14857 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
14858 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
14859 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
14864 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
14868 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
14871 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
14874 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
14878 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
14885 @subsection Slashdot
14889 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
14890 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
14891 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
14893 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
14894 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
14897 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14898 '((nnslashdot "")))
14901 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
14902 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
14903 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
14904 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
14905 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
14908 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
14909 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14911 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
14912 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
14913 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
14914 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
14915 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
14916 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
14919 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
14922 @item nnslashdot-threaded
14923 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
14924 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
14925 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
14926 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
14927 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
14928 but much, much slower than unthreaded.
14930 @item nnslashdot-login-name
14931 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
14932 The login name to use when posting.
14934 @item nnslashdot-password
14935 @vindex nnslashdot-password
14936 The password to use when posting.
14938 @item nnslashdot-directory
14939 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
14940 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
14941 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
14943 @item nnslashdot-active-url
14944 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
14945 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
14946 news articles and comments. The default is
14947 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
14949 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
14950 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
14951 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
14953 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
14955 @item nnslashdot-article-url
14956 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
14957 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
14959 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
14961 @item nnslashdot-threshold
14962 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
14963 The score threshold. The default is -1.
14965 @item nnslashdot-group-number
14966 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
14967 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
14968 updated. The default is 0.
14975 @subsection Ultimate
14977 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
14979 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
14980 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
14981 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
14982 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
14984 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
14985 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
14986 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
14987 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
14988 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
14989 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
14990 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
14992 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
14995 @item nnultimate-directory
14996 @vindex nnultimate-directory
14997 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
14998 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
15003 @subsection Web Archive
15005 @cindex Web Archive
15007 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
15008 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
15009 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
15010 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
15013 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
15014 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
15015 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
15016 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
15017 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
15018 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
15019 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
15021 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
15024 @item nnwarchive-directory
15025 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
15026 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
15027 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
15029 @item nnwarchive-login
15030 @vindex nnwarchive-login
15031 The account name on the web server.
15033 @item nnwarchive-passwd
15034 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
15035 The password for your account on the web server.
15043 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
15044 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
15045 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
15048 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
15049 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
15052 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
15055 @item nnrss-directory
15056 @vindex nnrss-directory
15057 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
15058 @samp{~/News/rss/}.
15062 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
15063 the summary buffer.
15066 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
15067 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
15069 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
15071 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
15072 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
15075 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
15078 (require 'browse-url)
15080 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
15082 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
15085 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
15086 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
15089 (browse-url (cdr url))
15090 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
15091 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
15093 (eval-after-load "gnus"
15094 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
15095 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
15096 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
15099 @node Customizing w3
15100 @subsection Customizing w3
15106 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
15107 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
15108 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
15110 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
15111 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
15112 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
15115 (eval-after-load "w3"
15117 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
15118 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
15119 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
15120 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
15122 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
15125 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
15126 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
15135 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
15136 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
15137 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
15138 specify the network address of the server.
15140 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
15141 POP can, it can hence be viewed as a POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
15142 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
15143 protocol -- however, @sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp}
15144 because news is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
15146 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a POP++, use an imap entry in
15147 @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the
15148 @sc{imap} server and store them on the local disk. This is not the
15149 usage described in this section--@xref{Mail Sources}.
15151 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
15152 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
15153 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
15154 usage explained in this section.
15156 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
15157 might look something like the following. (Note that for SSL/TLS, you
15158 need external programs and libraries, see below.)
15161 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15162 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
15163 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
15165 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15166 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
15167 ; a UW server running on localhost
15169 (nnimap-server-port 143)
15170 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15171 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
15172 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
15173 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
15174 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
15175 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
15176 (nnimap-stream network))
15177 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
15179 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
15180 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
15181 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
15184 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
15189 @item nnimap-address
15190 @vindex nnimap-address
15192 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
15193 server name if not specified.
15195 @item nnimap-server-port
15196 @vindex nnimap-server-port
15197 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
15199 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
15202 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15203 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
15206 @item nnimap-list-pattern
15207 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
15208 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
15209 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
15210 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
15211 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
15212 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
15214 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
15215 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
15216 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
15219 Example server specification:
15222 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15223 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
15224 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
15227 @item nnimap-stream
15228 @vindex nnimap-stream
15229 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
15230 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
15231 of SSL/TLS. (@sc{imap} over SSL/TLS is being replaced by STARTTLS, which
15232 can be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
15234 Example server specification:
15237 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15238 (nnimap-stream ssl))
15241 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
15245 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
15246 @samp{imtest} program.
15248 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
15250 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
15251 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
15254 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the program
15255 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
15256 library @samp{ssl.el}.
15258 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
15260 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
15263 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
15264 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
15265 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
15266 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
15267 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
15268 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
15269 restrictions on @sc{imap} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
15270 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
15271 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
15274 @vindex imap-ssl-program
15275 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
15276 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
15277 and nnimap support it too - although the most recent versions of
15278 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
15279 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
15280 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
15281 to OpenSSL/SSLeay. You also need @samp{ssl.el} (from the W3
15282 distribution, for instance).
15284 @vindex imap-shell-program
15285 @vindex imap-shell-host
15286 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
15287 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
15289 @item nnimap-authenticator
15290 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
15292 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
15293 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
15295 Example server specification:
15298 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15299 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
15302 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
15306 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
15307 external program @code{imtest}.
15309 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
15312 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
15313 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
15315 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
15317 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
15319 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your email address as password.
15322 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
15324 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
15325 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
15326 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
15327 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
15328 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
15329 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
15332 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
15333 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
15334 running in circles yet?
15336 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
15337 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
15340 The possible options are:
15345 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
15348 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
15349 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
15350 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
15351 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
15353 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
15358 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
15359 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
15361 If non-nil (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as well),
15362 for other @sc{imap} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
15363 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
15364 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @sc{imap}
15365 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @sc{imap}
15368 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
15369 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
15372 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
15373 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15374 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
15375 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15378 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
15379 as ticked for other users.
15381 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
15383 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
15385 This variable contain the @sc{imap} search command sent to server when
15386 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
15387 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
15388 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
15390 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
15391 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
15392 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
15393 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
15395 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
15396 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
15398 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
15399 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
15400 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
15406 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
15407 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
15408 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
15409 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
15410 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
15415 @node Splitting in IMAP
15416 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
15417 @cindex splitting imap mail
15419 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
15420 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
15421 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
15422 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
15423 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
15427 Here are the variables of interest:
15431 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
15432 @cindex splitting, crosspost
15434 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
15436 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
15437 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
15439 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
15441 @item nnimap-split-inbox
15442 @cindex splitting, inbox
15444 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
15446 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
15447 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
15451 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
15452 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
15455 No nnmail equivalent.
15457 @item nnimap-split-rule
15458 @cindex Splitting, rules
15459 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
15461 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
15464 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
15465 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
15466 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
15467 Neither did I, we need examples.
15470 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15472 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
15473 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
15474 ("INBOX.private" "")))
15477 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
15478 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
15479 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
15481 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
15482 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
15486 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
15489 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
15490 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
15492 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
15493 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
15494 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
15495 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
15497 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
15498 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
15499 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
15500 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
15501 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
15502 them every time you fetch new mail.)
15504 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
15505 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
15506 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
15508 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
15509 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
15510 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15512 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
15514 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
15515 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
15516 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
15519 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15520 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
15521 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
15522 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
15523 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
15524 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
15527 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
15528 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
15529 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
15530 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
15531 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
15532 group/function elements.
15534 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
15536 @item nnimap-split-predicate
15538 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
15540 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
15541 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
15543 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
15544 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
15545 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
15548 @item nnimap-split-fancy
15549 @cindex splitting, fancy
15550 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
15551 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
15553 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15554 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
15555 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
15557 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
15558 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15559 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
15560 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15565 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
15566 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
15569 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
15571 @item nnimap-split-download-body
15572 @findex nnimap-split-download-body
15573 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
15575 Set to non-nil to download entire articles during splitting. This is
15576 generally not required, and will slow things down considerably. You
15577 may need it if you want to use an advanced splitting function that
15578 analyses the body to split the article.
15582 @node Expiring in IMAP
15583 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
15584 @cindex expiring imap mail
15586 Even though @sc{nnimap} is not a proper @sc{nnmail} derived back end,
15587 it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
15588 Unlike splitting in IMAP (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}) it do not clone
15589 the @sc{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating @var{nnimap-expiry-wait})
15590 but reuse the @sc{nnmail} variables. What follows below are the
15591 variables used by the @sc{nnimap} expiry process.
15593 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @sc{imap} server is
15594 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
15595 @sc{imap} client specific mark, @code{gnus-expire}, and stored on the
15596 message. This means that likely only Gnus will understand and treat
15597 the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may allow
15598 you to view client specific flags on the message. It also means that
15599 your server must support permanent storage of client specific flags on
15600 messages. Most do, fortunately.
15604 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
15605 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
15607 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
15608 number, the symbol @var{immediate} or @var{never}.
15610 @item nnmail-expiry-target
15612 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
15613 @sc{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
15614 that if the destination is a IMAP group on the same server, the
15615 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
15619 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
15620 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
15621 @cindex editing imap acls
15622 @cindex Access Control Lists
15623 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
15625 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
15627 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
15628 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
15629 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
15632 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
15633 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
15634 editing window with detailed instructions.
15636 Some possible uses:
15640 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
15641 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
15642 follow the list without subscribing to it.
15644 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
15645 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
15646 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
15650 @node Expunging mailboxes
15651 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
15655 @cindex Manual expunging
15657 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
15659 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
15660 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
15661 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
15663 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
15666 @node A note on namespaces
15667 @subsection A note on namespaces
15668 @cindex IMAP namespace
15671 The IMAP protocol has a concept called namespaces, described by the
15672 following text in the RFC:
15675 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
15677 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
15678 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
15679 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
15680 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
15682 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
15683 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
15684 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
15685 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
15686 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
15687 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
15690 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the IMAP
15691 implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace prefixes in a way
15692 that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
15694 Specifically, University of Washington's IMAP server uses mailbox
15695 names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only in the
15696 @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is created
15697 (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed without
15698 the namespace prefix, i.e @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do not make it
15699 possible for the user to guarantee that user entered mailbox names
15700 will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands, you should
15701 simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in Gnus.
15703 See the UoW @sc{imapd} documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
15704 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
15705 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
15707 @node Other Sources
15708 @section Other Sources
15710 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
15711 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
15715 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
15716 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
15717 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
15718 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
15719 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
15723 @node Directory Groups
15724 @subsection Directory Groups
15726 @cindex directory groups
15728 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
15729 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
15732 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
15733 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
15734 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
15735 back end to read directories. Big deal.
15737 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
15738 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
15739 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
15740 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
15741 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
15743 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
15745 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
15746 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
15747 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
15748 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
15751 @node Anything Groups
15752 @subsection Anything Groups
15755 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
15756 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
15757 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
15760 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
15761 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
15762 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
15763 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
15764 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
15765 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
15766 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
15767 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
15768 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
15769 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
15772 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
15773 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
15774 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
15775 in the article buffer, just as usual.
15777 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
15778 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
15779 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
15780 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
15782 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
15783 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
15784 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
15785 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
15786 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
15787 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
15788 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
15789 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
15794 @item nneething-map-file-directory
15795 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
15796 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
15797 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
15799 @item nneething-exclude-files
15800 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
15801 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
15802 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
15804 @item nneething-include-files
15805 @vindex nneething-include-files
15806 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
15807 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
15809 @item nneething-map-file
15810 @vindex nneething-map-file
15811 Name of the map files.
15815 @node Document Groups
15816 @subsection Document Groups
15818 @cindex documentation group
15821 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
15822 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
15829 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
15834 The standard Unix mbox file.
15836 @cindex MMDF mail box
15838 The MMDF mail box format.
15841 Several news articles appended into a file.
15844 @cindex rnews batch files
15845 The rnews batch transport format.
15846 @cindex forwarded messages
15849 Forwarded articles.
15852 Netscape mail boxes.
15855 @sc{mime} multipart messages.
15857 @item standard-digest
15858 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
15861 A @sc{mime} digest of messages.
15863 @item lanl-gov-announce
15864 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
15866 @item rfc822-forward
15867 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
15870 The Outlook mail box.
15873 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
15876 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
15879 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
15882 An RFC934-forwarded message.
15888 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
15891 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
15897 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
15898 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
15899 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
15902 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
15903 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
15904 group. And that's it.
15906 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
15907 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
15908 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
15909 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
15910 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
15911 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
15912 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
15913 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
15914 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
15915 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
15917 Virtual server variables:
15920 @item nndoc-article-type
15921 @vindex nndoc-article-type
15922 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
15923 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
15924 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
15925 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
15926 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
15928 @item nndoc-post-type
15929 @vindex nndoc-post-type
15930 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
15931 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
15936 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
15940 @node Document Server Internals
15941 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
15943 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
15944 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
15945 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
15946 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
15948 First, here's an example document type definition:
15952 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
15953 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
15956 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
15957 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
15958 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
15959 types can be defined with very few settings:
15962 @item first-article
15963 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
15964 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
15967 @item article-begin
15968 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
15969 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
15971 @item head-begin-function
15972 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
15975 @item nndoc-head-begin
15976 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
15979 @item nndoc-head-end
15980 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
15981 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
15983 @item body-begin-function
15984 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
15988 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
15991 @item body-end-function
15992 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
15996 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
15999 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
16000 regexp will be totally ignored.
16004 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
16005 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
16006 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
16007 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
16008 something that's palatable for Gnus:
16011 @item prepare-body-function
16012 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
16013 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
16014 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
16016 @item article-transform-function
16017 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
16018 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
16019 body of the article.
16021 @item generate-head-function
16022 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
16023 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
16024 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
16025 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
16029 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
16034 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16035 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16036 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
16037 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
16038 (head-end . "^ ?$")
16039 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
16040 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
16041 (subtype digest guess))
16044 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
16045 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
16046 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
16047 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
16048 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
16050 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
16051 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
16052 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
16053 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
16054 traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for a given type @code{TYPE}. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
16055 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
16056 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
16057 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
16058 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
16059 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
16067 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
16068 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
16069 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
16071 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
16072 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
16073 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
16076 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
16077 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
16078 that interested in doing things properly.
16080 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
16081 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
16084 First some terminology:
16089 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
16090 get news and/or mail from.
16093 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
16094 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
16097 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
16101 @item message packets
16102 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
16103 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
16104 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16106 @item response packets
16107 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
16108 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
16109 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16119 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
16120 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
16121 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
16122 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
16125 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
16128 You put the packet in your home directory.
16131 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
16132 the native or secondary server.
16135 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
16136 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
16139 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
16143 You transfer this packet to the server.
16146 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
16149 You then repeat until you die.
16153 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
16154 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
16157 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
16158 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
16159 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
16163 @node SOUP Commands
16164 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
16166 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
16170 @kindex G s b (Group)
16171 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
16172 Pack all unread articles in the current group
16173 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
16174 process/prefix convention.
16177 @kindex G s w (Group)
16178 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
16179 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
16182 @kindex G s s (Group)
16183 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
16184 Send all replies from the replies packet
16185 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
16188 @kindex G s p (Group)
16189 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
16190 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
16193 @kindex G s r (Group)
16194 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
16195 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
16198 @kindex O s (Summary)
16199 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
16200 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
16201 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
16202 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16207 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
16212 @item gnus-soup-directory
16213 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
16214 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
16215 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
16217 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
16218 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
16219 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
16220 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
16222 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
16223 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
16224 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
16225 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
16227 @item gnus-soup-packer
16228 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
16229 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16230 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
16232 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
16233 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
16234 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16235 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16237 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
16238 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
16239 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
16241 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16242 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16243 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
16244 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
16250 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
16253 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
16254 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
16255 you can read them at leisure.
16257 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
16261 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
16262 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
16263 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
16264 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
16266 @item nnsoup-directory
16267 @vindex nnsoup-directory
16268 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
16269 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
16271 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
16272 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
16273 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
16274 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
16276 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
16277 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
16278 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
16279 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
16280 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
16282 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
16283 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
16284 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
16285 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
16287 @item nnsoup-active-file
16288 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
16289 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
16290 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
16291 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
16292 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
16294 @item nnsoup-packer
16295 @vindex nnsoup-packer
16296 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
16297 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
16299 @item nnsoup-unpacker
16300 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
16301 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
16302 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16304 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
16305 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
16306 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
16309 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
16310 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
16311 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
16314 @item nnsoup-always-save
16315 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
16316 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
16322 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
16324 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
16325 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
16326 more for that to happen.
16328 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
16329 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
16330 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
16333 In specific, this is what it does:
16336 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
16337 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
16340 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
16341 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
16342 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
16345 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
16346 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
16347 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
16350 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
16351 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
16352 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
16354 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
16360 @item nngateway-address
16361 @vindex nngateway-address
16362 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
16364 @item nngateway-header-transformation
16365 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
16366 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
16367 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
16368 transformation should be called, and defaults to
16369 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
16370 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
16373 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
16374 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
16375 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
16378 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
16381 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
16384 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
16387 The following pre-defined functions exist:
16389 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16392 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16393 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16394 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
16396 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16398 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16399 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16400 @code{nngateway-address}.
16405 (setq gnus-post-method
16407 "mail2news@@replay.com"
16408 (nngateway-header-transformation
16409 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
16417 So, to use this, simply say something like:
16420 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
16425 @node Combined Groups
16426 @section Combined Groups
16428 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
16432 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
16433 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
16437 @node Virtual Groups
16438 @subsection Virtual Groups
16440 @cindex virtual groups
16441 @cindex merging groups
16443 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
16446 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
16447 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
16448 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
16450 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
16451 regexp to match component groups.
16453 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
16454 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
16455 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
16456 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
16457 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
16458 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
16459 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
16460 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
16462 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
16463 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
16466 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
16469 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
16470 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
16472 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
16473 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
16474 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
16475 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
16478 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
16481 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
16482 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
16483 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
16485 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
16486 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
16487 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
16488 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
16489 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
16491 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
16492 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
16493 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
16495 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
16496 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
16497 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
16498 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
16499 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
16500 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
16501 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
16502 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
16503 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
16504 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
16505 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
16507 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
16508 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
16509 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
16510 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
16511 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
16512 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
16513 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
16515 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
16516 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
16518 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
16519 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
16523 @node Kibozed Groups
16524 @subsection Kibozed Groups
16528 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
16529 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
16530 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
16531 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
16533 @kindex G k (Group)
16534 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
16537 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
16538 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
16539 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
16540 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
16542 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
16543 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
16544 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
16546 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
16547 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
16548 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
16549 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
16550 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
16551 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
16552 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
16553 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
16555 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
16556 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
16557 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
16558 Stranger things have happened.
16560 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
16561 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
16563 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
16564 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
16565 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
16566 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
16567 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
16568 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
16570 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
16571 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
16574 @node Gnus Unplugged
16575 @section Gnus Unplugged
16580 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
16582 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
16583 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
16584 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
16585 read news. Believe it or not.
16587 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
16588 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
16589 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
16590 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
16591 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
16593 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
16594 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
16595 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
16596 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
16597 reading news on a machine.
16599 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
16600 fact, you don't even have to configure anything.
16602 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
16605 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
16606 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
16607 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
16608 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
16609 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
16610 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
16611 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
16612 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
16613 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
16614 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
16615 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
16620 @subsection Agent Basics
16622 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
16624 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
16625 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
16626 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
16627 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
16629 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
16630 connected to the net continuously.
16632 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
16633 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
16635 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
16640 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
16641 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
16642 already fetched while in this mode.
16645 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
16646 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
16647 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
16648 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
16649 Source Specifiers}).
16652 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
16653 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
16654 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
16655 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
16656 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
16659 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
16660 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
16661 then you read the news offline.
16664 And then you go to step 2.
16667 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
16673 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
16674 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
16675 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
16676 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
16677 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
16678 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
16679 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} groups in @code{gnus-select-method} and
16680 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
16683 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
16690 @node Agent Categories
16691 @subsection Agent Categories
16693 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
16694 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
16695 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
16696 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
16697 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
16698 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
16699 you're interested in the articles anyway.
16701 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
16702 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
16703 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
16704 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
16705 managing categories.
16708 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
16709 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
16710 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
16714 @node Category Syntax
16715 @subsubsection Category Syntax
16717 A category consists of two things.
16721 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
16722 are eligible for downloading; and
16725 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
16726 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
16727 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
16730 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
16731 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
16732 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
16733 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
16735 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
16736 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
16737 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
16739 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
16740 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
16741 operators sprinkled in between.
16743 Perhaps some examples are in order.
16745 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
16746 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
16752 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
16753 short (for some value of ``short'').
16755 Here's a more complex predicate:
16764 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
16765 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
16768 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
16769 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
16770 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
16772 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
16773 you want to do, you can write your own.
16777 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
16778 lines; default 100.
16781 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
16782 lines; default 200.
16785 True iff the article has a download score less than
16786 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
16789 True iff the article has a download score greater than
16790 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
16793 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
16794 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
16795 checksum and sees whether articles match.
16804 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
16805 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
16806 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
16809 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
16810 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
16811 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
16812 something along the lines of the following:
16815 (defun my-article-old-p ()
16816 "Say whether an article is old."
16817 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
16818 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
16821 with the predicate then defined as:
16824 (not my-article-old-p)
16827 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
16828 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
16832 (require 'gnus-agent)
16833 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
16834 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
16835 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
16838 and simply specify your predicate as:
16844 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
16845 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
16846 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
16847 just don't give a damn.
16849 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
16850 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
16851 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
16852 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
16853 parameters like so:
16856 (agent-predicate . short)
16859 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
16860 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
16861 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
16863 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
16866 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
16869 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
16870 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
16871 predicate is assumed to be a list.
16874 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
16875 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
16876 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
16877 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
16878 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
16879 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
16881 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
16882 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
16883 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
16884 if it's to be specific to that group.
16886 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
16893 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
16894 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
16900 Category specification
16904 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16910 Group Parameter specification
16913 (agent-score ("from"
16914 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16919 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
16925 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
16932 Category specification
16935 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
16941 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
16945 Group Parameter specification
16948 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
16951 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
16956 Use @code{normal} score files
16958 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
16959 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
16960 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
16961 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
16963 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
16964 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
16965 files for a group, *filtering out* those sections that do not
16966 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
16970 Category Specification
16977 Group Parameter specification
16980 (agent-score . file)
16985 @node Category Buffer
16986 @subsubsection Category Buffer
16988 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
16989 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
16990 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
16992 The following commands are available in this buffer:
16996 @kindex q (Category)
16997 @findex gnus-category-exit
16998 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
17001 @kindex k (Category)
17002 @findex gnus-category-kill
17003 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
17006 @kindex c (Category)
17007 @findex gnus-category-copy
17008 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
17011 @kindex a (Category)
17012 @findex gnus-category-add
17013 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
17016 @kindex p (Category)
17017 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
17018 Edit the predicate of the current category
17019 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
17022 @kindex g (Category)
17023 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
17024 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
17025 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
17028 @kindex s (Category)
17029 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
17030 Edit the download score rule of the current category
17031 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
17034 @kindex l (Category)
17035 @findex gnus-category-list
17036 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
17040 @node Category Variables
17041 @subsubsection Category Variables
17044 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
17045 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
17046 Hook run in category buffers.
17048 @item gnus-category-line-format
17049 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
17050 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
17051 Variables}). Valid elements are:
17055 The name of the category.
17058 The number of groups in the category.
17061 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
17062 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
17063 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
17065 @item gnus-agent-short-article
17066 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
17067 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
17069 @item gnus-agent-long-article
17070 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
17071 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
17073 @item gnus-agent-low-score
17074 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
17075 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
17078 @item gnus-agent-high-score
17079 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
17080 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
17086 @node Agent Commands
17087 @subsection Agent Commands
17089 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
17090 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
17091 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
17095 * Group Agent Commands::
17096 * Summary Agent Commands::
17097 * Server Agent Commands::
17103 @node Group Agent Commands
17104 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
17108 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
17109 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
17110 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
17111 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
17114 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
17115 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
17116 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
17119 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
17120 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
17121 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
17122 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
17125 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
17126 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
17127 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
17128 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
17131 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
17132 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
17133 Add the current group to an Agent category
17134 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
17135 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17138 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
17139 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
17140 Remove the current group from its category, if any
17141 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
17142 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17145 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
17146 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17147 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
17153 @node Summary Agent Commands
17154 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
17158 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
17159 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
17160 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
17163 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
17164 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
17165 Remove the downloading mark from the article
17166 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
17170 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
17171 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
17172 Toggle whether to download the article
17173 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The dowload mark is @samp{%} by
17177 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
17178 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
17179 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
17182 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
17183 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
17184 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
17185 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
17190 @node Server Agent Commands
17191 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
17195 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
17196 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
17197 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
17198 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
17201 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
17202 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
17203 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
17204 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
17209 @node Agent as Cache
17210 @subsection Agent as Cache
17212 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
17213 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
17214 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
17215 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
17216 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
17217 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
17218 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
17219 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
17220 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
17222 This behaviour can be controlled by @code{gnus-agent-cache}
17223 (@pxref{Agent Variables}).
17226 @subsection Agent Expiry
17228 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
17229 @findex gnus-agent-expire
17230 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
17231 @cindex Agent expiry
17232 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
17235 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
17236 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
17237 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
17238 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
17239 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
17240 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
17242 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} can also be a list of regexp/day pairs.
17243 The regexps will be matched against group names to allow differing
17244 expiry in different groups.
17247 (setq gnus-agent-expire-days
17253 If you use the list form, the last element must always be the default
17254 method---it must always match all groups.
17256 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
17257 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
17258 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
17259 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
17260 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
17262 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
17263 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
17264 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's a special
17265 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} command to fix possible problems.
17267 @node Agent and IMAP
17268 @subsection Agent and IMAP
17270 The Agent work with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
17271 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
17272 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
17273 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
17275 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
17276 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
17277 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
17278 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
17280 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
17281 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
17282 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
17283 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
17285 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17286 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
17287 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
17288 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
17289 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
17290 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
17292 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
17293 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
17294 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
17295 in the group buffer.
17297 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
17298 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
17303 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
17306 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
17310 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
17311 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
17312 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
17313 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
17314 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
17315 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
17316 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
17317 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
17320 @node Outgoing Messages
17321 @subsection Outgoing Messages
17323 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
17324 stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view
17325 them there after posting, and edit them at will.
17327 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
17328 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
17329 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
17330 messages in the draft group.
17334 @node Agent Variables
17335 @subsection Agent Variables
17338 @item gnus-agent-directory
17339 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
17340 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
17341 @file{~/News/agent/}.
17343 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
17344 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
17345 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
17346 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
17347 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
17350 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17351 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17352 Hook run when connecting to the network.
17354 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17355 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17356 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
17358 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17359 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17360 Hook run when after finishing fetching articles.
17362 @item gnus-agent-cache
17363 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
17364 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @sc{nov} and
17365 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
17366 The default is non-nil, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
17368 @item gnus-agent-go-online
17369 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
17370 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
17371 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
17372 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
17373 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
17374 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
17377 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
17378 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
17379 Perhaps not a Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
17380 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
17381 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
17382 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
17383 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
17384 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
17385 is only valid if the Agent is used.
17390 @node Example Setup
17391 @subsection Example Setup
17393 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
17394 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
17395 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
17398 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
17399 ;;; from your ISP's server.
17400 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
17402 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
17403 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
17404 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
17406 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
17407 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
17409 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
17410 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; The obsolete setting.
17411 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; Now the default.
17414 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
17415 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
17418 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
17419 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
17420 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
17421 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
17422 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
17425 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
17426 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
17427 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
17428 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
17429 back all the killed groups.)
17431 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
17432 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
17433 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
17436 @node Batching Agents
17437 @subsection Batching Agents
17439 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
17440 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
17441 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
17443 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
17444 following incantation:
17448 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f -l ~/.gnus.el gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
17452 @node Agent Caveats
17453 @subsection Agent Caveats
17455 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
17456 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
17460 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
17462 @strong{No}. If you want this behaviour, add
17463 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
17464 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
17466 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
17468 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is `nil'.
17472 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
17473 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP and also uses the
17474 locally stored articles.
17481 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
17482 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
17483 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
17486 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
17487 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
17488 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
17489 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
17490 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
17492 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
17493 before generating the summary buffer.
17495 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
17496 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
17497 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
17499 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
17500 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
17501 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
17502 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
17505 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
17506 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
17507 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
17508 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
17509 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
17510 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
17511 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
17512 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
17513 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
17514 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
17515 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
17516 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
17517 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
17518 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
17519 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
17520 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
17521 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
17525 @node Summary Score Commands
17526 @section Summary Score Commands
17527 @cindex score commands
17529 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
17530 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
17531 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
17532 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
17533 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
17535 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
17536 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
17537 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
17538 score file the current one.
17540 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
17545 @kindex V s (Summary)
17546 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
17547 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
17550 @kindex V S (Summary)
17551 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
17552 Display the score of the current article
17553 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
17556 @kindex V t (Summary)
17557 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
17558 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
17559 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
17562 @kindex V w (Summary)
17563 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
17564 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
17567 @kindex V R (Summary)
17568 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
17569 Run the current summary through the scoring process
17570 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
17571 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
17572 effect you're having.
17575 @kindex V c (Summary)
17576 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
17577 Make a different score file the current
17578 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
17581 @kindex V e (Summary)
17582 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
17583 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
17584 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
17588 @kindex V f (Summary)
17589 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
17590 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
17591 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
17594 @kindex V F (Summary)
17595 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17596 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
17597 after editing score files.
17600 @kindex V C (Summary)
17601 @findex gnus-score-customize
17602 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
17603 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
17607 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
17612 @kindex V m (Summary)
17613 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
17614 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
17615 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
17618 @kindex V x (Summary)
17619 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
17620 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
17621 expunge all articles below this score
17622 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
17625 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
17626 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
17629 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
17630 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
17634 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
17635 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
17637 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
17638 keys are available:
17642 Score on the author name.
17645 Score on the subject line.
17648 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
17651 Score on the @code{References} line.
17657 Score on the number of lines.
17660 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
17663 Score on an "extra" header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
17664 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
17667 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
17668 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
17669 @file{ADAPT} files.)
17678 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
17684 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
17685 what headers you are scoring on.
17697 Substring matching.
17700 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
17729 Greater than number.
17734 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
17735 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
17736 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
17741 Temporary score entry.
17744 Permanent score entry.
17747 Immediately scoring.
17751 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
17752 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
17753 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
17757 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
17758 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
17759 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
17760 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
17762 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
17763 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
17764 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
17765 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
17766 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
17768 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
17769 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
17770 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
17771 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
17772 current score file.
17774 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
17775 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
17776 pretend they are keymaps or not.
17779 @node Group Score Commands
17780 @section Group Score Commands
17781 @cindex group score commands
17783 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
17788 @kindex W f (Group)
17789 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17790 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
17791 all the time. This command will flush the cache
17792 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
17796 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
17798 @findex gnus-batch-score
17799 @cindex batch scoring
17801 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
17805 @node Score Variables
17806 @section Score Variables
17807 @cindex score variables
17811 @item gnus-use-scoring
17812 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
17813 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
17814 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
17816 @item gnus-kill-killed
17817 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
17818 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
17819 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
17820 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
17821 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
17822 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
17823 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
17825 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
17826 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
17827 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
17828 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
17829 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
17831 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
17832 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
17833 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
17834 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
17836 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17837 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17838 @cindex score cache
17839 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
17840 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
17841 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
17842 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
17843 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
17844 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
17847 @item gnus-save-score
17848 @vindex gnus-save-score
17849 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
17850 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
17851 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
17853 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
17854 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
17855 across group visits.
17857 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17858 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17859 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
17860 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
17861 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
17862 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
17863 manually entered data.
17865 @item gnus-summary-default-score
17866 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
17867 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
17869 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
17870 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
17871 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
17872 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
17873 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
17874 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
17876 @item gnus-score-over-mark
17877 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
17878 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
17879 default. Default is @samp{+}.
17881 @item gnus-score-below-mark
17882 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
17883 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
17884 default. Default is @samp{-}.
17886 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17887 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17888 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
17889 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
17891 Predefined functions available are:
17894 @item gnus-score-find-single
17895 @findex gnus-score-find-single
17896 Only apply the group's own score file.
17898 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
17899 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
17900 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
17901 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
17902 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
17903 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
17904 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
17905 then a regexp match is done.
17907 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
17908 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
17910 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
17911 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
17912 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
17913 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
17915 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17916 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17917 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
17918 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
17919 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
17923 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
17924 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
17925 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
17926 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
17927 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
17928 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
17929 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
17932 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
17933 overall score file, you could use the value
17935 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
17936 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
17939 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
17940 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
17941 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
17942 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
17943 are expired. It's 7 by default.
17945 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17946 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17947 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
17948 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
17949 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
17950 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
17951 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
17952 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
17954 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17955 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17956 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
17958 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
17959 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
17960 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
17961 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
17962 threading---according to the current value of
17963 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
17964 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
17965 simplified in this manner.
17970 @node Score File Format
17971 @section Score File Format
17972 @cindex score file format
17974 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
17975 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
17976 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
17978 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
17982 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
17984 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
17986 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
17988 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
17993 (mark-and-expunge -10)
17997 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
17998 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
17999 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
18000 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
18004 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
18005 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
18007 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
18008 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
18009 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
18011 Six keys are supported by this alist:
18016 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
18017 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
18018 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
18019 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
18020 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
18021 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
18022 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
18023 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
18024 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
18025 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
18026 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
18027 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
18028 to articles that matches these score entries.
18030 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
18031 score entry has one to four elements.
18035 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
18036 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
18040 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
18041 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
18042 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
18043 is successful. If this element is not present, the
18044 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
18045 instead. This is 1000 by default.
18048 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
18049 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
18050 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
18051 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
18052 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
18055 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
18056 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
18057 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
18058 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
18061 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
18062 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
18063 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
18064 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
18065 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
18066 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
18067 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
18068 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
18069 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
18070 instead, if you feel like.
18073 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
18074 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
18075 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
18076 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
18077 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin host,
18078 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks NNTP-Posting-Host in overviews:
18081 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s "NNTP-Posting-Host")
18085 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
18086 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
18088 These predicates are true if
18091 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
18094 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
18095 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
18102 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
18103 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
18104 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
18105 it's not. I think.)
18107 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
18108 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
18109 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
18110 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
18113 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
18114 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
18115 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
18116 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
18117 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
18118 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
18119 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
18123 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
18124 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
18125 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
18126 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
18127 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
18128 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
18129 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
18130 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
18133 @item Head, Body, All
18134 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
18138 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
18139 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
18140 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
18141 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
18142 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
18143 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
18144 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
18148 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
18149 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
18150 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
18151 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
18152 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
18153 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
18154 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
18155 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
18156 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
18157 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
18158 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
18162 @cindex Score File Atoms
18164 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18165 lower than this number will be marked as read.
18168 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18169 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
18171 @item mark-and-expunge
18172 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18173 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
18176 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
18177 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
18178 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
18179 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
18180 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
18183 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
18184 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
18187 @item exclude-files
18188 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
18189 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
18193 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
18194 ignored when handling global score files.
18197 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
18198 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
18199 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
18200 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
18203 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
18204 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
18205 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
18206 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
18208 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
18212 (mark-and-expunge -100)
18215 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
18216 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
18217 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
18218 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
18219 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
18221 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
18222 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
18223 scoring rules exist.
18226 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
18227 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
18228 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
18229 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
18230 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
18231 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
18232 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
18233 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
18234 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
18235 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
18236 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
18240 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
18241 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
18242 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
18243 file for a number of groups.
18246 @cindex local variables
18247 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
18248 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
18249 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
18250 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
18251 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
18255 @node Score File Editing
18256 @section Score File Editing
18258 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
18259 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
18260 with a mode for that.
18262 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
18263 additional commands:
18268 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
18269 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
18270 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
18271 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
18274 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
18275 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
18276 Insert the current date in numerical format
18277 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
18278 you were wondering.
18281 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
18282 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
18283 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
18284 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
18285 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
18290 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
18292 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
18293 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
18295 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
18296 e} to begin editing score files.
18299 @node Adaptive Scoring
18300 @section Adaptive Scoring
18301 @cindex adaptive scoring
18303 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
18304 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
18305 stupidity, to be precise.
18307 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
18308 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
18309 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
18310 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
18311 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
18312 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
18313 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
18314 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
18315 variable to @code{(word line)}.
18317 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18318 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
18319 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
18320 might look something like this:
18323 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18324 '((gnus-unread-mark)
18325 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
18326 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
18327 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
18328 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
18329 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
18330 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
18331 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
18332 (gnus-ancient-mark)
18333 (gnus-low-score-mark)
18334 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
18337 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
18338 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
18339 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
18340 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
18341 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
18342 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
18345 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
18346 will be applied to each article.
18348 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
18349 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
18350 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
18351 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
18353 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
18354 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
18355 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
18356 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
18358 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
18359 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
18360 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
18361 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
18363 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
18364 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
18365 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
18366 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
18367 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
18368 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
18370 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
18371 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
18372 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
18373 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
18374 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
18375 aspirins afterwards.)
18377 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
18378 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
18379 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
18381 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
18382 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
18383 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
18385 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
18386 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
18387 let you use different rules in different groups.
18389 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
18390 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
18391 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
18394 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
18395 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
18396 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
18397 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
18398 the length of the match is less than
18399 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
18400 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
18403 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18404 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
18405 headers. If you adapt on words, the
18406 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
18407 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
18410 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18411 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
18412 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
18413 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
18414 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
18417 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
18418 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
18419 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
18420 score with 30 points.
18422 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
18423 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
18424 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
18425 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
18426 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
18428 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
18429 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
18430 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
18431 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
18432 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
18434 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
18435 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
18436 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
18437 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
18439 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
18440 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
18441 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
18442 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
18444 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
18445 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
18446 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
18447 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
18448 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
18450 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
18451 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
18452 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
18454 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
18455 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
18456 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
18457 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
18460 @node Home Score File
18461 @section Home Score File
18463 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
18464 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
18465 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
18466 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
18468 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
18469 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
18470 could perhaps use the same home score file.
18472 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
18473 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
18478 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
18482 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
18483 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
18487 A list. The elements in this list can be:
18491 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
18492 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
18495 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
18496 the home score file.
18499 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
18502 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
18507 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
18510 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18511 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
18514 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
18515 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
18517 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
18519 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18520 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
18523 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
18524 Other functions include
18527 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
18528 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
18529 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
18530 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
18534 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
18535 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
18536 their own home score files:
18539 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18540 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
18541 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
18542 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
18543 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
18546 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
18547 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
18548 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
18549 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
18550 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
18552 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
18553 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
18554 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
18555 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
18556 precedence over this variable.
18559 @node Followups To Yourself
18560 @section Followups To Yourself
18562 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
18563 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
18564 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
18565 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
18566 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
18567 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
18571 @item gnus-score-followup-article
18572 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
18573 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
18576 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
18577 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
18578 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
18582 @vindex message-sent-hook
18583 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
18584 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
18586 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
18590 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
18591 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
18595 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18596 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18599 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
18600 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
18605 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
18609 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
18610 is system-dependent.
18613 @node Scoring On Other Headers
18614 @section Scoring On Other Headers
18615 @cindex scoring on other headers
18617 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
18618 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
18619 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
18620 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
18621 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
18623 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
18624 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
18625 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
18626 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
18627 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
18629 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
18632 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
18633 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
18636 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
18637 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
18638 time if you have much mail.
18640 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
18641 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
18647 @section Scoring Tips
18648 @cindex scoring tips
18654 @cindex scoring crossposts
18655 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
18656 the @code{Xref} header.
18658 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
18661 @item Multiple crossposts
18662 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
18663 more than, say, 3 groups:
18666 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
18670 @item Matching on the body
18671 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
18672 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
18673 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
18674 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
18675 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
18676 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
18677 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
18680 @item Marking as read
18681 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
18682 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
18683 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
18687 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
18689 @item Negated character classes
18690 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
18691 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
18692 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
18696 @node Reverse Scoring
18697 @section Reverse Scoring
18698 @cindex reverse scoring
18700 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
18701 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
18702 like this in your score file:
18706 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
18711 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
18712 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
18715 @node Global Score Files
18716 @section Global Score Files
18717 @cindex global score files
18719 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
18720 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
18721 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
18723 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
18724 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
18725 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
18727 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
18728 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
18729 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
18730 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
18731 files are applicable to which group.
18733 To use the score file
18734 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
18735 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
18739 (setq gnus-global-score-files
18740 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
18741 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
18744 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
18746 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
18747 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
18748 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
18749 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
18751 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
18752 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
18754 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
18755 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
18756 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
18757 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
18758 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
18759 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
18761 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
18767 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
18769 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
18771 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
18773 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
18774 lowered out of existence.
18776 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
18777 articles completely.
18780 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
18781 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
18782 old articles for a long time.
18785 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
18786 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
18787 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
18788 holding our breath yet?
18792 @section Kill Files
18795 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
18796 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
18797 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
18799 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
18800 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
18801 files into score files.
18803 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
18804 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
18805 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
18806 that isn't a very good idea.
18808 Normal kill files look like this:
18811 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18812 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
18816 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
18817 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
18819 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
18820 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
18823 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
18828 @kindex M-k (Summary)
18829 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
18830 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
18833 @kindex M-K (Summary)
18834 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
18835 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
18838 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
18843 @kindex M-k (Group)
18844 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
18845 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
18848 @kindex M-K (Group)
18849 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
18850 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
18853 Kill file variables:
18856 @item gnus-kill-file-name
18857 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
18858 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
18859 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
18860 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
18861 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
18862 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
18864 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18865 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18866 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
18867 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
18870 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
18871 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
18872 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
18873 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
18874 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
18875 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
18876 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
18877 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
18878 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
18880 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18881 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18882 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
18887 @node Converting Kill Files
18888 @section Converting Kill Files
18890 @cindex converting kill files
18892 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
18893 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
18894 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
18897 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
18898 You can fetch it from
18899 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
18901 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
18902 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
18903 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
18911 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
18912 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
18913 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
18914 news articles generated every day.
18916 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
18917 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
18918 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
18919 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
18920 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
18921 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
18922 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
18923 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
18926 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
18927 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
18930 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
18931 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
18932 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
18933 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
18937 @node Using GroupLens
18938 @subsection Using GroupLens
18940 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
18942 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
18943 better bit in town at the moment.
18945 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
18949 @item gnus-use-grouplens
18950 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
18951 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
18952 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
18954 @item grouplens-pseudonym
18955 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
18956 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
18957 with the Better Bit Bureau.
18959 @item grouplens-newsgroups
18960 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
18961 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
18965 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
18966 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
18967 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
18968 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
18969 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
18970 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
18973 @node Rating Articles
18974 @subsection Rating Articles
18976 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
18977 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
18978 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
18979 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
18982 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
18987 @kindex r (GroupLens)
18988 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
18989 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
18992 @kindex k (GroupLens)
18993 @findex grouplens-score-thread
18994 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
18995 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
18996 threads in rec.humor.
19000 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
19001 the score of the article you're reading.
19006 @kindex n (GroupLens)
19007 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
19008 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
19011 @kindex , (GroupLens)
19012 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
19013 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
19017 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
19018 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
19021 @node Displaying Predictions
19022 @subsection Displaying Predictions
19024 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
19025 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
19026 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
19027 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
19028 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
19030 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
19031 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
19032 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
19033 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
19034 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
19035 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
19036 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
19037 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
19038 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
19039 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
19040 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
19041 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
19042 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
19044 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
19045 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
19046 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
19047 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
19049 The following are valid values for that variable.
19052 @item prediction-spot
19053 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
19056 @item confidence-interval
19057 A numeric confidence interval.
19059 @item prediction-bar
19060 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
19062 @item confidence-bar
19063 Numerical confidence.
19065 @item confidence-spot
19066 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
19068 @item prediction-num
19069 Plain-old numeric value.
19071 @item confidence-plus-minus
19072 Prediction +/- confidence.
19077 @node GroupLens Variables
19078 @subsection GroupLens Variables
19082 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
19083 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
19084 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
19085 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
19088 @item grouplens-bbb-host
19089 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
19092 @item grouplens-bbb-port
19093 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
19095 @item grouplens-score-offset
19096 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
19097 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
19100 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
19101 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
19102 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
19107 @node Advanced Scoring
19108 @section Advanced Scoring
19110 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
19111 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
19112 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
19113 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
19114 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
19116 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
19120 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
19121 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
19122 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
19126 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
19127 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
19129 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
19130 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
19131 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
19132 non-@code{nil} value.
19134 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
19135 operator, and various match operators.
19142 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
19143 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
19144 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
19149 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
19150 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
19151 then this operator will return @code{false}.
19156 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
19157 logical negation of the value of its argument.
19161 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
19162 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
19163 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
19164 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
19165 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
19166 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
19167 the ancestry you want to go.
19169 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
19170 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
19171 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
19172 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
19173 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
19176 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
19177 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
19179 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
19180 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
19183 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
19184 when he's talking about Gnus:
19188 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19189 ("subject" "Gnus"))
19195 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
19199 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19206 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
19207 really don't want to read what he's written:
19211 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19212 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
19216 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
19217 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
19218 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
19225 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
19226 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
19227 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
19228 ("body" "white.*socks"))
19232 The possibilities are endless.
19235 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
19236 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
19238 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
19239 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
19240 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
19241 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
19242 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
19243 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
19244 @samp{subject}) first.
19246 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
19247 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
19258 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
19259 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
19265 ("subject" "Gnus")))
19272 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
19273 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
19278 @section Score Decays
19279 @cindex score decays
19282 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
19283 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
19284 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
19285 use them in any sensible way.
19287 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
19288 @findex gnus-decay-score
19289 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
19290 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
19291 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
19292 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
19293 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
19294 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
19295 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
19296 definition of that function:
19299 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
19301 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
19302 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
19305 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
19307 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
19309 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
19312 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
19313 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
19314 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
19315 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
19319 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
19322 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
19325 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
19329 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
19330 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
19331 the new score, which should be an integer.
19333 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
19334 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
19339 @include message.texi
19340 @chapter Emacs MIME
19341 @include emacs-mime.texi
19343 @include sieve.texi
19353 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
19354 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
19355 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
19356 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
19357 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
19358 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
19359 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
19360 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
19361 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
19362 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
19363 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
19364 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
19365 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
19366 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
19367 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
19368 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
19369 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
19370 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
19371 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
19375 @node Process/Prefix
19376 @section Process/Prefix
19377 @cindex process/prefix convention
19379 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
19380 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
19382 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
19383 command to be performed on.
19387 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
19388 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
19389 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
19390 with the current one.
19392 @vindex transient-mark-mode
19393 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
19394 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
19396 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
19397 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
19400 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
19401 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
19403 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
19406 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
19407 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
19408 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
19409 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
19411 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
19412 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
19413 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
19414 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
19415 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
19416 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
19417 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
19418 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
19420 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
19421 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
19422 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
19423 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
19424 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
19428 @section Interactive
19429 @cindex interaction
19433 @item gnus-novice-user
19434 @vindex gnus-novice-user
19435 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
19436 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
19437 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
19438 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
19441 @item gnus-expert-user
19442 @vindex gnus-expert-user
19443 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
19444 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
19445 matter how strange.
19447 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
19448 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
19449 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
19450 is @code{t} by default.
19452 @item gnus-interactive-exit
19453 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
19454 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
19459 @node Symbolic Prefixes
19460 @section Symbolic Prefixes
19461 @cindex symbolic prefixes
19463 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
19464 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
19465 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
19466 rule of 900 to the current article.
19468 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
19469 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
19470 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
19471 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
19472 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
19473 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
19474 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
19476 @kindex M-i (Summary)
19477 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
19478 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
19479 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
19480 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
19481 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
19482 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
19483 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
19484 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
19486 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
19487 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
19488 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
19490 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
19494 @node Formatting Variables
19495 @section Formatting Variables
19496 @cindex formatting variables
19498 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
19499 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
19500 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
19501 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
19502 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
19505 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
19506 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
19507 lots of percentages everywhere.
19510 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
19511 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
19512 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
19513 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
19514 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
19515 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
19516 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
19517 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
19520 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
19521 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
19522 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
19523 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
19524 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
19525 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
19526 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
19527 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
19529 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
19530 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
19532 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
19533 @findex gnus-update-format
19534 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
19535 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
19536 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
19537 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
19541 @node Formatting Basics
19542 @subsection Formatting Basics
19544 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
19545 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
19546 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
19548 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
19549 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
19550 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
19551 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
19552 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
19555 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
19556 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
19557 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
19558 less than 4 characters wide.
19560 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
19561 @samp{%&user-date;}.
19564 @node Mode Line Formatting
19565 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
19567 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
19568 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
19569 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
19570 with the following two differences:
19575 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
19578 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
19579 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
19580 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
19581 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
19582 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
19583 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
19584 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
19589 @node Advanced Formatting
19590 @subsection Advanced Formatting
19592 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
19593 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
19594 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
19595 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
19597 These are the valid modifiers:
19602 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
19606 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
19611 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
19614 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
19619 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
19622 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
19625 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
19628 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
19634 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
19639 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
19640 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
19641 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
19642 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
19643 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
19644 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
19645 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
19647 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
19648 last operation, padding.
19650 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
19651 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
19652 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
19653 @xref{Compilation}.
19656 @node User-Defined Specs
19657 @subsection User-Defined Specs
19659 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
19660 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
19661 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
19662 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
19663 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
19664 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
19665 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
19666 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
19667 should protect against that.
19669 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
19670 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
19672 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
19673 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
19674 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
19675 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
19679 @node Formatting Fonts
19680 @subsection Formatting Fonts
19682 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
19683 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
19684 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
19685 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
19688 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
19689 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
19690 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
19691 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
19692 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
19693 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
19695 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
19696 special @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}.
19697 If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on.
19698 The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or
19699 symbols naming functions that return a string. When the mouse passes
19700 over text with this property set, a balloon window will appear and
19701 display the string. Please refer to @ref{(emacs)Help Echo} (in GNU
19702 Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in XEmacs) for
19703 more information on this. (For technical reasons, the guillemets have
19704 been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this paragraph.)
19706 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
19709 ;; Create three face types.
19710 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
19711 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
19713 ;; We want the article count to be in
19714 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
19715 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
19716 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
19718 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
19719 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
19721 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
19722 (setq gnus-group-line-format
19723 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
19726 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
19727 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
19729 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
19730 mode-line variables.
19732 @node Positioning Point
19733 @subsection Positioning Point
19735 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
19736 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
19737 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
19739 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
19741 @findex gnus-goto-colon
19742 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
19743 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
19745 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
19746 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
19747 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
19752 @subsection Tabulation
19754 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
19755 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
19756 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
19757 about lining up the following text afterwards.
19759 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
19760 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
19762 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19763 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
19764 This is the soft tabulator.
19766 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19767 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
19768 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
19771 @node Wide Characters
19772 @subsection Wide Characters
19774 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
19775 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
19776 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
19778 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
19779 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
19780 these countries, that's not true.
19782 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
19783 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
19784 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
19785 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
19789 @node Window Layout
19790 @section Window Layout
19791 @cindex window layout
19793 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
19795 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
19796 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
19797 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
19798 @code{t} by default.
19800 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
19801 glitches. Use at your own peril.
19803 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
19804 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
19805 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
19808 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
19809 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
19810 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19814 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
19815 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
19816 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
19817 possible names is listed below.
19819 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
19820 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
19823 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19827 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
19828 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
19829 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
19830 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
19831 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
19832 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
19833 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
19834 size spec per split.
19836 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
19837 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
19838 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
19839 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
19840 present) gets focus.
19842 Here's a more complicated example:
19845 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
19846 (summary 0.25 point)
19847 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
19851 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
19852 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
19853 occupy, not a percentage.
19855 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
19856 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
19857 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
19858 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
19859 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
19862 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
19865 (article (horizontal 1.0
19870 (summary 0.25 point)
19875 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
19876 @code{horizontal} thingie?
19878 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
19879 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
19880 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
19881 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
19882 the screen is to be given to this strip.
19884 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
19885 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
19886 lines from the splits.
19888 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
19892 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
19893 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
19894 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
19895 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
19896 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
19897 size = number | frame-params
19898 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
19901 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
19902 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
19903 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
19904 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
19906 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
19907 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
19908 @cindex window height
19909 @cindex window width
19910 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
19911 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
19912 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
19913 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
19914 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
19915 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
19917 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
19918 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
19919 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
19920 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
19922 @findex gnus-configure-frame
19923 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
19924 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
19925 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
19926 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
19927 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
19928 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
19929 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
19930 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
19931 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
19932 configuration list.
19935 (gnus-configure-frame
19939 (article 0.3 point))
19947 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
19948 @code{frame} split:
19951 (gnus-configure-frame
19954 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
19956 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
19957 (user-position . t)
19958 (left . -1) (top . 1))
19963 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
19964 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
19965 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
19966 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
19967 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
19968 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
19969 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
19970 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
19972 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
19973 be found in its default value.
19975 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
19976 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
19977 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
19981 (message (horizontal 1.0
19982 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
19984 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
19989 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
19990 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
19991 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
19996 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
19997 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
19998 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
19999 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
20000 (name . "Message"))
20001 (message 1.0 point))))
20004 @findex gnus-add-configuration
20005 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
20006 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
20007 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
20008 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
20011 (gnus-add-configuration
20012 '(article (vertical 1.0
20014 (summary .25 point)
20018 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
20019 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
20020 Gnus has been loaded.
20022 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
20023 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
20024 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
20025 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
20026 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
20028 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
20029 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
20030 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
20033 @subsection Example Window Configurations
20037 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
20038 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
20053 (gnus-add-configuration
20056 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
20058 (summary 0.16 point)
20061 (gnus-add-configuration
20064 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
20065 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
20071 @node Faces and Fonts
20072 @section Faces and Fonts
20077 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
20078 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
20079 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
20084 @section Compilation
20085 @cindex compilation
20086 @cindex byte-compilation
20088 @findex gnus-compile
20090 Remember all those line format specification variables?
20091 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
20092 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
20093 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
20094 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
20095 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
20098 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
20099 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
20100 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
20101 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
20102 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
20103 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
20104 them into the @file{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
20108 @section Mode Lines
20111 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
20112 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
20113 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
20114 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
20115 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
20116 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
20117 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
20120 @cindex display-time
20122 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
20123 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
20124 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
20125 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
20126 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
20127 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
20128 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
20129 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
20132 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
20134 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
20135 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
20137 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
20138 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
20139 (length display-time-string)))))
20142 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
20143 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
20144 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
20145 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
20146 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
20149 @node Highlighting and Menus
20150 @section Highlighting and Menus
20152 @cindex highlighting
20155 @vindex gnus-visual
20156 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
20157 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
20158 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
20161 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
20162 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
20165 @item group-highlight
20166 Do highlights in the group buffer.
20167 @item summary-highlight
20168 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
20169 @item article-highlight
20170 Do highlights in the article buffer.
20172 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
20174 Create menus in the group buffer.
20176 Create menus in the summary buffers.
20178 Create menus in the article buffer.
20180 Create menus in the browse buffer.
20182 Create menus in the server buffer.
20184 Create menus in the score buffers.
20186 Create menus in all buffers.
20189 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
20190 buffers, you could say something like:
20193 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
20196 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
20199 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
20202 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
20203 in all Gnus buffers.
20205 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
20208 @item gnus-mouse-face
20209 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
20210 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
20211 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
20215 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
20219 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
20220 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
20221 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
20223 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
20224 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
20225 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
20227 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
20228 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
20229 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
20231 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
20232 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
20233 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
20235 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
20236 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
20237 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
20239 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
20240 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
20241 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
20252 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
20253 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
20254 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
20255 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
20256 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
20260 @vindex gnus-carpal
20261 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
20262 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
20263 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
20268 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
20269 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
20270 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
20272 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
20273 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
20274 Face used on buttons.
20276 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
20277 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
20278 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
20280 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20281 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20282 Buttons in the group buffer.
20284 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20285 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20286 Buttons in the summary buffer.
20288 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20289 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20290 Buttons in the server buffer.
20292 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20293 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20294 Buttons in the browse buffer.
20297 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
20298 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
20299 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
20307 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
20308 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
20309 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
20310 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
20311 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
20313 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
20314 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
20315 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
20317 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
20318 been idle for thirty minutes:
20321 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
20324 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
20328 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
20331 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
20332 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
20333 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20335 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
20336 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
20337 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
20338 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20340 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
20341 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
20342 @var{idle} minutes.
20344 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
20345 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
20348 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
20349 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
20350 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
20352 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
20353 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
20354 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
20355 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
20357 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
20358 your @file{.gnus.el} file:
20360 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
20362 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
20365 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
20366 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
20367 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
20368 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
20369 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
20370 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
20371 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
20372 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
20373 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
20374 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
20375 @file{.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
20377 @findex gnus-demon-init
20378 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
20379 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
20380 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
20381 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
20382 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
20384 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
20385 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
20386 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
20395 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
20396 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
20398 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
20399 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
20400 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
20401 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
20404 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
20405 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
20406 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
20407 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
20409 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
20410 this will make spam disappear.
20412 There are some variables to customize, of course:
20415 @item gnus-use-nocem
20416 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
20417 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
20420 @item gnus-nocem-groups
20421 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
20422 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
20423 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
20424 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
20426 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
20427 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
20428 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
20429 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
20430 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
20431 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
20433 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
20434 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
20436 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
20437 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
20438 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
20439 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
20440 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
20441 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
20442 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
20443 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
20444 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
20445 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
20447 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
20448 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
20451 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
20454 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
20455 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
20458 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
20461 The specs are applied left-to-right.
20464 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
20465 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
20467 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
20468 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
20469 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
20470 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
20472 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
20473 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
20476 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
20478 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
20486 This might be dangerous, though.
20488 @item gnus-nocem-directory
20489 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
20490 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
20491 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
20493 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20494 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20495 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
20496 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
20497 might then see old spam.
20499 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
20500 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
20501 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
20502 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
20503 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
20506 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20507 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20508 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
20509 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
20513 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
20514 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
20515 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
20516 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
20523 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
20524 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
20525 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
20527 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
20528 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
20529 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
20530 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
20531 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
20532 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
20533 @code{undo} function.
20535 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
20536 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
20537 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
20538 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
20539 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
20540 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
20541 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
20542 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
20543 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
20544 never be totally undoable.
20546 @findex gnus-undo-mode
20547 @vindex gnus-use-undo
20549 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
20550 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
20551 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
20552 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
20556 @node Predicate Specifiers
20557 @section Predicate Specifiers
20558 @cindex predicate specifiers
20560 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
20561 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
20562 to type all that much.
20564 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
20569 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
20570 gnus-article-unread-p)
20573 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
20574 functions all take one parameter.
20576 @findex gnus-make-predicate
20577 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
20578 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
20579 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
20584 @section Moderation
20587 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
20588 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
20589 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
20592 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
20596 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
20599 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
20601 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
20606 You split your incoming mail by matching on
20607 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
20608 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
20611 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
20612 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
20615 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
20616 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
20620 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
20623 (setq gnus-moderated-list
20624 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
20628 @node Image Enhancements
20629 @section Image Enhancements
20631 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21, is able to display pictures and stuff, so
20632 Gnus has taken advantage of that.
20635 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
20636 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
20637 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
20638 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
20639 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
20652 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
20653 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
20654 over your shoulder as you read news.
20657 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
20658 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
20659 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
20660 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
20661 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
20666 @subsubsection Picon Basics
20668 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
20677 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
20678 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
20679 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
20680 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
20681 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
20682 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
20683 @code{GIF} formats.
20686 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20687 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
20688 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
20689 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
20690 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
20692 @vindex gnus-picons-database
20693 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
20694 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
20695 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
20696 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
20697 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
20699 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
20700 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
20703 @node Picon Requirements
20704 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
20706 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must have @code{x} support
20707 compiled into XEmacs. To display color picons which are much nicer
20708 than the black & white one, you also need one of @code{xpm} or
20709 @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
20711 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20712 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
20713 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
20714 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
20715 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
20716 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20719 @subsubsection Easy Picons
20721 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
20722 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
20725 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
20726 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
20729 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
20730 containing the Picons databases.
20732 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
20735 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20736 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
20741 @subsubsection Hard Picons
20749 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
20750 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
20751 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
20752 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
20753 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
20758 @item gnus-picons-database
20759 @vindex gnus-picons-database
20760 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
20761 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
20762 subdirectories. This is only useful if
20763 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
20764 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
20766 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20767 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20768 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
20769 engine is @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
20770 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
20771 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
20772 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
20774 @item gnus-picons-display-where
20775 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
20776 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
20777 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
20778 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
20779 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
20780 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
20781 routines---@pxref{Window Layout}.
20783 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
20784 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
20785 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
20790 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
20791 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
20793 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
20794 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
20797 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
20799 @item gnus-article-display-picons
20800 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
20801 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
20802 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
20804 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
20805 @findex gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
20806 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
20807 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the function name, not @code{xface})
20813 @node Picon Useless Configuration
20814 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
20822 The following variables offer further control over how things are
20823 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
20824 don't need to worry about.
20828 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
20829 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
20830 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
20831 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
20833 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
20834 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
20835 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
20836 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
20838 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
20839 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
20840 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
20841 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
20842 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
20844 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20845 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20846 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
20847 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
20848 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
20849 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
20850 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
20851 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20853 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
20854 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
20855 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
20856 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
20857 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20859 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
20860 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
20861 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
20862 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
20863 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
20864 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
20865 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
20867 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
20868 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
20869 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
20870 Defaults to @code{nil}.
20872 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
20873 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
20874 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
20875 Defaults to @code{t}.
20877 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
20878 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
20879 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
20880 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
20882 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
20883 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
20884 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
20886 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20887 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20888 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
20889 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
20891 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
20892 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the default.
20894 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20895 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20896 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
20897 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
20898 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
20899 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
20900 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
20901 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
20912 @subsection Smileys
20917 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
20922 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
20923 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
20925 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
20926 @file{.gnus.el} file:
20929 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
20932 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
20933 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
20934 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
20935 text and maps that to file names.
20937 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
20938 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
20939 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
20940 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
20941 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
20942 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
20944 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
20945 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
20947 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
20948 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
20949 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
20951 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
20952 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
20956 @item smiley-data-directory
20957 @vindex smiley-data-directory
20958 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
20960 @item smiley-flesh-color
20961 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
20962 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
20964 @item smiley-features-color
20965 @vindex smiley-features-color
20966 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20968 @item smiley-tongue-color
20969 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
20970 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
20972 @item smiley-circle-color
20973 @vindex smiley-circle-color
20974 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20976 @item smiley-mouse-face
20977 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
20978 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
20987 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
20988 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
20989 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
20993 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
20994 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
20995 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
20996 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
21004 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
21005 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
21006 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
21007 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
21009 The variable that controls this is the
21010 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
21011 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
21012 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
21013 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
21014 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
21016 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
21017 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
21018 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
21019 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
21022 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
21023 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
21024 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
21025 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
21026 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
21027 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
21028 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
21029 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
21031 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
21034 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
21035 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
21037 @findex gnus-random-x-face
21038 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
21039 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
21040 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
21041 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
21042 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
21043 header data as a string.
21045 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
21046 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
21047 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
21048 randomly generated data.
21050 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
21051 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
21052 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
21053 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
21055 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
21056 like the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
21059 (setq message-required-news-headers
21060 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21061 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
21064 Using the last function would be something like this:
21067 (setq message-required-news-headers
21068 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21069 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
21070 (gnus-x-face-from-file
21071 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
21076 @subsection Toolbar
21086 @item gnus-use-toolbar
21087 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
21088 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
21089 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
21090 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
21092 @item gnus-group-toolbar
21093 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
21094 The toolbar in the group buffer.
21096 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
21097 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
21098 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
21100 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
21101 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
21102 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
21108 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
21111 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
21112 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
21113 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
21114 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
21115 unusual directory structure.
21117 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
21118 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
21119 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
21120 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
21122 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
21123 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
21124 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
21125 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
21126 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
21127 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
21129 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
21130 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
21131 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
21145 @node Fuzzy Matching
21146 @section Fuzzy Matching
21147 @cindex fuzzy matching
21149 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
21150 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
21152 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
21153 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
21154 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
21156 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
21157 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
21158 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
21159 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
21160 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
21163 @node Thwarting Email Spam
21164 @section Thwarting Email Spam
21168 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21170 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
21171 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
21172 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
21173 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
21174 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
21175 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
21176 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
21177 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
21180 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
21181 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
21182 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
21183 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
21184 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
21185 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
21187 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
21190 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
21191 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
21192 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
21193 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
21194 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
21195 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
21198 @node The problem of spam
21199 @subsection The problem of spam
21201 @cindex spam filtering approaches
21202 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
21204 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21206 First, some background on spam.
21208 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
21209 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it exists
21210 because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail, so only
21211 a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to make it
21212 worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most common
21213 spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for further
21214 spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers}, but terms like
21215 @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, and @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
21217 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
21218 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
21219 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
21220 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
21221 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
21222 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
21223 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
21224 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
21225 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
21228 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering. If you get 200
21229 spam messages per day from @email{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you
21230 block @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about
21231 @samp{VIAGRA}, you discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the
21232 message. This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate
21233 e-mail. For instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest
21234 has been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it
21235 @strong{contained} words that were common in spam messages.
21236 Nevertheless, in isolated cases, with great care, direct filtering of
21237 mail can be useful.
21239 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
21240 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
21241 @code{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @samp{X} in
21242 China, Ghana, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
21243 @code{N} systems enter @samp{X} or the spam e-mail from @samp{X} into
21244 a database. The criteria for spam detection vary - it may be the
21245 number of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When
21246 a user of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a
21247 message is spam, he consults one of those @code{N} systems.
21249 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
21250 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
21251 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
21252 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
21253 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
21254 sending spam, and their web sites have been shut down for some time
21255 because of the incident.
21257 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
21258 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
21259 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
21260 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
21261 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
21262 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
21263 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
21264 to store the database of spam analyses.
21266 @node Anti-Spam Basics
21267 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
21271 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21273 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
21274 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
21276 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
21277 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
21278 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
21279 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
21280 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
21281 part of the mail address.)
21284 (setq message-default-news-headers
21285 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
21288 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
21289 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21294 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
21295 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
21296 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
21302 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
21303 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
21304 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
21305 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
21307 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @sc{smtp} server
21308 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
21309 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
21310 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
21311 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
21312 your fancy split rule in this way:
21317 (to "larsi" "misc")
21321 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
21322 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
21323 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
21324 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
21325 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
21327 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
21328 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
21329 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
21330 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
21331 cosmic balance somewhat.
21333 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
21334 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
21335 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
21336 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
21341 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
21342 @cindex SpamAssassin
21343 @cindex Vipul's Razor
21346 The days where the hints in the previous section was sufficient in
21347 avoiding spam is coming to an end. There are many tools out there
21348 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
21349 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
21350 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
21351 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
21352 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
21354 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
21355 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
21356 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
21357 Specifiers}) follows.
21361 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
21364 :postscript "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
21367 Once you managed to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
21368 the mail contain e.g. a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
21369 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
21372 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
21376 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21379 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
21380 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
21384 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
21385 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
21386 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
21387 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
21390 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
21392 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
21394 (let ((buf (or (get-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
21395 (get-buffer " *nnml move*"))))
21397 (progn (message "Oops, cannot find message buffer") nil)
21399 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
21400 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
21404 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
21405 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
21406 spam. And here is the nifty function:
21409 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
21410 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
21412 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
21413 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
21414 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
21418 @subsection Hashcash
21421 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
21422 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
21423 you cannot rely on that everyone in the world uses this technique,
21424 since it is not part of the Internet standards, but it may be useful
21425 in smaller communities.
21427 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
21428 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
21429 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
21430 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
21431 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
21432 instead requires that everyone you communicate with supports the
21433 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
21434 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
21435 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
21436 one of them separately.
21439 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
21440 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
21441 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
21442 header. For more details, and for the external application
21443 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
21444 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
21445 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
21447 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
21451 (require 'hashcash)
21452 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
21455 The @code{hashcash.el} library can be found at
21456 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}, or in the Gnus
21457 development contrib directory.
21459 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
21463 @item hashcash-default-payment
21464 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
21465 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
21466 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
21467 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
21469 @item hashcash-payment-alist
21470 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
21471 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
21472 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(ADDR AMOUNT)} cells,
21473 where ADDR is the receiver (email address or newsgroup) and AMOUNT is
21474 the number of bits in the collision that is needed. It can also
21475 contain @samp{(ADDR STRING AMOUNT)} cells, where the STRING is the
21476 string to use (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
21480 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
21484 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
21485 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
21486 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
21487 a useful contribution, however.
21489 @node Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
21490 @subsection Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
21491 @cindex spam filtering
21494 The idea behind @code{spam.el} is to have a control center for spam detection
21495 and filtering in Gnus. To that end, @code{spam.el} does two things: it
21496 filters incoming mail, and it analyzes mail known to be spam or ham.
21497 @emph{Ham} is the name used throughout @code{spam.el} to indicate
21500 So, what happens when you load @code{spam.el}? First of all, you get
21501 the following keyboard commands:
21511 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
21512 @code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}.
21514 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{H} mark.
21515 Whenever you see a spam article, make sure to mark its summary line
21516 with @kbd{M-d} before leaving the group. This is done automatically
21517 for unread articles in @emph{spam} groups.
21523 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
21524 @code{spam-bogofilter-score}.
21526 You must have Bogofilter installed for that command to work properly.
21532 Also, when you load @code{spam.el}, you will be able to customize its
21533 variables. Try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{spam} variable
21536 The concepts of ham processors and spam processors are very important.
21537 Ham processors and spam processors for a group can be set with the
21538 @code{spam-process} group parameter, or the
21539 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. Ham processors take
21540 mail known to be non-spam (@emph{ham}) and process it in some way so
21541 that later similar mail will also be considered non-spam. Spam
21542 processors take mail known to be spam and process it so similar spam
21543 will be detected later.
21545 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
21546 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
21547 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
21548 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
21549 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
21550 by customizing the corresponding variable
21551 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
21552 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
21553 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
21554 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
21555 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
21556 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
21557 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
21560 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
21561 they get the @samp{H} mark when you enter the group. You must review
21562 these messages from time to time and remove the @samp{H} mark for
21563 every message that is not spam after all. To remove the @samp{H}
21564 mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to "unread" the article, or @kbd{d} for
21565 declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a group, all
21566 spam-marked (@samp{H}) articles are sent to a spam processor which
21567 will study them as spam samples.
21569 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
21570 @code{spam-ham-marks} gets overridden below, marks @samp{R} and
21571 @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
21572 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
21573 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
21574 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
21575 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
21576 should then adjust the @code{spam-ham-marks} variable.
21578 @defvar spam-ham-marks
21579 You can customize this variable to be the list of marks you want to
21580 consider ham. By default, the list contains the deleted, read,
21581 killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks.
21584 @defvar spam-spam-marks
21585 You can customize this variable to be the list of marks you want to
21586 consider spam. By default, the list contains only the spam mark.
21589 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
21590 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
21591 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
21592 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
21593 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
21594 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{H},
21597 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
21598 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
21599 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
21600 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
21601 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
21602 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
21603 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
21604 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with
21605 @code{customize-variable gnus-ham-process-destinations}). The ultimate
21606 location is a group name. If the @code{ham-process-destination}
21607 parameter is not set, spam articles are only expired.
21609 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
21610 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
21612 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
21613 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
21614 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
21615 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
21616 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
21617 customize this variable with @code{customize-variable
21618 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). The ultimate location is a group
21619 name. If the @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set,
21620 the spam articles are only expired.
21622 To use the @code{spam.el} facilities for incoming mail filtering, you
21623 must add the following to your fancy split list
21624 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}:
21630 Note that the fancy split may be called @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
21631 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on whether you use the nnmail or
21632 nnimap back ends to retrieve your mail.
21634 The @code{spam-split} function will process incoming mail and send the
21635 mail considered to be spam into the group name given by the variable
21636 @code{spam-split-group}. By default that group name is @samp{spam},
21637 but you can customize it.
21639 @emph{Note for IMAP users}
21641 The boolean variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body} needs to be
21642 set, if you want to split based on the whole message instead of just
21643 the headers. By default, the nnimap backend will only retrieve the
21644 message headers. If you use spam-check-bogofilter, spam-check-ifile,
21645 or spam-check-stat (the splitters that can benefit from the full
21646 message body), you should set this variable. It is not set by default
21647 because it will slow IMAP down.
21649 @xref{Splitting in IMAP}.
21651 @emph{TODO: Currently, spam.el only supports insertion of articles
21652 into a backend. There is no way to tell spam.el that an article is no
21653 longer spam or ham.}
21655 @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
21656 statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
21659 The following are the methods you can use to control the behavior of
21660 @code{spam-split} and their corresponding spam and ham processors:
21663 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
21664 * BBDB Whitelists::
21667 * ifile spam filtering::
21668 * spam-stat spam filtering::
21669 * Extending the spam elisp package::
21672 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
21673 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
21674 @cindex spam filtering
21675 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
21676 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
21679 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
21680 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
21681 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
21682 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
21683 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
21687 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
21688 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
21689 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
21690 whitelist will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an
21691 implicit filter, meaning it believes everyone to be a spammer unless
21692 told otherwise. Use with care.
21695 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
21696 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21697 customizing the group parameters or the
21698 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21699 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
21700 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
21703 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
21704 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21705 customizing the group parameters or the
21706 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21707 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
21708 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
21709 whitelist. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
21710 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21713 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
21714 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
21715 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
21716 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
21717 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
21719 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
21720 legitimate. All non-whitelisted addresses are considered spammers.
21721 This option is probably not useful for most Gnus users unless the
21722 whitelists is very comprehensive or permissive. Also see @ref{BBDB
21723 Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the Emacs regular expression
21726 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
21727 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
21728 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
21729 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
21730 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
21731 @file{blacklist} respectively.
21733 @node BBDB Whitelists
21734 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
21735 @cindex spam filtering
21736 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
21737 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
21740 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
21742 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
21743 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted addresses,
21744 without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded for
21745 @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Only addresses in the BBDB
21746 will be allowed through; all others will be classified as spam.
21750 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
21751 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21752 customizing the group parameters or the
21753 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21754 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
21755 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
21756 BBDB. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
21757 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21761 @subsubsection Blackholes
21762 @cindex spam filtering
21763 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
21766 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
21768 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
21769 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
21770 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
21771 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
21772 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
21773 contains outdated servers.
21775 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
21776 @code{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
21777 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to nil. It is not recommended at this
21778 time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to nil despite the possible
21779 performance improvements, because some users may be unable to use it,
21780 but you can try it and see if it works for you.
21784 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
21786 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
21790 @defvar spam-use-dig
21792 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
21793 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
21797 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
21798 ham processor for blackholes.
21801 @subsubsection Bogofilter
21802 @cindex spam filtering
21803 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
21806 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
21808 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
21811 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{H} mark for spam
21812 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
21813 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
21814 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
21815 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
21816 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
21818 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on an internal
21819 threshold, set at compilation time. That threshold can't be
21822 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
21823 processing will be turned off.
21825 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
21829 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
21831 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
21832 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
21833 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
21834 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
21835 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
21836 installation documents for details.
21838 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
21842 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
21843 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21844 customizing the group parameters or the
21845 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21846 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
21847 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
21850 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
21851 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21852 customizing the group parameters or the
21853 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21854 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
21855 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
21856 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
21857 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21860 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
21862 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
21863 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
21864 database directory.
21868 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to ifile in intent and
21869 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
21870 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
21871 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
21872 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
21873 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
21875 @node ifile spam filtering
21876 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
21877 @cindex spam filtering
21878 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
21881 @defvar spam-use-ifile
21883 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use ifile, a
21884 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
21888 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
21890 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
21891 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
21892 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
21896 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
21898 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
21899 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
21900 the default value of @samp{spam}.
21903 @defvar spam-ifile-database-path
21905 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
21906 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
21910 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
21911 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
21912 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
21913 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
21916 @node spam-stat spam filtering
21917 @subsubsection spam-stat spam filtering
21918 @cindex spam filtering
21919 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
21923 @xref{Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat}.
21925 @defvar spam-use-stat
21927 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use
21928 spam-stat.el, an Emacs Lisp statistical analyzer.
21932 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
21933 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21934 customizing the group parameters or the
21935 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21936 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
21937 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
21940 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
21941 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21942 customizing the group parameters or the
21943 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21944 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
21945 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
21946 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
21947 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21950 This enables spam.el to cooperate with spam-stat.el. spam-stat.el
21951 provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database, which unlike ifile or
21952 Bogofilter does not require external programs. A spam and a ham
21953 processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for @code{spam-split}
21956 @node Extending the spam elisp package
21957 @subsubsection Extending the spam elisp package
21958 @cindex spam filtering
21959 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
21960 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
21962 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
21963 incoming mail, provide the following:
21971 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
21972 "True if blackbox should be used.")
21977 (spam-use-blackbox . spam-check-blackbox)
21979 to @code{spam-list-of-checks}.
21984 Write the @code{spam-check-blackbox} function. It should return
21985 @samp{nil} or @code{spam-split-group}. See the existing
21986 @code{spam-check-*} functions for examples of what you can do.
21989 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
21996 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
21997 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
22000 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
22001 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
22002 Only applicable to spam groups.")
22004 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
22005 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
22006 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
22014 (defun spam-blackbox-register-spam-routine ()
22015 (spam-generic-register-routine
22016 ;; the spam function
22018 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
22019 (when (stringp from)
22020 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer from))))
22021 ;; the ham function
22024 (defun spam-blackbox-register-ham-routine ()
22025 (spam-generic-register-routine
22026 ;; the spam function
22028 ;; the ham function
22030 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
22031 (when (stringp from)
22032 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender from))))))
22035 Write the @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender} and
22036 @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer} functions. You can add
22037 more complex code than fetching the message sender, but keep in mind
22038 that retrieving the whole message takes significantly longer than the
22039 sender through @code{spam-fetch-field-from-fast}, because the message
22040 senders are kept in memory by Gnus.
22045 @node Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
22046 @subsection Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
22047 @cindex Paul Graham
22048 @cindex Graham, Paul
22049 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
22050 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
22051 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
22053 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
22054 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
22055 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
22056 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
22057 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
22058 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
22059 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
22060 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
22061 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
22064 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
22065 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
22066 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
22067 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
22068 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
22069 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
22070 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
22071 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
22073 Gnus supports this kind of filtering. But it needs some setting up.
22074 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
22075 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
22076 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
22077 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
22080 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
22081 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
22082 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
22085 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
22086 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
22088 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
22089 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
22090 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
22091 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
22092 need several hundred emails in both collections.
22094 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
22095 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
22096 per mail. Use the following:
22098 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
22099 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
22100 is treated as one spam mail.
22103 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
22104 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
22105 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
22108 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
22109 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds
22110 the the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
22111 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
22112 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds the the group
22113 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
22115 When you are using IMAP, you won't have the mails available locally,
22116 so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent to cache
22117 the articles. Then you can use directories such as
22118 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
22119 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
22122 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics -- the
22123 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
22124 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
22125 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
22128 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
22129 reset the dictionary.
22131 @defun spam-stat-reset
22132 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
22135 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
22136 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
22137 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
22138 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
22139 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
22140 only non-spam mails.
22142 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
22143 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
22144 to update the dictionary incrementally.
22147 @defun spam-stat-save
22148 Save the dictionary.
22151 @defvar spam-stat-file
22152 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
22153 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
22156 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
22157 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
22159 In order to use @code{spam-stat} to split your mail, you need to add the
22160 following to your @file{~/.gnus} file:
22163 (require 'spam-stat)
22167 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
22170 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
22171 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
22172 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
22173 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
22175 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
22176 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
22177 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
22178 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
22181 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22182 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22186 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
22187 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
22190 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
22191 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
22192 expression are considered potential spam.
22195 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22196 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22197 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22201 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
22202 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
22203 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
22204 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
22205 mails, when creating the dictionary!
22208 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22209 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22210 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22214 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
22215 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
22216 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
22217 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
22218 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
22222 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22223 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
22224 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22225 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22230 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
22231 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
22233 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
22235 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
22236 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
22237 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
22240 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
22241 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
22242 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
22245 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
22246 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
22247 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
22248 already been processed as non-spam.
22251 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
22252 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
22253 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
22254 been processed as spam.
22257 @defun spam-stat-save
22258 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
22259 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
22262 @defun spam-stat-load
22263 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
22264 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
22267 @defun spam-stat-score-word
22268 Return the spam score for a word.
22271 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
22272 Return the spam score for a buffer.
22275 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
22276 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
22277 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
22280 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
22281 following in your @file{~/.gnus} file:
22284 (require 'spam-stat)
22288 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
22291 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
22292 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22293 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22294 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22295 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
22296 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
22297 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22298 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22299 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
22300 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22301 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
22302 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
22303 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22304 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22307 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
22310 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
22311 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22312 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22313 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
22314 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
22315 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22318 @node Various Various
22319 @section Various Various
22325 @item gnus-home-directory
22326 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
22327 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
22329 @item gnus-directory
22330 @vindex gnus-directory
22331 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
22332 this variable, which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment
22333 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
22335 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
22336 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
22337 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
22338 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
22340 @item gnus-default-directory
22341 @vindex gnus-default-directory
22342 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
22343 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
22344 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
22345 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
22346 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
22347 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
22350 @vindex gnus-verbose
22351 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
22352 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
22353 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
22354 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
22355 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
22357 @item gnus-verbose-backends
22358 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
22359 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
22360 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
22362 @item nnheader-max-head-length
22363 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
22364 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
22365 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
22366 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
22367 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
22368 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
22369 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
22370 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
22371 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
22373 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
22374 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
22375 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
22376 read when doing the operation described above.
22378 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22379 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22381 @cindex invalid characters in file names
22382 @cindex characters in file names
22383 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
22384 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
22385 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
22388 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22392 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
22393 Windows (phooey) systems.
22395 @item gnus-hidden-properties
22396 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
22397 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
22398 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
22399 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
22401 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
22402 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
22403 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
22404 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
22405 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
22407 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
22408 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
22409 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
22411 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
22412 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
22414 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
22415 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
22416 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
22417 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
22420 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
22428 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
22429 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
22431 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
22433 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
22439 Not because of victories @*
22442 but for the common sunshine,@*
22444 the largess of the spring.
22448 but for the day's work done@*
22449 as well as I was able;@*
22450 not for a seat upon the dais@*
22451 but at the common table.@*
22456 @chapter Appendices
22459 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
22460 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
22461 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
22462 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
22463 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
22464 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
22465 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
22466 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
22467 * Frequently Asked Questions::
22474 @cindex Installing under XEmacs
22476 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
22477 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
22478 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{w3}, @samp{mh-e},
22479 @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{rmail}, @samp{eterm}, @samp{mail-lib},
22480 @samp{xemacs-base}, @samp{sh-script} and @samp{fsf-compat}. The
22481 @samp{misc-games} package is required for Morse decoding.
22488 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
22489 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
22491 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
22492 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
22493 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
22494 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
22495 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
22497 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
22498 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
22499 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
22500 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
22501 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
22502 appropriate name, don't you think?)
22504 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
22505 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
22506 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
22507 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
22510 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
22511 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
22512 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
22513 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
22514 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
22515 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
22516 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
22517 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
22518 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
22522 @node Gnus Versions
22523 @subsection Gnus Versions
22525 @cindex September Gnus
22527 @cindex Quassia Gnus
22528 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
22532 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
22533 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
22534 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
22536 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
22537 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
22539 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
22540 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
22542 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
22543 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
22545 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
22546 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
22549 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
22551 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
22552 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
22553 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
22554 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
22555 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
22556 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
22559 @node Other Gnus Versions
22560 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
22563 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
22564 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
22565 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
22566 @sc{mime} capabilities.
22568 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
22569 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
22570 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
22571 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
22578 What's the point of Gnus?
22580 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
22581 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
22582 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
22583 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
22584 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
22585 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
22586 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
22587 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
22588 keep track of millions of people who post?
22590 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
22591 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
22592 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
22593 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
22594 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
22595 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
22596 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
22597 every one of you to explore and invent.
22599 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
22600 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
22603 @node Compatibility
22604 @subsection Compatibility
22606 @cindex compatibility
22607 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
22608 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
22609 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
22614 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
22618 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
22621 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
22624 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
22625 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
22626 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
22627 important variables have their values copied into their global
22628 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
22629 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
22631 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
22632 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
22633 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
22634 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
22635 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
22639 @cindex highlighting
22640 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
22641 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
22642 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
22643 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
22644 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
22645 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
22648 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
22649 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
22650 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
22651 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
22653 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
22654 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
22655 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
22656 to stop doing it the old way.
22658 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
22660 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
22662 @cindex reporting bugs
22664 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
22665 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
22666 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
22668 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
22669 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
22670 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
22671 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
22676 @subsection Conformity
22678 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
22679 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
22687 There are no known breaches of this standard.
22691 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
22693 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
22694 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
22695 We do have some breaches to this one.
22701 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
22702 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
22703 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
22704 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
22705 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
22710 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
22711 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
22712 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
22713 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
22715 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
22717 All the various @sc{mime} RFCs are supported.
22719 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
22720 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
22722 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
22725 RFC 1991 is the original PGP message specification, published as a
22726 Information RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now called Open PGP, and
22727 put on the Standards Track. Both document a non-@sc{mime} aware PGP
22728 format. Gnus supports both encoding (signing and encryption) and
22729 decoding (verification and decryption).
22731 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
22732 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
22733 1991) describes the @sc{mime}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
22734 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
22736 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
22737 RFC 2633 describes the @sc{s/mime} format.
22739 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
22740 RFC 1730 is @sc{imap} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060 (@sc{imap} 4
22741 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5 authentication for @sc{imap}. RFC
22742 2086 describes access control lists (ACLs) for @sc{imap}. RFC 2359
22743 describes a @sc{imap} protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper
22744 TLS integration (STARTTLS) with @sc{imap}. RFC 1731 describes the
22745 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @sc{imap}.
22749 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
22750 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
22755 @subsection Emacsen
22761 Gnus should work on :
22769 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
22773 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
22774 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
22777 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
22778 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
22779 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
22783 @node Gnus Development
22784 @subsection Gnus Development
22786 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
22787 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
22788 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
22789 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
22790 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
22791 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
22792 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
22793 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
22795 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
22796 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
22797 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
22798 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
22799 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
22802 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
22803 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
22804 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
22805 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
22806 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
22808 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
22809 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
22810 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
22811 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
22812 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
22813 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
22814 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
22815 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
22816 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
22817 can't be assumed to do so.
22822 @subsection Contributors
22823 @cindex contributors
22825 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
22826 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
22827 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
22828 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
22829 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
22830 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
22831 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
22832 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
22833 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
22834 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
22836 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
22842 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
22845 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
22846 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
22847 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
22848 functionality and stuff.
22851 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
22852 well as numerous other things).
22855 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
22858 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
22861 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
22864 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
22867 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
22868 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
22871 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
22874 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
22875 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
22878 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
22881 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
22884 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
22887 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
22890 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
22891 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
22894 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
22897 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
22900 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
22903 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
22907 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
22910 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
22913 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
22916 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
22917 well as autoconf support.
22921 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
22922 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
22924 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
22933 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
22937 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
22947 Alexei V. Barantsev,
22962 Massimo Campostrini,
22967 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
22968 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
22972 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
22975 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
22981 Michael Welsh Duggan,
22986 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
22990 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
22998 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
23000 Michelangelo Grigni,
23004 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
23006 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
23008 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
23015 François Felix Ingrand,
23016 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
23017 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
23019 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
23030 Peter Skov Knudsen,
23031 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
23033 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
23034 Thor Kristoffersen,
23037 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
23055 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
23056 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
23063 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
23068 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
23072 John McClary Prevost,
23078 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
23083 Christian von Roques,
23086 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
23093 Philippe Schnoebelen,
23095 Randal L. Schwartz,
23109 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
23114 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
23130 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
23135 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
23136 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
23137 (550kB and counting).
23139 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
23142 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
23143 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
23147 @subsection New Features
23148 @cindex new features
23151 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
23152 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
23153 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
23154 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
23155 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
23158 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
23159 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
23160 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
23163 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
23165 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
23170 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
23171 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
23174 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
23175 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
23178 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
23181 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
23182 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
23183 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
23186 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
23187 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
23188 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
23189 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
23192 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
23193 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23196 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
23197 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
23198 (@pxref{The Active File}).
23201 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
23202 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
23205 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
23206 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
23207 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
23210 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
23211 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
23212 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
23215 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus.el}) to avoid cluttering up
23216 the @file{.emacs} file.
23219 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
23220 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
23223 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
23224 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
23227 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
23228 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23231 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
23232 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
23235 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
23236 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
23239 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
23242 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
23243 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
23246 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
23247 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
23250 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
23251 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
23254 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
23257 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
23258 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
23261 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
23265 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
23269 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
23270 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
23273 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
23279 @node September Gnus
23280 @subsubsection September Gnus
23284 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
23288 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
23293 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
23294 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
23298 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
23299 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
23303 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
23307 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
23308 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
23311 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
23315 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
23318 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
23321 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
23324 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
23328 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
23329 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
23332 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
23336 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
23340 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
23344 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
23348 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
23351 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
23352 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
23355 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
23359 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
23360 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
23363 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
23366 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
23367 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
23368 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
23371 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
23375 The Gnus cache is much faster.
23378 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
23382 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
23383 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
23386 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
23387 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
23390 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
23391 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
23394 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
23395 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
23396 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
23399 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
23400 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
23403 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
23406 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
23409 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
23412 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
23415 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
23416 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
23419 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
23423 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
23426 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
23431 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
23434 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
23438 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23441 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
23445 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
23448 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
23451 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
23452 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
23455 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
23456 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
23460 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
23461 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
23464 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
23468 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
23469 buffer to allow easier treatment.
23472 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
23475 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
23479 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
23483 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
23484 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
23487 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
23491 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
23492 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
23495 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
23496 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
23499 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
23503 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
23506 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
23509 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
23515 @subsubsection Red Gnus
23517 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
23521 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
23528 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
23531 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
23532 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
23535 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
23536 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
23540 Article washing status can be displayed in the
23541 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
23544 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
23547 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
23548 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
23551 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
23555 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
23556 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
23560 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
23561 Server Internals}).
23564 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
23568 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
23571 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
23572 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
23575 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
23576 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
23577 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
23580 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
23581 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
23584 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
23585 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
23588 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
23592 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
23593 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
23596 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
23597 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
23600 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
23604 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
23607 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
23611 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
23612 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
23615 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
23616 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
23619 A new command for reading collections of documents
23620 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
23621 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
23624 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
23628 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
23629 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
23632 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
23633 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
23634 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
23637 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
23638 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
23642 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
23646 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
23650 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
23655 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
23659 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
23663 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
23664 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
23667 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
23673 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
23675 New features in Gnus 5.6:
23680 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
23681 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
23682 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
23685 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
23686 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
23687 group, which is created automatically.
23690 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
23694 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
23697 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
23698 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
23701 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
23705 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
23708 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
23709 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
23712 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
23715 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
23716 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
23719 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
23720 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
23723 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
23724 control over simplification.
23727 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
23730 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
23734 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
23737 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
23740 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
23741 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
23742 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
23745 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
23746 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
23749 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
23753 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
23754 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
23757 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
23758 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
23761 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
23765 A history of where mails have been split is available.
23768 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
23771 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
23772 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
23775 A new function for citing in Message has been
23776 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
23779 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
23782 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
23786 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
23787 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
23790 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
23791 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
23794 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
23797 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
23801 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
23802 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
23804 New features in Gnus 5.8:
23809 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
23810 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
23812 If you used procmail like in
23815 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
23816 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
23817 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
23818 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
23821 this now has changed to
23825 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
23829 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
23830 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
23833 Gnus is now a @sc{mime}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
23834 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
23837 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
23838 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
23841 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
23842 called to position point.
23845 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
23846 summary buffers and @sc{nov} files.
23849 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
23850 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
23853 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
23854 subtly different manner.
23857 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
23858 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
23859 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
23862 Gnus can now read @sc{imap} mail via @code{nnimap}.
23870 @section The Manual
23874 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
23875 either @code{texi2dvi}
23877 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
23878 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
23880 to get what you hold in your hands now.
23882 The following conventions have been used:
23887 This is a @samp{string}
23890 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
23893 This is a @file{file}
23896 This is a @code{symbol}
23900 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
23904 (setq flargnoze "yes")
23907 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
23910 (setq flumphel 'yes)
23913 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
23914 ever get them confused.
23918 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
23919 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
23920 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
23921 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
23922 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
23923 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
23924 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
23930 @node On Writing Manuals
23931 @section On Writing Manuals
23933 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
23934 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
23935 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
23936 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
23937 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
23938 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
23941 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
23942 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
23943 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
23946 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
23947 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
23952 @section Terminology
23954 @cindex terminology
23959 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
23960 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
23961 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
23962 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
23963 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
23967 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
23968 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
23969 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
23970 not posting, and replying is not following up.
23974 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
23978 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
23983 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
23984 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
23985 commonly fetched via the protocol NNTP, whereas mail messages could be
23986 read from a file on the local disk. The internal architecture of Gnus
23987 thus comprises a `front end' and a number of `back ends'. Internally,
23988 when you enter a group (by hitting @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke
23989 a function in the front end in Gnus. The front end then `talks' to a
23990 back end and says things like ``Give me the list of articles in the foo
23991 group'' or ``Show me article number 4711''.
23993 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back end
23994 accesses news via NNTP, the @code{nnimap} back end accesses mail via
23995 IMAP) or a file format and directory layout (the @code{nnspool} back end
23996 accesses news via the common `spool directory' format, the @code{nnml}
23997 back end access mail via a file format and directory layout that's
24000 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
24001 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
24002 access the articles.
24004 However, sometimes the term `back end' is also used where `server'
24005 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term `select
24006 method' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
24011 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
24012 default, way of getting news.
24016 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
24017 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
24022 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
24023 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
24027 A message that has been posted as news.
24030 @cindex mail message
24031 A message that has been mailed.
24035 A mail message or news article
24039 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
24044 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
24049 A line from the head of an article.
24053 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
24054 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
24058 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
24059 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
24060 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
24061 normal @sc{head} format.
24065 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
24066 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
24067 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
24068 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
24069 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
24070 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
24072 @item killed groups
24073 @cindex killed groups
24074 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
24075 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
24077 @item zombie groups
24078 @cindex zombie groups
24079 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
24082 @cindex active file
24083 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
24084 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
24085 is rather large, as you might surmise.
24088 @cindex bogus groups
24089 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
24090 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
24091 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
24094 @cindex activating groups
24095 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
24096 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
24097 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
24101 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
24103 @item select method
24104 @cindex select method
24105 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
24108 @item virtual server
24109 @cindex virtual server
24110 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
24111 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
24112 whole is a virtual server.
24116 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
24117 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
24120 @item ephemeral groups
24121 @cindex ephemeral groups
24122 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
24123 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
24124 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
24127 @cindex solid groups
24128 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
24129 group buffer are solid groups.
24131 @item sparse articles
24132 @cindex sparse articles
24133 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
24134 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
24138 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
24139 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
24143 @cindex thread root
24144 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
24145 articles in the thread.
24149 An article that has responses.
24153 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
24157 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
24158 specified by RFC 1153.
24164 @node Customization
24165 @section Customization
24166 @cindex general customization
24168 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
24169 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
24170 for some quite common situations.
24173 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
24174 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
24175 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
24176 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
24180 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
24181 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
24183 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
24184 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
24185 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
24189 @item gnus-read-active-file
24190 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
24191 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
24192 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
24193 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
24194 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
24196 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
24197 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
24198 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
24199 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
24203 @node Slow Terminal Connection
24204 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
24206 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
24207 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
24208 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
24212 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
24213 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
24214 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
24215 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
24216 horizontal and vertical recentering.
24218 @item gnus-visible-headers
24219 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
24220 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
24221 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
24222 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
24224 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
24226 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
24227 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
24228 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
24231 @item gnus-use-full-window
24232 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
24233 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
24234 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
24235 want to read them anyway.
24237 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
24238 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
24242 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
24243 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
24244 lines, which might save some time.
24248 @node Little Disk Space
24249 @subsection Little Disk Space
24252 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
24253 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
24257 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
24258 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
24259 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
24260 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
24263 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
24264 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
24265 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
24266 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
24269 @item gnus-save-killed-list
24270 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
24271 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
24272 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
24273 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
24279 @subsection Slow Machine
24280 @cindex slow machine
24282 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
24283 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
24285 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
24286 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
24288 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
24289 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
24290 summary buffer faster.
24294 @node Troubleshooting
24295 @section Troubleshooting
24296 @cindex troubleshooting
24298 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
24306 Make sure your computer is switched on.
24309 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
24310 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
24314 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
24315 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
24316 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
24317 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
24320 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
24324 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
24325 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
24326 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
24327 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
24328 something like that.
24331 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
24334 @cindex reporting bugs
24336 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
24338 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
24339 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
24340 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
24341 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
24343 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
24344 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
24345 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
24346 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
24349 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
24350 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
24351 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
24352 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
24353 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
24354 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
24356 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
24357 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
24358 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
24362 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
24363 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
24366 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
24367 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
24368 edebug. Debugging lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
24369 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
24370 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
24371 you discover some weird behaviour when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
24372 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
24373 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
24374 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
24375 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
24376 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
24377 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
24378 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
24379 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
24384 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate a elisp error but
24385 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
24386 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press C-j when things are
24387 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
24388 helps isolating the real problem areas). A fancier approach is to use
24389 the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is (or should be) fully
24390 documented elsewhere, but to get you started there are a few steps
24391 that need to be followed. First, instrument the part of Gnus you are
24392 interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package RET
24393 gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-packagre RET message}. Then perform
24394 the operation that is slow and press @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will
24395 then see which operations that takes time, and can debug them further.
24396 If the entire operation takes much longer than the time spent in the
24397 slowest function in the profiler output, you probably profiled the
24398 wrong part of Gnus. To reset profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x
24399 elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove
24400 profiling, but given the complexities and dynamic code generation in
24401 Gnus, it might not always work perfectly.
24403 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
24404 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
24406 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
24407 @cindex ding mailing list
24408 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
24409 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
24413 @node Gnus Reference Guide
24414 @section Gnus Reference Guide
24416 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
24417 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
24418 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
24419 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
24422 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
24423 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
24424 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
24425 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
24426 and general methods of operation.
24429 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
24430 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
24431 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
24432 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
24433 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
24434 * Group Info:: The group info format.
24435 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
24436 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
24437 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
24441 @node Gnus Utility Functions
24442 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
24443 @cindex Gnus utility functions
24444 @cindex utility functions
24446 @cindex internal variables
24448 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
24449 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
24450 Below is a list of the most common ones.
24454 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
24455 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
24456 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
24458 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
24459 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
24460 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
24462 @item gnus-group-real-name
24463 @findex gnus-group-real-name
24464 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
24467 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
24468 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
24469 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
24470 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
24472 @item gnus-get-info
24473 @findex gnus-get-info
24474 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
24476 @item gnus-group-unread
24477 @findex gnus-group-unread
24478 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
24482 @findex gnus-active
24483 The active entry for @var{group}.
24485 @item gnus-set-active
24486 @findex gnus-set-active
24487 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
24489 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
24490 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
24491 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
24494 @item gnus-continuum-version
24495 @findex gnus-continuum-version
24496 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
24497 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
24500 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
24501 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
24502 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
24504 @item gnus-news-group-p
24505 @findex gnus-news-group-p
24506 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
24508 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
24509 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
24510 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
24512 @item gnus-server-to-method
24513 @findex gnus-server-to-method
24514 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
24516 @item gnus-server-equal
24517 @findex gnus-server-equal
24518 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
24520 @item gnus-group-native-p
24521 @findex gnus-group-native-p
24522 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
24524 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
24525 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
24526 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
24528 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
24529 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
24530 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
24532 @item group-group-find-parameter
24533 @findex group-group-find-parameter
24534 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
24535 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
24537 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
24538 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
24539 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
24541 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
24542 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
24543 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
24545 @item gnus-check-backend-function
24546 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
24547 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
24548 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
24551 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
24555 @item gnus-read-method
24556 @findex gnus-read-method
24557 Prompts the user for a select method.
24562 @node Back End Interface
24563 @subsection Back End Interface
24565 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
24566 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
24567 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
24568 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
24569 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
24570 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
24572 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
24573 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
24574 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
24575 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
24576 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
24577 been opened, the function should fail.
24579 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
24580 name. Take this example:
24584 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
24585 (nntp-port-number 4324))
24588 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
24589 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
24591 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
24592 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
24593 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
24595 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
24596 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
24597 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
24599 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
24600 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
24601 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
24602 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
24603 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
24604 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
24607 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
24608 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
24609 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
24610 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
24613 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
24614 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
24615 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
24616 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
24617 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
24618 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
24619 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
24620 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
24621 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
24622 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
24624 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
24625 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
24626 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
24627 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
24628 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
24629 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
24630 of numbers as long as possible.
24632 Note that by convention, backends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
24633 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
24634 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
24636 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
24639 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
24642 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
24643 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
24644 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
24645 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
24646 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
24647 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
24651 @node Required Back End Functions
24652 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
24656 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
24658 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
24659 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
24660 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
24661 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
24663 The result data should either be HEADs or @sc{nov} lines, and the result
24664 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
24665 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
24666 of HEADs and @sc{nov} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
24668 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
24669 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
24670 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
24671 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
24672 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
24673 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
24674 number, do maximum fetches.
24676 Here's an example HEAD:
24679 221 1056 Article retrieved.
24680 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
24681 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
24682 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
24683 Subject: Re: Something very droll
24684 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
24685 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
24687 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
24688 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
24689 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
24693 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
24694 these in the data buffer.
24696 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
24700 head = error / valid-head
24701 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
24702 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
24703 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
24704 header = <text> eol
24707 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
24708 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
24712 nov-buffer = *nov-line
24713 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
24714 field = <text except TAB>
24717 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
24721 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
24723 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
24724 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
24726 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
24727 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
24728 server. In fact, it should do so.
24730 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
24731 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
24734 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
24736 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
24737 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
24740 There should be no data returned.
24743 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
24745 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
24746 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
24747 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
24748 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
24750 There should be no data returned.
24753 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
24755 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
24756 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
24757 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
24758 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
24760 There should be no data returned.
24763 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
24765 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
24767 There should be no data returned.
24770 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
24772 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
24773 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
24774 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
24775 it would be nice if that were possible.
24777 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
24778 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
24779 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
24780 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
24781 into its article buffer.
24783 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
24784 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
24785 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
24786 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
24787 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
24788 on successful article retrieval.
24791 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
24793 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
24794 making @var{group} the current group.
24796 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
24799 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
24802 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
24805 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
24806 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
24807 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
24808 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
24809 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
24810 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
24811 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
24812 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
24813 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
24817 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
24818 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
24819 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
24823 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
24825 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
24826 a no-op on most back ends.
24828 There should be no data returned.
24831 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
24833 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
24836 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
24839 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
24840 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
24843 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
24844 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
24845 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
24846 and the highest as 0.
24849 active-file = *active-line
24850 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
24852 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
24855 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
24856 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
24857 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
24860 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
24862 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
24863 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
24864 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
24865 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
24866 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
24867 clear if the posting could not be completed.
24869 There should be no result data from this function.
24874 @node Optional Back End Functions
24875 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
24879 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
24881 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
24882 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
24883 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
24885 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
24886 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
24887 former is in the same format as the data from
24888 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
24889 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
24892 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
24896 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
24898 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
24899 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
24900 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
24901 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
24902 should return a non-nil value.
24904 There should be no result data from this function.
24907 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
24909 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
24910 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
24911 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
24912 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
24913 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
24914 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
24915 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
24916 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
24918 There should be no result data from this function.
24921 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
24923 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
24924 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
24925 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
24926 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
24927 propagate the mark information to the server.
24929 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
24932 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
24935 RANGE is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. ACTION is
24936 @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove marks
24937 (preserving all marks not mentioned). MARK is a list of marks; where
24938 each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read},
24939 @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
24940 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
24941 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
24942 possible, not limit itself to these.
24944 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
24945 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
24946 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
24947 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
24949 An example action list:
24952 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
24953 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
24954 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
24957 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
24958 mark on (currently not used for anything).
24960 There should be no result data from this function.
24962 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
24964 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
24965 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
24966 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
24967 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
24968 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
24970 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
24971 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
24972 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
24975 There should be no result data from this function.
24978 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
24980 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
24981 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
24982 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
24983 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
24984 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
24985 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
24986 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
24988 There should be no result data from this function.
24991 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
24993 The result data from this function should be a description of
24997 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
24999 description = <text>
25002 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
25004 The result data from this function should be the description of all
25005 groups available on the server.
25008 description-buffer = *description-line
25012 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
25014 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
25015 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
25016 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
25017 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
25018 in the active buffer format.
25020 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
25021 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
25022 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
25023 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
25024 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
25025 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
25026 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
25029 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
25031 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
25033 There should be no return data.
25036 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
25038 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
25039 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
25040 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
25041 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
25042 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
25045 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
25048 There should be no result data returned.
25051 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
25054 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
25055 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
25057 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
25058 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
25059 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
25060 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
25061 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
25062 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
25064 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
25065 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
25068 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
25069 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
25071 There should be no data returned.
25074 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
25076 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
25077 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
25078 this function in short order.
25080 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
25081 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
25083 The group should exist before the backend is asked to accept the
25084 article for that group.
25086 There should be no data returned.
25089 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
25091 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
25092 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
25094 There should be no data returned.
25097 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
25099 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
25100 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
25101 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
25103 There should be no data returned.
25106 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
25108 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
25109 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
25111 There should be no data returned.
25116 @node Error Messaging
25117 @subsubsection Error Messaging
25119 @findex nnheader-report
25120 @findex nnheader-get-report
25121 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
25122 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
25123 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
25124 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
25125 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
25126 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
25129 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
25131 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
25134 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
25135 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
25136 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
25137 takes one argument---the server symbol.
25139 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
25140 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
25141 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
25144 @node Writing New Back Ends
25145 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
25147 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
25148 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
25149 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
25150 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
25151 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
25154 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
25155 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
25156 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
25158 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
25159 package called @code{nnoo}.
25161 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
25162 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
25168 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
25169 parameters. For instance:
25172 (nnoo-declare nndir
25176 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
25177 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
25180 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
25181 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
25182 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
25184 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
25185 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
25186 a function in those back ends.
25189 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
25190 "Where nndir will look for groups."
25191 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
25194 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
25195 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
25196 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
25198 @item nnoo-define-basics
25199 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
25203 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
25207 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
25208 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
25209 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
25211 @item nnoo-map-functions
25212 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
25213 functions from the parent back ends.
25216 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
25217 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25218 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
25221 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
25222 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
25223 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
25224 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
25227 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
25228 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
25229 haven't already been defined.
25235 nnmh-request-newgroups)
25239 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
25240 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
25241 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
25246 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
25249 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
25250 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
25254 (require 'nnheader)
25258 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
25260 (nnoo-declare nndir
25263 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
25264 "Where nndir will look for groups."
25265 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
25267 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
25268 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
25271 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
25273 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
25274 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
25275 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
25277 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
25278 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
25280 ;;; Interface functions.
25282 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
25284 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
25285 (setq nndir-directory
25286 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
25288 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
25289 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
25290 (push `(nndir-current-group
25291 ,(file-name-nondirectory
25292 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
25294 (push `(nndir-top-directory
25295 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
25297 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
25299 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
25300 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25301 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25302 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
25303 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
25307 nnmh-status-message
25309 nnmh-request-newgroups))
25315 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
25316 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
25318 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
25319 @findex gnus-declare-backend
25320 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
25321 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
25322 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
25324 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
25325 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
25330 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
25333 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
25335 The abilities can be:
25339 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
25341 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
25343 This back end supports both mail and news.
25345 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
25348 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
25349 articles and groups.
25351 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
25352 true for almost all back ends.
25353 @item prompt-address
25354 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
25355 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
25356 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
25360 @node Mail-like Back Ends
25361 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
25363 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
25364 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
25365 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
25366 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
25369 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
25370 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
25371 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
25374 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
25375 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
25378 This function takes four parameters.
25382 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
25385 @item exit-function
25386 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
25388 @item temp-directory
25389 Where the temporary files should be stored.
25392 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
25393 performed for one group only.
25396 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
25397 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
25398 find the article number assigned to this article.
25400 The function also uses the following variables:
25401 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
25402 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
25403 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
25404 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
25408 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
25409 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
25413 @node Score File Syntax
25414 @subsection Score File Syntax
25416 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
25417 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
25418 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
25420 Here's a typical score file:
25424 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
25431 BNF definition of a score file:
25434 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
25435 element = rule / atom
25436 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
25437 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
25438 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
25439 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
25441 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
25442 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
25443 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
25444 date-header = "date"
25445 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
25446 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
25447 score = "nil" / <integer>
25448 date = "nil" / <natural number>
25449 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
25450 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
25451 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
25452 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
25453 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
25454 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
25455 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
25456 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
25457 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
25458 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
25459 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
25460 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
25461 exclude-files / read-only / touched
25462 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
25463 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
25464 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
25465 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
25466 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
25467 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
25468 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
25469 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
25470 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
25471 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
25472 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
25473 eval = "eval" space <form>
25474 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
25477 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
25480 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
25481 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
25482 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
25483 one looong line, then that's ok.
25485 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
25486 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
25490 @subsection Headers
25492 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
25493 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
25494 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
25495 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
25497 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
25498 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
25499 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
25500 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
25501 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
25502 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
25503 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
25505 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
25506 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
25507 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
25508 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
25509 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
25511 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
25512 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
25518 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
25519 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
25521 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
25522 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
25523 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
25524 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
25526 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
25530 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
25533 is transformed into
25536 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
25539 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
25540 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
25543 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
25546 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
25547 is slightly tricky:
25550 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
25556 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
25559 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
25565 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
25572 and is equal to the previous range.
25574 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
25575 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
25576 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
25580 range = simple-range / normal-range
25581 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
25582 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
25583 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
25584 number *[ " " contents ]
25587 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
25588 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
25589 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
25590 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
25591 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
25596 @subsection Group Info
25598 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
25599 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
25600 describes the group.
25602 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
25603 second is a more complex one:
25606 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
25608 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
25609 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
25611 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
25614 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
25615 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
25616 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
25617 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
25618 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
25619 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
25620 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
25621 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
25622 this section is about.
25624 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
25625 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
25626 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
25628 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
25631 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
25632 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
25633 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
25634 group = quote <string> quote
25635 ralevel = rank / level
25636 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
25637 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
25638 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
25640 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
25641 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
25642 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
25643 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
25646 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
25647 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
25650 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
25651 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
25654 @item gnus-info-group
25655 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
25656 @findex gnus-info-group
25657 @findex gnus-info-set-group
25658 Get/set the group name.
25660 @item gnus-info-rank
25661 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
25662 @findex gnus-info-rank
25663 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
25664 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
25666 @item gnus-info-level
25667 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
25668 @findex gnus-info-level
25669 @findex gnus-info-set-level
25670 Get/set the group level.
25672 @item gnus-info-score
25673 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
25674 @findex gnus-info-score
25675 @findex gnus-info-set-score
25676 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
25678 @item gnus-info-read
25679 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
25680 @findex gnus-info-read
25681 @findex gnus-info-set-read
25682 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
25684 @item gnus-info-marks
25685 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
25686 @findex gnus-info-marks
25687 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
25688 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
25690 @item gnus-info-method
25691 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
25692 @findex gnus-info-method
25693 @findex gnus-info-set-method
25694 Get/set the group select method.
25696 @item gnus-info-params
25697 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
25698 @findex gnus-info-params
25699 @findex gnus-info-set-params
25700 Get/set the group parameters.
25703 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
25704 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
25706 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
25707 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
25708 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
25709 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
25712 @node Extended Interactive
25713 @subsection Extended Interactive
25714 @cindex interactive
25715 @findex gnus-interactive
25717 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
25718 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
25719 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
25722 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
25723 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
25728 The best thing to do would have been to implement
25729 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
25730 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
25731 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
25732 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
25733 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
25734 @code{interactive}.
25736 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
25741 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
25742 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
25746 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
25747 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
25748 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
25751 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
25755 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
25759 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
25765 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
25766 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
25770 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
25771 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
25772 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
25774 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
25775 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
25776 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
25777 Gnus, that's very useful.
25779 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
25780 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
25781 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
25782 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
25783 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
25784 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
25785 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
25786 following function:
25789 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
25793 (,function ,@@args))
25797 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
25798 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
25799 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
25802 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
25803 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
25804 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
25806 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
25807 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
25808 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
25811 @node Various File Formats
25812 @subsection Various File Formats
25815 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
25816 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
25820 @node Active File Format
25821 @subsubsection Active File Format
25823 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
25824 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
25827 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
25830 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
25831 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
25832 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
25833 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
25834 no.general 1000 900 y
25837 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
25840 active = *group-line
25841 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
25842 group = <non-white-space string>
25844 high-number = <non-negative integer>
25845 low-number = <positive integer>
25846 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
25849 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
25850 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
25853 @node Newsgroups File Format
25854 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
25856 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
25857 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
25858 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
25861 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
25862 Here's the definition:
25866 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
25867 group = <non-white-space string>
25869 description = <string>
25874 @node Emacs for Heathens
25875 @section Emacs for Heathens
25877 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
25878 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
25879 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
25880 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
25881 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
25882 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
25883 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
25887 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
25888 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
25893 @subsection Keystrokes
25897 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
25900 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
25903 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
25904 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
25905 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
25906 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
25907 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
25908 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
25910 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
25911 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
25912 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
25913 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
25914 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
25915 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
25916 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
25918 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
25919 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
25920 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
25921 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
25922 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
25923 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
25924 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
25926 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
25927 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
25928 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
25929 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
25930 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
25936 @subsection Emacs Lisp
25938 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
25939 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
25940 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
25941 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
25943 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
25944 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
25945 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
25946 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
25947 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
25948 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
25949 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
25952 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
25953 write the following:
25956 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
25959 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
25960 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
25961 you can go and fill your @file{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
25964 If you have put that thing in your @file{.emacs} file, it will be read
25965 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
25966 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
25967 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
25968 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
25970 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
25971 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
25972 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
25976 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
25980 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
25983 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
25984 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
25987 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
25990 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
25991 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
25994 @include gnus-faq.texi
26014 @c Local Variables:
26016 @c coding: iso-8859-1
26018 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
26019 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
26020 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
26021 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
26022 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref